(no subject)

[violachic]

Crikey.


I'm making flashcards for my Arabic. When you have to make a flashcard for the masculine, feminine AND plural for everything.... that's a lotta flashcards. And it goes beyond- way beyond- the masculine, feminine, and plural you'd get in your average Romance language, too. Its incredible.



A friend once told me that her Arabic professor claims that it takes about thirteen times as long to learn Arabic as it does r to learn most Western languages. So if I spent six years taking French and didn't get fluent (semi-fluent, I guess I am), that means I will be speaking fluent Arabic... *does math* *fails* *reaches for calculator*... about the time I die. If I live that long.




My brain is full. Ack.

Comments

[subdermalglow.livejournal.com]

Yes, but did you have cute Frenchmen plying you with tasty French cuisine to learn with???

I thought not. A few more trips to Jerusalem (name-dropper!) and you'll be golden. Goldener.

[dragonbane.livejournal.com]

Don't they have palm-pilots for such things these days?

Learning the Arabic Language

[(Anonymous)]

Arabic is no harder to learn than other languages. It's "how" you learn it and in what sequence that counts. Sitting in front of flash cards won't do it for you. Listening and speaking should be first and foremost as should the memorisation of the alphabet before even looking at script.

Stop thinking of fluency. You're not striving for perfection (or shouldn't be). Just aim to be understood; this is the key to good communication. You're not out to write a dissertation in Arabic, are you? Well then, put it into perspective ;) Your learning should reflect this.

Ideally, you should be speaking first. Colloquial Arabic is different to that of its written counterpart (usually Modern Standard, unless you are learning the scriptures or other ancient text) and while the two do support each other, it's a good idea to develop a proficiency in both. Otherwise it gets confusing :)

Good luck but stay away from friends who tell you their professors said this, that and the other. Focus on your own goals instead.

Conversational Arabic can be learnt in less than a year.

[dl76.livejournal.com]

I want to talk to you sometime.

ok?