Learning Palestinian Arabic: The Excellence Center in Hebron, Palestine offers its international teaching volunteers, interns, and students the opportunity to learn Palestinian Arabic.
Palestinian Arabic is the Arabic dialect spoken by most Palestinians in Palestine, Israel, and in the Palestinian diaspora populations. When traveling in Palestine, learning the spoken dialect can help internationals to communicate and engage more easily in Palestinian daily life.
Modern Standard Arabic, (MSA) ,( العربية الفصحى) is the standardized version of literary Arabic, it is used in academia, news, business, law, and media but this is a formal language which is not generally spoken in Palestine.
The Palestinian dialect (اللهجة الفلسطينية) is the everyday spoken language and will be understood by the Palestinian people. Some of the words in Modern Standard Arabic are not really used in day-to-day conversation and some people may not understand the more formal language.
| Native speakers | 13 Million Palestinians |
| Language family | Afro-Asiatic > Semitic |
| Dialects | Fellahi; Madani |
| Writing system | Arabic alphabet |
| Dialect varieties | Intelligible varieties of Levantine Arabic |
However, the Palestinian dialect is one of the closest dialects to Modern Standard Arabic. If you have studied this subject or learnt some basic phrases in MSA you will find that it is relatively simple to pick up the Palestinian dialect and also, your time studying will not have been wasted. In fact, learning the Palestinian dialect is a great way to build upon your knowledge and expand your language skills.
As a bonus Palestinian Arabic is one of the only Arabic dialects that is understood by most Arabic speakers. Thus, learning Palestinian Arabic can also benefit internationals when travelling to other countries in the Middle East.
Whether being a student, volunteer or intern at the Excellence Center, the Center, Hebron and Palestine offer internationals many exciting opportunities to learn and enhance their Palestinian Arabic all year round.
Levantine and Palestinian Arabic
Palestinian Arabic is a dialect continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of Levantine Arabic spoken by most Palestinians in Palestine, Israel, and the Palestinian diaspora populations.
Further dialects can be distinguished within Palestine, such as spoken in the northern West Bank, that spoken by Palestinians in the Hebron area, which is similar to Arabic spoken by descendants of Palestinian refugees living in Jordan and south-western Syria.
Study Palestinian Arabic at the Excellence Center
At the Excellence Center international volunteers and interns receive three (3) hours of Palestinian Arabic lessons per week, while international students arrange lessons for a fee.
In addition to the Arabic lessons, the Excellence Center’s environment also provides a great opportunity for internationals to learn and enhance their Palestinian Arabic speaking skills. Every morning Excellence Center staff and internationals enjoy breakfast together and they communicate with one another in both Arabic and English. This is an excellent way to develop your language skills and to improve your spoken Arabic in a relaxed, informal setting. We hope that our visitors will enjoy learning Arabic here and we want it to be a fun experience. We relish teaching people and it is a pleasure to see students, volunteers and interns becoming increasingly confident in their ability to express themselves in Arabic.
Jim Chandler from the USA, who was a volunteer in the Palestine Summer program, commented: “Beyond the Arabic class itself, the staff encouraged me to speak and respond to Arabic throughout the everyday activities at the Center. This has been a very good learning experience and my knowledge and understanding of Arabic have grown even though I have only been here for a very short time.”
Learn Arabic by living with a Palestinian host family
The Excellence Center offers its students, volunteers and interns the opportunity to live with a Palestinian host family. By living with a host family, internationals are surrounded by language-speaking opportunities in Palestinian Arabic.
Daily life with a host family offers many avenues for interaction and engagement in Palestinian daily life and language, including social and cultural activities within the city of Hebron. Your host family will treat you as a member of their family and you will be invited to any events and gatherings which are taking place during your stay. This really helps you to immerse yourself in the fabric of life in Palestine, allowing you an inside view, the ability to see and experience things that a tourist probably would not encounter.
Lauren Howes, an Arabic student from the UK commented: “I stayed with a wonderful host family during my time in Hebron. I became part of the family, attending weddings, birthday parties, and experiencing everyday life here in Palestine. This allowed me to really understand the Palestinian culture and it really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I will miss them a lot when I leave!”.
Practice your Palestinian Arabic with students in Hebron
In addition, the Excellence Center’s Palestinian students offer internationals many opportunities to develop their Arabic speaking skills. Palestinian students love to meet and interact with internationals, who are often invited to their family homes.
For example, Patrick Magee from Ireland, who was a volunteer in the Summer program, informed us that almost every week he was invited to eat with a Palestinian family in Hebron or to visit a local village while spending the night there in the Palestinian student’s family home. He also shared that he often travelled to various villages, cafes, and homes to socialize with local Palestinians.
Enhance your Arabic by living in Hebron
Palestinian Arabic speaking skills are greatly enhanced by living in Hebron and participating in daily activities, such as driving in a taxi, going to the supermarket, visiting shops and cafes. Local Palestinian residents are always eager to engage in small talk with internationals regardless of their Arabic skills.
Cat from London in the UK, and who studied Palestinian Arabic in Hebron, stated: “During my stay here I was able to immerse myself in the local culture and learn a lot about life in Palestine which was as important to me as the academic side. The people of Hebron are overwhelmingly generous, and friendly, making my stay here a wonderful experience.”
Learn Palestinian Arabic by traveling in Palestine
It is easy for international visitors to travel from Hebron to other parts of Palestine and visit different cities and various historical, cultural, and natural sights. Travelling in Palestine also offers many opportunities for internationals to interact with locals and practice their Palestinian Arabic. Some of our guests arrive in Palestine with no prior knowledge of the Arabic language but they soon pick up common words and phrases.
You will be surprised by how quickly you become able to communicate with the people you meet and it is very satisfying when you discover that you can put your newly learned words into everyday use such as when ordering a coffee, asking for directions or simply exchanging greetings with the people you meet. Do not be afraid or shy about using your new language skills, Palestinians generally appreciate it when internationals make the effort to learn Palestinian Arabic and will not mind if you don’t get everything quite correct! If they are able to help you, they will do so.
Further, the Excellence Center organizes trips to many different historical and cultural sites, factories, governmental (and non-governmental) institutions, and refugee camps. These experiences provide international students, volunteers and interns to further develop their Palestinian Arabic speaking skills.
Summary
Whether you are a beginner or a more advanced student of Arabic, the Excellence Center in Hebron offers internationals many opportunities to learn and enhance their Palestinian Arabic. Internationals may learn Palestinian Arabic during Arabic lessons at the Excellence Center, by living with a Palestinian host family, by interacting with Palestinian students and locals, and/or by travelling around in beautiful Palestine.
Visit our website to learn more about how to book a stay as a student, volunteer, or intern at the Excellence Center. If you also wish to study elsewhere in Palestine, we can sometimes recommend other suitable places in which to further your studies. We at the Excellence Center are always happy to answer any questions and provide any information that you require. Many of our previous students, volunteers, and interns are also willing to share their experiences about their time with us. We look forward to welcoming you! We hope you enjoyed reading the Learning Palestinian Arabic article.
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