SAVE YOUR MONEY!, January 1, 2003

This work has its strengths. First, it comes with 3 audio CDs; and in learning to pronounce correctly at least some of the Arabic letters that have no equivalent in our alphabet, audio demonstration is indispensable. (Written description will not do.) Second, no one can say that this work is not basic enough. It is about as basic as basic can be; and this will surely make it seem attractive to anyone intending self-instruction and having no prior education in Arabic.

Why, then, am I not inclined to recommend this work enthusiastically? Put bluntly, ALIF BAA IS A POOR VALUE FOR ANYONE INTENDING TO UNDERTAKE A COMPLETE SELF-DIRECTED STUDY OF ARABIC. Unless you buy Alif Baa directly from the publisher, the book does NOT come with an answer-key. Purchasing the key separately will require you either to deal with used-book sellers or to deal directly with the publisher. The former course may require you to pay nearly half the price of Alif Baa just for the 12-page key. The latter course will involve either paying a small price for the key (plus shipping, I imagine) or else paying more than the price of Alif Baa in order to obtain the associated videotape, with which comes a free answer-key. That's right: part of each lesson in Alif Baa involves watching items on the video, which must be purchased separately. You could buy the cheap key and avoid the video and still learn the Arabic alphabet; but given how much you've already paid for Alif Baa, isn't it distressing to learn after you've already bought the book that you must then either pay a lot more or else restrict the use to which you put it?

Moreover, you can buy THE ARABIC ALPHABET: HOW TO READ AND WRITE IT (by Awde and Samano) for about a quarter of the cost of Alif Baa. Its lower cost is due largely, no doubt, to its lack of any audio supplement. In spite of this notable deficiency, however, this less expensive book is quite instructive; and its deficiency will ultimately be remedied by the fact that you'll need to supplement whatever grammar / vocabulary text you eventually select with some audio material. With these, you can then hone your pronunciation-skills as you would have done by using Alif Baa. (And if you intend later to study Qur'aanic Arabic, then you'll find this little book superior to Alif Baa, since it treats two features of Qur'aanic notation that Alif Baa completely ignores -- namely the use of letter-fusions known as "ligatures," and the representation of long vowel sounds by joint use of short and long vowel symbols.)

Therefore, if your plan is to teach yourself Arabic (i.e., to carry out a complete course of self-directed study), and you don't want to waste money, then don't get taken in by Alif Baa. There's a less expensive, but no less effective, way to go.

A quality product with excellent CD to support the lessons., November 22, 2001

While only a beginner attempting to learn the basics of the writing system in a self-taught mode, I am extremely pleased with the quality of this material. The CD is surprisingly crisp and clear, and the text is well-organized and written in a very motivational style.

As a nonspeaker learning Arabic for the first time, I found this book VERY easy to follow. This includes 3 CDs to listen to sounds and vocab words. Alif Baa is the first book in a 4 book series, followed by Al-Kitaab Part I, Part II, and Part III. I am taking an Arabic course for the ARMY and this is the book we started off with. There are 10 units all together, with about 5 letters in each unit to learn, along with a cultural video at the end of each unit. In each unit there is space to practice writing your new letters and words containing letters that you already have learned, thus building your vocabulary at the same time. I would have to guess that this book should take the average person approximately 1 month to complete (Completing lessons each day of about 1 hour each day). By the end of the last unit, you will be reading real commercial advertisements and practicing word searches.

Excellent!, October 27, 2004

I've been studying Arabic for about a year now (with a couple months' break in the middle) and have been through several other books that introduce the Arabic alphabet. Based on the recommendations of several other reviewers, I ordered the book and the answer key from Georgetown Press. I got the newest version, which is in DVD format. I am very impressed. In the Introduction section, not only do they pronounce all the sounds of the letters, they have a video image of someone pronouncing them. This is really helpful, as not only do you hear the difference, you can also see how the shape of the mouth and position of the tongue changes for the different sounds.

I'm already pretty comfortable with the alphabet, having used Mace's book as well as some other sources, but I've already learned several new things working through the first chapter of this book. They also have video footage of someone writing the letters, so you can see how they are formed.

While I will eventually have to go to school somewhere or do a study abroad to get more experience speaking Arabic in real-life settings, I find Alif Baa a great start for self-directed study. I strongly urge people to buy the DVD edition of this book and the answer key as well--from Georgetown press if not available here.

Best Arabic study book I have come by., October 22, 2004

We use this book at the University of Central Florida for Arabic courses. This is by far one of the easiests methods to learn how to read, write, and pronounce arabic letters. The vocab is very minimal this book along with "Your first 100 words in Arabic" will give you a great start. After this you can purchase a dictionary and begin learning words on your own.

Great resource, but there is a catch...., April 28, 2004

This is probally the best book to start learning the arabic alphabet. For one it comes with 3 CD's that will let you hear how the letters sound. And there is plenty of exercises and drills to help you.

But like another reviewer said you don't get an answer key with it. And there are some parts in the book that direct you to the DVD/VHS. Not that you really need the DVD, its nice to have. But you really need the answer key if you are going to do anything. You can get the answer key and DVD from Georgetown Press. I got the whole set from there.