<p>Will Arabic be useful? This is in terms of future career usage, even after college. </p>
<p>It depends on your career options.</p>
<p>Business. Also, do you think the conflicts there will escalate to other regions?</p>
<p>Well Arabic is only going to be as useful as what you plan on doing in life. You say business, but what kind of business? It sounds like you are interested in doing business in Arabia, considering your concern for the violence in the region, so I’m going to say yes its going to be useful (and you should definitely go for it. You know you want to learn it and you’ll regret it if you don’t). With that said, Arabic is going to be a complicated issue just for the fact that, in my understanding, the dialects themselves are so distinct from each other than in some cases the differences for the everyday speaker can be as if they weren’t the same language at all (for example, a Spanish speaker trying to communicate with a Portuguese speaker). ¨Arabic¨ is a very loose standard to say the least. Nonetheless, the dialects are often pretty similar (aka no difficulties) in cluster regions. Someone from Lebanon will have no problem communicating with someone who is Syrian, though if the Lebanon was to speak to a Moroccan or an Algerian, there would be some confusion thanks to the infusion of French in their dialects.</p>
<p>To jump to the point of the above, I would overall definitely research a little bit about the language, culture, and dialects before diving in. I would bet to say the Egyptian dialect would be your most safe bet as its usually the most exported Arabic (through entertainment and media) and thus would probably allow you to be understood by almost everyone. If there’s a specific region you are interested in, then I would say learn that dialect. Stay away from the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) as its generally only used in formal and official settings (there aren’t actually any native speakers of MSA, making it a bit lifeless and artificial in comparison to the rich cultures and histories that have shaped the formations of the other dialects). Less educated Arabs have difficulty understanding it as well.</p>
<p>Here is some information of arabic that you might want to take a peak at (provided by AWL)</p>
<p>Arabic (overview) <a href=“Arabic (Overview) - MustGo.com”>http://aboutworldlanguages.com/arabic-overview</a></p>
<p>Arabic (Egyptian spoken) <a href=“Egyptian Spoken Arabic Language - Structure & Alphabet - MustGo”>http://aboutworldlanguages.com/arabic-egyptian</a></p>
<p>Arabic (Levantine) <a href=“Arabic (Levantine) Language - Structure, Writing & Alphabet - MustGo”>http://aboutworldlanguages.com/arabic-eastern</a></p>
<p>Arabic (Moroccan) <a href=“Arabic-Western Language - Structure, Writing & Alphabet - MustGo”>http://aboutworldlanguages.com/arabic-western</a></p>
<p>Arabic (Modern Standard) <a href=“Modern Standard Arabic Language - Writing & Alphabet - MustGo”>http://aboutworldlanguages.com/arabic-modern-standard</a></p>
<p>Hope this helps with your decision. I wish you luck if you do decide to learn it!</p>
<p>Thanks for the great advice! To be honest, I don’t know which dialect to learn. My Kuwaiti friend told me that Khaleeji, or the gulf dialect, will be most useful since business is clustered in UAE, Saudi, etc. However, I really want to go to Jordan and Lebanon. I also want to speak the most understood language, so should I choose to learn Egyptian Arabic? Or Modern Standard? I’ve heard Modern Standard is a good way to start. </p>
<p>Also, isn’t there a ton of violence in Egypt? How would you get a chance to use it?</p>
<p>While Modern Standard Arabic is not the spoken form that people use day-to-day, it is the standard used by the media throughout the Arab-speaking world. For that reason it is the lingua franca that is used by speakers of differing dialects. It is also what most, if not all, programs in the US will use as the basis of their instruction. Only after you have a solid background in MSA will you be able to move on to learn a colloquial dialect.</p>
<p>As for which dialect to learn after MSA, that really depends on which part of the Arab world you plan focus. Violence in the Middle East is not a recent phenomenon and, unfortunately, I see no end in sight.</p>
<p>Awesome! So media such as Al-Jazeera uses Modern Standard Arabic? That’s great to know. I think I’l sign up for the class at my local college. Thank you so much for your help!</p>
<p>Yes Al Jazeera uses MSA.</p>
<p>Arabic is a LOT more useful than just for business. For example, there is a big demand for Arabic speakers in national security, government work, state department and department of defense. One of my friends, who speaks Arabic well, got a GREAT job with government contractor and got quick security clearance. He also had multiple job offers at great salaries once he got a high level security clearance. Also, there are many organizations that translate Arabic articles and speeches for various US companies and agencies. An example of an organization what does this can be found at <a href=“http://www”>www</a>. memri.org</p>
<p>My parents just think that there’s no point in learning it if in 20 years a lot of the countries there will run out of oil or get involved in conflicts…</p>
<p>As a native Arabic speaker, I think that unless you’re sure it’s going to be useful to you, don’t bother; it’s really difficult to learn.</p>
<p>Arabic is extremely difficult to learn. If I were going to put that kind of effort into learning a new language for business I’d personally chose Mandarin.</p>
<p>Hmm…is it worth it though? Haha I don’t know…</p>
<p>I speak Arabic (Iraqi dialect). It is a very tough language to learn, I only speak it because I was born in Iraq. I think it is worth learning, however, Especially if you live in an area with high concentrations of people from the Middle East. I personally don’t think what dialect you choose to learn matters, because most likely you will be understood no matter what.
Good luck 
</p>
<p>Hummergal, do you think the Middle East will continue to be influential for the business world in the future?</p>
<p>And I love Middle Eastern restaurants, so that alone is almost worth learning</p>
<p>Yes, for sure. Always has and always will! </p>
<p>There is no objective measure for whether it is worth putting in the effort. You have to make it worth it. </p>
<p>Besides, what do you mean by “useful”? If for practical reasons - to work in UAE - sure. But learning a language can also be a great adventure, personally and intellectually. So, I think it’s worth it, and you may discover things you can’t even imagine. Go for it.</p>
<p>
And when was the last time you needed to read a menu in Arabic?</p>
<p>
In all the countries I’ve worked in, business was conducted in English. Even the local people had to use English. The locals had to negotiate, give presentations, read/write contracts & reports in English. To work internationally, employers are looking for professional expertise, not Arabic/English speakers-- they can find plenty of locals that can do that already. </p>
<p>Unless you are planning to be an undercover operative in some Arabic-speaking country where you’d have to blend in like local or be beheaded, I’d say learning Arabic is not worth it. You’d have to be fluent for it be used instead of English in a business setting. </p>
<p>
If you have native fluency, then doors will open for you. But it is difficult for a complete novice to achieve that level, as compared to more familiar European languages. </p>