ARABIC
NML110Y Introductory Standard Arabic
Prof. A.K. Ali
(4 hours of instruction + 1 hour lab)
This course is an introduction to the formal variety of Arabic used throughout the Arab world. It is designed for students with no prior knowledge of Arabic language and it follows a teaching approach that places equal emphasis on the development of all language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The fundamental learning philosophy underlying this approach is that proficiency in a foreign language is best achieved through consistent, deliberate, and systematic practice. From the outset, students are strongly encouraged to develop the habit of consistently and continuously practicing learned material. This is achieved through a wide range of activities conducted both inside and outside the classroom. By the end of the course, students are expected to achieve basic intermediate proficiency in Arabic. This means that students will:
- Be able to form and understand basic sentence structures of Arabic,
- Be able to read original texts on familiar topics and understand the main ideas without using the dictionary,
- Be able to write short paragraphs on familiar topics and daily life activities,
- Be able to initiate and sustain conversations on familiar topics,
- Be able to communicate with native speakers of Arabic on familiar topics,
- Develop awareness of some aspects of Arab culture connected to everyday life.
Workload: This course assumes university level study skills. Students should expect to devote 2-3 hours outside of class for every hour of classroom instruction.
Evaluation: The evaluation components consist of weekly assignments, quizzes, term tests, classroom participation, and one final exam. The dates and relative weights of these components will be announced in the first week of classes.
Required Texts:
K. Brustad, M. Al-Batal, & A. Al-Tonsi (2010) Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds, Third Edition. Georgetown University Press.
K. Brustad, M. Al-Batal, & A. Al-Tonsi (2011) Al-Kitaab fi Ta'allum Al-'Arabiyya: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic. Part One, Third Edition. Georgetown University Press.
Exclusion: Native speakers of Arabic/LGGA40H3/LGG41H3, NML210Y/NMC210Y
NML211Y Intermediate Standard Arabic I
Prof. A.K. Ali
Students enrolled in this course are assumed to have active knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered in the introductory level. After a brief review, the course continues from where NML110Y leaves off. Following the same teaching approach and learning philosophy, emphasis is placed on balanced development of all language skills. As the course progresses, students are introduced to the fundamentals of Arabic morphology and syntax. This is achieved through analysis of texts covering a wide range of topics. By the end of the course, students are expected to achieve upper intermediate level of proficiency. They should be able to:
- Understand the main ideas in non-technical texts,
- Use context and knowledge of grammar to identify the form and guess the meaning of unfamiliar words,
- Understand texts of general interest with efficient use of the dictionary,
- Write short coherent paragraphs on familiar topics,
- Initiate and sustain discussion on topics of general interest,
- Present information and basic narratives in formal and semiformal language,
- Develop familiarity with some of the systematic differences between formal and spoken Arabic varieties
Workload: This course assumes university level study skills. Students should expect to devote 2-3 hours outside of class for every hour of classroom instruction.
Evaluation: The evaluation components consist of weekly assignments, quizzes, term tests, and classroom participation. The dates and relative weights of these components will be announced in the first week of classes. There is no Faculty Final Examination.
Required Texts:
K. Brustad, M. Al-Batal, & A. Al-Tonsi (2004) Al-Kitaab fii Tacallum Al-cArabiyya with DVDs: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic. Part One, Second Edition. Georgetown University Press.
K. Brustad, M. Al-Batal, & A. Al-Tonsi (2004) Al-Kitaab fii Tacallum Al-cArabiyya with DVDs: A Textbook for Arabic. Part Two, Second Edition. Georgetown University Press.
Recommended Texts:
Wehr, H. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic.
Prerequisite: NML110Y or permission of the instructor
Exclusion: Native speakers of Arabic, NML210Y, NMC210Y
NML310Y Intermediate Standard Arabic II
Prof. A.K. Ali
Students enrolled in this course are assumed to have active knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered in previous two levels. After a brief review, the course continues from where NML211Y leaves off. Following the same teaching approach and learning philosophy, emphasis is placed on balanced development of all language skills. Throughout the course, students are introduced to increasingly complex morphological and syntactic patterns of Arabic. This is achieved through analysis of texts covering a wide range of genres. By the end of the course, students are expected to achieve advanced level of proficiency. They should be able to:
- Read texts covering a wide range of styles in Arabic
- Understand main points of lectures and media programmes on familiar topics
- Carry out basic research on topics of interest
- Write coherent essays on topics previously studied
- Read, write, and speak with increasing grammatical accuracy
- Identify a range of important figures and ideas in Arabic literature and cultural history.
Workload: This course assumes university level study skills. Students should expect to devote 3 hours outside of class for every hour of classroom instruction.
Evaluation: The evaluation components consist of weekly assignments, quizzes, term tests, and classroom participation. The dates and relative weights of these components will be announced in the first week of classes. There is no Faculty Final Examination.
Required Texts:
K. Brustad, M. Al-Batal, & A. Al-Tonsi (2004) Al-Kitaab fii Tacallum Al-cArabiyya with DVDs: A Textbook for Arabic. Part Two, Second Edition. Georgetown University Press.
K. Brustad, M. Al-Batal, & A. Al-Tonsi (2004) Al-Kitaab fii Tacallum Al-cArabiyya with DVD and MP3 CD: A Textbook for Arabic. Part Three. Georgetown University Press.
Recommended Texts:
Wehr, H. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic.
Prerequisite: NML211Y or permission of the instructor
Exclusion: Native speakers of Arabic, NMC310Y
NML410Y Advanced Standard Arabic (formerly NMC410Y)
Prof. A.K. Ali
Students enrolled in this course are assumed to have active knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered in previous levels. After a brief review, the course continues from where NML310Y leaves off. Following the same teaching approach and learning philosophy, the goal of this course is to enable the students to reach a superior level of proficiency in Arabic. To this end, the materials covered are designed to strengthen the students’ reading and writing skills, refine and expand their knowledge of sentence structure, morphological patterns, verb system, and enrich their cultural background. The primary method is analysis of sophisticated authentic texts covering a wide range of genres and drawn from different parts of the Arabic speaking world. Although the main focus remains to be on Modern Standard Arabic, texts from the Classical Arabic literary tradition will be introduced incrementally throughout the course.
Workload
This course assumes university level study skills. Students should expect to devote 3 hours outside of class for every hour of classroom instruction.
Evaluation
The evaluation components consist of weekly assignments, quizzes, term tests, and classroom participation. The dates and relative weights of these components will be announced in the first week of classes. There is no Faculty Final Examination.
Required Textbooks:
K. Brustad, M. Al-Batal, & A. Al-Tonsi (2004) Al-Kitaab fii Tacallum Al-cArabiyya with DVD and MP3 CD: A Textbook for Arabic. Part Three. Georgetown University Press.
Recommended Textbooks:
Wehr, H. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic.
Prerequisite: NML310Y or permission of the instructor
Exclusion: Native speakers of Arabic, NMC410Y
NML411H1 Readings in Arabic Newspapers (formerly NMC411H)
Prof. A.K. Ali
The primary goal of this course is to familiarize advanced students of Arabic with the language, styles, and discourse features of the Arabic Press. To achieve this goal, class time is devoted to directed readings of unabridged texts covering a wide range of topics. The texts are drawn from various well-known Arabic newspapers. Among others, these include al-Ahram, algomhuria, akhbar alyom (Egypt); al-Ra'y (Jordan); as-Safir, an-Nahar (Lebanon); al-Khalij (UAE); and al-Haya (UK).
Workload: This course assumes university level study skills. Students should expect to devote approximately 3 hours outside of class for every hour of classroom instruction.
Evaluation: The evaluation components consist of weekly assignments, term tests, one term paper, and classroom participation. The dates and relative weights of these components will be announced in the first week of classes. There is no Faculty Final Examination.
Texts:
1. Selected texts will be assigned weekly.
2. It is recommended that you have a good dictionary such as “Wehr, H. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic” available from U of T bookstore.
Prerequisite: NMC310Y/NML310Y or adequate reading knowledge of Arabic
Exclusion: Native speakers of Arabic/NMC411H
NML415H1 The Structure of Arabic Language
Prof. A.K. Ali
This course is an investigation of the formal properties of Modern Standard Arabic. Its primary goal is to provide the student with an in-depth knowledge of the grammar of the language. To this end, the course makes use of concepts and tools of analysis common to contemporary generative linquistics.
Prerequisite: NML310Y or permission of instructor
NML416Y1Y Survey of Modern Arabic Literature
This yearlong course aims to introduce students to the richness and breadth of modern Arabic literature starting with its evolution during the age of translation in the nineteenth and ending with modernism and postmodernism in the twentieth century. The course covers a wide range of selected texts, such as travel accounts, novellas, fiction, prose, poetry, and drama. Students will read works written by different Arabic authors, from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco, and the Sudan. Students will examine the literary qualities of the assigned readings, as well as the social and political contexts in which they were written. Attention will be paid to the process of socio-political and cultural change and to the effects produced by ideological transitions on theme, form, and language. Writers to be studied may include al-Tahtawi, al-Shidyaq, Khayr al-Din, Shawqi, al-Manfaluti, al-Muwailihi, Haykal, Gibran, Taha Husain, al-’Aqqad, al-Mazini, Nazik a-Mala’ika, Tawfiq al-Hakim, Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi, Ibrahim Naji, al-Sayyab, Khalil Hawi, Mahfouz, Idris, al-Bayyati, Mahmud Darwish, Emil Habibi, Ghada al-Samman, Hanan Shaykh, Sonalla Ibrahim, Fu'ad al-Takarli, Zakariyya Tamir, al-Tayyib Salih, and Muhammad Shukri.
Prerequisites: All assigned readings are in modern Arabic. Students who enroll in this class must have finished NML410Y, be at an advanced level, and/or obtain permission of the instructor. They must have sufficient fluency and reading knowledge of modern Arabic.