Two New York University Abu Dhabi professors have published a 352-page workbook designed to teach students the ropes of the Emirati dialect.
"Ramsah," which means "talk" in Emirati Arabic, is the brainchild of Nasser Isleem, a senior Arabic language instructor, and Ayesha Al Hashemi, a language immersion specialist.
Arabic is the sixth most spoken language in the world, with more than 200 million native speakers and a variety of local dialects.
"Ramsah" aims to equip teachers and students with a thorough guide through the Emirati dialect, Isleem told The National .
“Ramsah is therefore designed to provide learners with the tools they need to learn the Emirati dialect used in the UAE and the surrounding region,” he told the UAE daily. The textbook will also be accompanied by an audio guide for teachers and students.
For Hashemi, she hoped the book will not only be adopted by interested students, but that visiters and non-Arab speaking residents would also take Ramsah as "a resource to use in their language and cultural learning experiences, be it in an academic setting, as part of their cultural or professional development, or individually."
The textbook, printed by Kuttab Publishing House, focuses on the vocabulary, structure, grammar, pronunciation, and more mundane uses of the dialect. Isleem also told The National that Ramsah provided a unique "rich cultural and linguistic" approach that would facilitate the learning process of Emirati Arabic "as a living language for everyday use."