Arabic dialects: start with your audience

Conversation differs from news and books. People may use formal Arabic, a dialect or both in one message. Start with the text your application will actually receive.

Collect representative examples

Use examples that represent the task and domain, with permission to use them. Avoid unnecessary personal information. Include short and long messages, spelling variation and mixed Arabic and English.

Review meaning in context

A phrase can change meaning with its context and dialect. Ask reviewers familiar with the audience to identify expected results. Record disagreements to clarify the task's limits.

Compare on a fixed sample

Keep a separate test set. Review names, negation, irony and local expressions. Quality on formal Arabic does not establish quality on every dialect.

Improve incrementally

Document the model version, normalization and data sources. Let users correct results and review error examples before changing settings. Preserve original text for display.