There are a lot of languages, and a lot of dialects. These dialects vary from each city, each farm, and each country. In Iraq, there are different accents and dialects depending on which part of the city you are from. This separation of language is a problem. Words tend to get lost in translation. On top of that, when people are incapable of understanding each other, both the speaker and the listener are left confused.
There is a theory that dialects had started as a joke. People used dialects to mock each other for an incorrect saying. The mockery resulted to other people imitating it. In the end, people from that region would adopt that dialect as their own. Another theory is that "dialect mixing [occurred] in the camps of the conquerors, the influence of the languages and dialects of the conquered, and the formation of regional vernaculars." (Bishop) This is stating that certain dialects evolved as certain groups conquered certain regions. “Most people in Arabic speaking countries, do not speak Modern Standard Arabic. They only speak dialects. Even Arabic speakers themselves do not use the MSA when traveling to other countries.” (Benny Lewis)
This poses as an issue when understanding words from different dialects. For example, Aywah (ay-wa) in Cairo, Egypt it would mean "yes," but if said in Alexandria, Egypt, it would mean "what." This would leave a major misunderstanding if someone visited Cairo and was attempting to buy an item in the market. If the tourist is attempting to say “Yes, I would like to buy it;” and the proper dialect isn't used; it might come out as “What, I would like to buy it.” This can leave a lot of confusion between the buyer who wants the items, and the seller who might feel offended that somebody ...
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...iversal idea is not used to remedy the situation, especially if the resources used do not fully aid in the proper understanding and translation of key phrases and ideas. Dialects are a key problem when communicating between people within 100 miles of each other. Remedy this small language issue, and there's a high chance of resolving the country's other underlying issues.
Works Cited
Bishop, Brian "A History of the Arabic Language" Brigham Young University. April 24, 1998. http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/ling450ch/reports/arabic.html Lewis, Benny "Learn Modern Standard Arabic or dialect first? I say dialect and here’s why"
April 24 2013. http://www.fluentin3months.com/msa-or-dialect/
Maamouri. "A language with too many armies and navies?" The Economist. Johnson language. Jun 21st 2013. April 24, 2013. http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/06/arabic
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