Why we cover specific dialects
Most "Arabic" books on the market collapse the entire Arabic-speaking world into one language: Modern Standard Arabic. We don't. Each Kipiku Arabic book is in a specific spoken dialect, Lebanese, Syrian, or Iraqi, because those are what families actually speak at home.
The "Arabic" trap
When you search for "Arabic books for kids" on Amazon, you get one category: Arabic. But there is no spoken language called "Arabic" in the same way there's a spoken language called "Spanish" or "German." Spoken Arabic varies dramatically by region:
- Levantine, Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian
- Mesopotamian, Iraqi (with unique sounds چ and گ)
- Egyptian, the most widely understood spoken dialect
- Maghrebi, Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Libyan (heavily French/Berber-influenced)
- Gulf, Saudi, Emirati, Qatari, Bahraini, Kuwaiti
- Sudanese, Yemeni, and many more
A Lebanese person and a Moroccan person speaking their natural dialects often can't fully understand each other. They switch to Modern Standard Arabic (Fusha) or English to communicate.
Modern Standard Arabic is what's taught in schools, used in news media, and what most "Arabic" children's books are written in. But no Arabic family actually speaks Fusha at home. It's closer to a written language than a spoken one. Teaching it to a 2-year-old is like teaching a French toddler Latin: technically related, but not what they need to talk to grandma.
The dialects we cover
Lebanese Arabic
لبناني
Libanesisch-Arabisch
Spoken in Lebanon and by the Lebanese diaspora worldwide. Features French and English loanwords (gato for cake, frez for strawberry, kamyon for truck). Glottal stop (2) replaces the qaf in most words.
See the Lebanese Arabic book →Syrian Arabic
عربي
Syrisch-Arabisch
Spoken in Syria. Very close to Lebanese (both are Levantine / Shami) but with distinct vocabulary and accent. Preserves the qaf sound in many words. Different food and household vocabulary.
See the Syrian Arabic book →Iraqi Arabic
عربي
Irakisch-Arabisch
Spoken in Iraq. Mesopotamian dialect with unique sounds: چ (ch) where other dialects use k, and گ (g) where other dialects have qaf. Different vocabulary again, bazzune for cat (vs Lebanese bsayneh), chalab for dog.
See the Iraqi Arabic book →Other languages we cover
What we don't cover yet
We're starting with the diaspora language pairs that are most underserved by major publishers and most-needed by communities in Germany, the US, the UK, and Poland. We don't yet have:
- Egyptian Arabic
- Moroccan Arabic (Darija)
- Gulf Arabic
- Persian / Farsi
- Tagalog
- Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Punjabi
- Vietnamese
Each of these is on our roadmap. If your language pair isn't here yet and you'd like it to be, email us, your interest helps us prioritize.