7 books to learn Moroccan Arabic- Darija

Many foreigners approach me to ask about Darija courses or coursebooks.

Today I prepared a list of the most sought-after books for Moroccan dialect learners from Amazon.com

I provided a brief, personal description of each book and followed it by the website’s description to give you a better idea what the book is about and if it is suitable for you.

A basic course for beginners who wish to grasp the basics of the language. It comes with mp3 files what makes it easier to understand and learn speaking!

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“A Basic Course in Moroccan Arabic is a textbook in spoken Moroccan Arabic that is written for beginners who are unfamiliar with the Arabic language, alphabet, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Written in Latinate transcription it is carefully designed to present these elements in a progressive, user-friendly, step-by-step manner.”

The “Advanced Moroccan Arabic” is a proposition for advanced speakers, for instance those of you who speak Darija well but still face problems with grammar or writing.

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“This five-part work is based on the author’s “An Introduction to Moroccan Arabic.” The thirty-eight texts of this book serve as an introduction to Moroccan ethnology, culture, history, folklore, and literature, in addition to giving the reader a more sophisticated exposure to the syntax of the language.”

This book is not strictly about the spoken language itself and I’d not recommend it to beginners who just want to communicate. The book will be a perfect choice for language lovers and curious linguists.

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“This book investigates horizontal (regional and social) and vertical (colloquial-standard) variation in Moroccan Arabic. At the horizontal level, it shows that MA dialects are converging toward the variety of the capital cities of Rabat and Casablanca. At the vertical level, the study focuses on the new functions of MA and their impact on its structure. The two dimensions are argued to be aspects of language standardization. The linguistic and the social aspects of this process are accounted for in a uniform way.”

The book is not strictly a beginner’s coursebook. It is more of a comparison of the two languages. I’d not recommend it to complete beginners, as it may discourage you at the beginning, as it puts an epmhasis on the phonology of Berber and Darija.

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“This book is intended primarily as an original contribution to the investi­gation of the phonology of the two main languages spoken in Morocco. Its central topic is syllable structure. Our theoretical outlook is that of generative phonology. Most of the book deals with Tashlhiyt Berber. This language has a syllable structure with properties which are highly unusual, as seen from the vantage point of better-studied languages on which most theorizing about syllabification is based. On the one hand, complex consonant sequences are a common occurrence in the surface representations. On the other hand, syllable structure is very simple: only one distinctive feature bundle (phoneme) may occur in the onset, the nucleus or the coda.”

Simply a pocket dictionary. Small, useful book that comes handy when you have no wifi around to check some words with the help of uncle Google :)

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“This 6″x9″ 748 page hard bound dictionary contains over 3500 main English verb entries and expressions with their corresponding up-to-date Moroccan Arabic verbs. Sub-entries under each main verb include adjectives, adverbs, derivatives of the main verb, and nouns associated with the main verb entry. For each verb there is a sentence to help clarify the context for accurate usage. Sentences were carefully chosen by the Moroccan editor to provide the learner with many practical Moroccan cultural insights. All of the Arabic words in the dictionary are written in fully vowelled Arabic script.”

The Moroccan Arabic book is the most general and simple book for foreigners. Thanks to this boos you will grasp the basics of everyday language.

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“For everyone going to Morocco, any age + skill level: language students to casual visitors and everyone in between. Clear and easy pronunciation system, on-the-street utility and low price. All book sales go to support Moroccan-USA NGO for more community and education-based materials, activities and exchange. Produced by an all-volunteer bi-national team of experts – your chance to move beyond tourist phrasebooks and corporate textbooks.”

A more developed version of a simple disctionary. You will find the most useful words, idioms and phrases that you can use on a daily basis.

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“This classic volume presents the core vocabulary of everyday life in Morocco―from the kitchen to the mosque, from the hardware store to the natural world of plants and animals. It contains myriad examples of usage, including formulaic phrases and idiomatic expressions. Understandable throughout the nation, it is based primarily on the standard dialect of Moroccans from the cities of Fez, Rabat, and Casablanca. All Arabic citations are in an English transcription, making it invaluable to English-speaking non-Arabists, travelers, and tourists―as well as being an important resource tool for students and scholars in the Arabic language-learning field.”