🤷 Should I Learn Standard Arabic FIRST before Learning Algerian Arabic?

I'm sure you have asked this question many times if you are a non-Arabic speaker and you want to start learning Algerian Arabic.

Because your goal here is very specific; you want to learn the Arabic spoken in Algeria, and not any other Arabic. I assume also you don’t have academic intentions from learning Algerian Arabic; it’s mainly for communicative reasons. Then, the answer to this question is definitely a NO.

Yes, we cannot ignore the fact that if you learn Standard Arabic, it will help you a lot in learning Algerian Arabic, because it’s the foundation of all Arabic dialects. However, it is a long and a hard journey to take in order to speak Algerian Arabic. Mainly because Standard Arabic has much more detailed grammar rules than dialects. Also, even though you find many similar words between Standard Arabic and Algerian Arabic, there are many other words which are totally different.

From my experience, I think that the only thing that is obligatory for you to learn as a non-Arabic student is the alphabet pronunciation of Standard Arabic and then you are ready to learn Algerian Arabic.

I hope I answered your question and now you are ready to start learning Algerian Arabic confidently.

Thank you for reading!