shoo-bii doo

As some of you know, the arabic that I am studying in Damascus (Modern Standard Arabic or fusHa, derived from classical, qur'anic arabic) is NOT the language that is spoken on the streets (ammiyya, a further derivation of MSA, which varies from country to country). FusHa is used for the news and formal speeches and publications. Most people can understand it, but NONE speak it in their everyday lives. Needless to say, trying to speak it to Syrians provokes some interesting looks.

The bigger problem though, is listening comprehension. Although Syrian ammiyya is supposedly close to fusHa, I couldn't understand a word when I arrived. Very frustrating, since I've been studying arabic for almost 2 years now.

I'm gradually picking up a bit of ammiyya. It's actually fun. Unsurprisingly, it's far more flexible and speedy than fusHa. All the most complicated parts of the grammer drop out, vowels in the middle of words get shortened, and case endings are eliminated entirely. The Syrian accent also has a pronounced lisp, so "th" becomes "s" or "z." And there are a lot more "i" and "ii" sounds.
Many words and expressions are also totally different. In fusHa, the word for "what" is maa? or maatha? In ammiyya, it's shoo? To greet someone in fusHa, you would say "kay fal halak?" In ammiyya, it's "shlonak?" Literally, "what color (lon) are you?"

And where do I weigh on the fusHa/ammiyya debate? As a student of international relations, I need to be able to read texts. And, I'm a grammar geek. So, fusHa gets my vote. But you can bet that I'm picking up plenty of ammiyya, too, so I can do things like eat, find a bathroom, buy souvenirs and, most importantly, talk to locals!