I have been an Arabic student for a few years now, and I do own this product.
There are two reasons someone would find Rosetta Stone Arabic useful:
1. If they already spoke some Arabic and wanted a refresher course in the more formal parts of the language, which I guess could happen.
2. They wanted to focus specifically on Arabic literature of some sort and already had some familiarity with Arabic grammar and syntax.
But not if:
1. You want to travel to an Arab country and want to acquire basic speaking skills.
2. You want to learn about Arab culture or the language's use and history.
Assuming that the learner is native English speaker , many reasons won't let me recommend Rosetta ston for non-European languages, especially Arabic:
-The type of Arabic this teaches you is called Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Fusha. This is the "higher register" of Arabic which is used in formal settings by the educated class: the news, academics, some clerics, most literature. Generally, Arabic speakers use a local dialect of Arabic, which is very, very different from this version of the language. For instance: imagine reading a work of Medieval "Middle" English. The language would be mostly quasi-familiar English words, but most of the usage, pronunciation, and grammar would seem tricky, overly complex, or old-fashioned. You would be able to understand some of it, but would miss a bit, too. MSA is like that to 90% of Arabic speakers: not totally gibberish, but not approachable either. Don't misunderstand me though, all Arabic learners should learn MSA, but know that you won't be speaking it much.
-The reverse is also a problem. You can speak Fosha all you want but actually no one will speak it back to you, and some of them might even laugh at it. None of the living dialects of Arabic are that close to MSA, so even if you memorized every word of Rosetta Stone Arabic, you would not be able to understand almost anyone who didn't go to university.
-To make matters even weirder, Rosetta Stone Arabic included the highly complicated case endings (called Iraab) on all the words. That is to say, there are certain changes to the last vowels of most words in the most formal of formal Arabic literature, like the Qur'an, the Bible, and poetry. These case endings mark what part of speech is being used, so for example "kitaab" is "book," "kitaabun" is "book" if it is the subject of the sentence, "kitaabi" is "book" if it is direct object, "kitaaba" is "book" if it is in a prepositional phrase, etc. It is very complex and NO ONE EVER, EVER SPEAKS THAT WAY, even in MSA. Iraab use is technically correct, but even native speakers get confused by it (and rightly so). Not only does it not reflect any normal Arabic speech, because Rosetta Stone does not explain any grammar directly, I seriously doubt anyone would be able to sort out the meanings of the case endings just from context. This one was a major blunder that is mind-boggling for such an expensive product.
-More on the grammar bit: it is wonderful that Rosetta Stone wants to stay away from speaking English, but Arabic grammar is not instinctive for English speakers. Therefore, unless you already have a fair bit of Arabic grammar, you will be completely confused. For example, in Arabic there is a system of root letters that make up most words. The pattern of these roots changes depending on meaning, so if a book is "green" it is "akhdar," but if a car is "green" it is "khadr'." Unless you already know that Arabic has a masculine/feminine gender system, and a root for greeness based on the letters kh-d-r, you would not be able to deduce what was happening (I really, really doubt it anyway.) Arabic has lots of grammar that throws English speakers for a loop and needs to be explained directly and in detail: there are tons of ways to pluralize, a "dual" case between singular and plural, a very different sentence structure, and on and on.
-There is no cultural context provided, which is really strange. Why would I need to know the word for "sandwich" in the formal register of Arabic? Why does it teach how to say someone is "Russian" or "Japanese" and not how to say they are "Jordanian," "Saudi Arabian," or "Moroccan"?
There are two reasons someone would find Rosetta Stone Arabic useful:
1. If they already spoke some Arabic and wanted a refresher course in the more formal parts of the language, which I guess could happen.
2. They wanted to focus specifically on Arabic literature of some sort and already had some familiarity with Arabic grammar and syntax.
But not if:
1. You want to travel to an Arab country and want to acquire basic speaking skills.
2. You want to learn about Arab culture or the language's use and history.
Assuming that the learner is native English speaker , many reasons won't let me recommend Rosetta ston for non-European languages, especially Arabic:
-The type of Arabic this teaches you is called Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Fusha. This is the "higher register" of Arabic which is used in formal settings by the educated class: the news, academics, some clerics, most literature. Generally, Arabic speakers use a local dialect of Arabic, which is very, very different from this version of the language. For instance: imagine reading a work of Medieval "Middle" English. The language would be mostly quasi-familiar English words, but most of the usage, pronunciation, and grammar would seem tricky, overly complex, or old-fashioned. You would be able to understand some of it, but would miss a bit, too. MSA is like that to 90% of Arabic speakers: not totally gibberish, but not approachable either. Don't misunderstand me though, all Arabic learners should learn MSA, but know that you won't be speaking it much.
-The reverse is also a problem. You can speak Fosha all you want but actually no one will speak it back to you, and some of them might even laugh at it. None of the living dialects of Arabic are that close to MSA, so even if you memorized every word of Rosetta Stone Arabic, you would not be able to understand almost anyone who didn't go to university.
-To make matters even weirder, Rosetta Stone Arabic included the highly complicated case endings (called Iraab) on all the words. That is to say, there are certain changes to the last vowels of most words in the most formal of formal Arabic literature, like the Qur'an, the Bible, and poetry. These case endings mark what part of speech is being used, so for example "kitaab" is "book," "kitaabun" is "book" if it is the subject of the sentence, "kitaabi" is "book" if it is direct object, "kitaaba" is "book" if it is in a prepositional phrase, etc. It is very complex and NO ONE EVER, EVER SPEAKS THAT WAY, even in MSA. Iraab use is technically correct, but even native speakers get confused by it (and rightly so). Not only does it not reflect any normal Arabic speech, because Rosetta Stone does not explain any grammar directly, I seriously doubt anyone would be able to sort out the meanings of the case endings just from context. This one was a major blunder that is mind-boggling for such an expensive product.
-More on the grammar bit: it is wonderful that Rosetta Stone wants to stay away from speaking English, but Arabic grammar is not instinctive for English speakers. Therefore, unless you already have a fair bit of Arabic grammar, you will be completely confused. For example, in Arabic there is a system of root letters that make up most words. The pattern of these roots changes depending on meaning, so if a book is "green" it is "akhdar," but if a car is "green" it is "khadr'." Unless you already know that Arabic has a masculine/feminine gender system, and a root for greeness based on the letters kh-d-r, you would not be able to deduce what was happening (I really, really doubt it anyway.) Arabic has lots of grammar that throws English speakers for a loop and needs to be explained directly and in detail: there are tons of ways to pluralize, a "dual" case between singular and plural, a very different sentence structure, and on and on.
-There is no cultural context provided, which is really strange. Why would I need to know the word for "sandwich" in the formal register of Arabic? Why does it teach how to say someone is "Russian" or "Japanese" and not how to say they are "Jordanian," "Saudi Arabian," or "Moroccan"?
About the Author:
If for the purpose of Arabic literature, Rosetta will be helpful. Buy it from Amazon. If you are planning to learn one of the dialects take a class or get a plane ticket.. Free reprint available from: Rosetta Stone Arabic Courses Review.
Posted by:
Unknown - Monday, October 1, 2012
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