<p>Hi, I just wanted to know if any one was taking Arabic as a foreign language. I am taking it next semester, and I was looking to read some experiences from others who may have taken Arabic already or plan to in the near future. I heard the language was pretty hard. I am also a Political Science major. Do you think taking Arabic language will stand out on my resume?</p>
<p>I think it could definitely help you, especially if you want a government job. I think Arabic and Chinese are like the new Russian.</p>
<p>I'm still debating whether or not to take it. We have a pretty good program here but arabic isnt exactly required by my major so I might not want to risk a GPA dip if it turns out to be hard.</p>
<p>I'm fluent in Arabic, so I have some tips for you. Just know that it's very difficult -- if not now, then it will be (especially once you get to classical texts and tenses). It's not like English in any respect -- get used to and be open to different grammar, different word order, different writing (right to left for letters, left to right for numbers), and a whole different way of thinking.</p>
<p>If you want to do it (and this applies to all foreign languages), then go through with it the whole way. Having two or three semesters of a foreign language isn't useful at all and actually, it may think grad schools think that you simply didn't want to put the time into it. Minor or double major in it to commit yourself.</p>
<p>I've got a friend who knew it before he knew English (he was born in the Middle East), and he said that he felt as if you learned it better if you were younger and not quite as accustomed to English. His English isn't bad though, even though he learned it later in life.</p>
<p>I would imagine writing the letters would be the toughest thing. If you've taken another foreign language you probably are aware of word order not being the same in other languages as it is in English, but the letters aren't like our characters (or the ones in French, Spanish, German, Italian, etc). Also, writing things right to left seems a bit tough to me, but I guess you'd get used to it (my friend had to adjust to English being left to right).</p>
<p>As someone who's know a wee bit, writing is probably the most difficult aspect at the beginning level. I have knowledge of cyrillic, the greek, and the hebrew alphabet, but I still get stuck on the arabic one now and then. It is a hard, hard language. Writing from right to left isn't so hard- you just have to get used to it.</p>
<p>I've taken two semesters of Arabic thus far. It wasn't terribly hard for me since a)I learned to read Arabic at a very young age and b)the class is not intensive at all. The Arabic program at my school (as with all critical languages) is barely a notch above teaching yourself with CDs and computer programs. The Arabic teacher (as if we would have an arabic department) is a sweet little old lady from Iraq who isn't really qualified to teach academically except that she's a fluent Arabic speaker and nobody else would take a paltry pay offered.</p>
<p>Uh, sorry, I went off on a tangent there. Basically, learning Arabic isn't something you can do casually. You have to learn the writing system really quickly and many people get discouraged when they can't read Arabic text with the speed with which they read Latin-script text. The human brain doesn't have a written language center like it has a natural spoken language center, so you're going to sound like you're dyslexic for a long time while your brain reprograms to get used to Arabic letters. Stick with it.</p>
<p>I plan on taking in next year as my 3rd foreign language. Though it will be difficult learning the different alphabet, I'm not too worried. I have a knack for languages and I'm really only taking it due to my interest in the linguistic development of Spanish. I don't think I want to be fluent in it because I want to work for the CIA, but I do not in any means want to work in the Middle East.</p>
<p>How easy is Arabic for someone who knows Farsi?</p>