When something is called just "Arabic" is it MSA?

[ChronoC]

Lots of times I see Arabic mentioned there isn't a specific version, and I was wondering if the language is just "Arabic" which version should I assume it is?

[eskandar]

The short answer is "often, but not always." Usually that's a safe bet, but sometimes you just can't assume anything. Most of the language learning books and programs out there that teach "Arabic" (without specifying dialect) teach MSA, but the Michel Thomas Method (for example) has an "Arabic" module that teaches the Egyptian colloquial dialect. And an Arab from any country might say that s/he speaks "Arabic" and really mean the colloquial dialect of his or her home country, not necessarily MSA.

[Meera]

Yeah I agree with what Eskander said. It depends on the context though, for example if you heard an Egyptian dialect song and asked an Arabic speaker what language it is they might say Arabic without saying which dialect. But for the most part an course or book that says Arabic it's useully MSA, however like Eskander said it depends and you should double check.