Very Simple Arabic
by Peters, James
This is a language book for those English speakers who want to get by in the Arabic-speaking world with the minimum of effort. (Or those proud perfectionists who insist on learning only a minimum amount of any language which they do not feel they have time to learn properly.) From Morocco to the Gulf, from Beirut to Aden, Arabic is the language of the common people. It is the sheerest folly (and dangerous arrogance) to be unable to ask your way, to say sorry, to buy your food or your petrol, to summom help, to count to ten or a hundred, to greet a friend or bid him goodbye. Or, indeed, to conduct yourself in company without causing confusion and offence. Very Simple Arabic (incorporating Simple Etiquette in Arabia) arms – or protects – the English-speaking visitor with the essential minimum. Anything less than this book instructs, and he is in danger of being lost forever.