Students receive all the necessary tools for learning a complex language in this well-organized introductory manual. Specially designed for those without prior experience in studying foreign languages, the focus is on modern literary Arabic, particularly the style employed by newspapers.
The authors, experienced teachers of Arabic, begin each chapter with a text embodying the points to be discussed. The simple, narrative-style texts feature a variety of elements from everyday Middle Eastern life. An inductive analysis follows, with a natural progression from specifics to broader generalities. Grammatical points are introduced gradually, and the carefully chosen vocabulary terms are those that arise most often in spoken and written Arabic. A helpful vocabulary list appears in the appendix.
Philip Khuri Hitti (18861978) was born in Lebanon and taught at Princeton University from 1926 to 1954. He was renowned for his contributions to Arab studies in the West.