<p>Well, time has come to fufill my foreign language requirements and I'm tired of having taken Spanish for the past six years (since middle school). I also want something more rare and "offbeat," so I'm not really interested in French or German or Italian which a lot of people I know take.</p>
<p>So I'm thinking... Arabic? I know it will be difficult, especially since the writing system is so different from what a Westerner is used to, but I think its really interesting and I wouldn't mind learning a completely different language.</p>
<p>So, is anyone taking Arabic courses? Do you know anyone doing it? Do you find it fun, as well as challenging?</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice in advance. I was thinking if I should choose any other language besides Arabic, it would be Chinese or Korean. I really want to learn a language that's really "different" from what most other American students learn. So if you're taking Mandarin or Korean courses, same goes: do you like it? Is it really difficult?</p>
<p>I'm taking first-year Mandarin right now, and it is definitely very difficult - over two hours per night of work. On the other hand, I love the class and would say that it's much more interesting than learning a Western language because it's so different. If, however, taking something different from most other American students is important to you, don't take Mandarin - it's definitely one of the most studied languages at my university - around 110 people are taking introductory classes, at a school where the class size is around 1300. Arabic is also very popular, though Korean would definitely be more unusual.</p>
<p>My son is in his third year of Arabic (and fourth year of Hebrew) and loves the language. He said it's very pretty and has an inherent logic to it that he finds relatively easy.</p>
<p>This is copied and pasted from a previous post I made. Take it for what it's worth:
[quote]
Learning Arabic is EXTREMELY difficult if you have not grown up learning it. My father lived in Saudi Arabia for many years as an adult, worked in Arabic and said he barely learned any of it. Please note that my dad speaks five languages fluently, so he is good with languages.</p>
<p>I myself studied Arabic for about eleven years and all I can do is read it. I went to Sunday school and had private tutors. I wasn't very interested in learning, but still.</p>
<p>I think one of the problems with learning Arabic is there are very few good teachers. Most of the teachers I had used very simple teaching methods that were pretty much useless. You can take classes at your local CC or something, but I don't think it'll help too much.
<p>I used to take Arabic classes on the weekends when I was younger. (my dad is an international business person) You have to be very patient and have to be used to the pronounciation. But to me, Arabic is a very easy language. Once you learn ther alphabet, vowels, and rules, it's pretty straight forward. Things in Arabic are kinda weird though. Like other languages, you have to rephrase the sent like instead of " the pretty girl lost her shoes" you will translate it like "the girl WHO WAS PRETTY lost her shoes". Hope I helped!</p>
<p>Though I can speak and read Arabic pretty well, I still struggle very much to read the Quran. The ability to read such caligraphy and advanced diction makes reading the Quran a doozy!</p>
<p>You should bear in mind that standard Arabic is extremely difficult. There is a set of rules, much like mathematical axioms, known as "i'rab" that you have to adhere to; it is a fact that the language spoken in the streets of Arabic countries is a (sometimes severely) beaten down version of the standard Arabic. The language itself may not be that difficult to learn - in the sense that you can read/write it, and somewhat communicate using it - but mastering it is completely far from easy.</p>
<p>With that said, I highly recommend you learn Arabic. The amount of brilliant Arabic literature should be insentive enough; that and Arabian/Islamic calligraphy.</p>
<p>ana andros arabiyya [I study arabic]. (I'm in the first semester). watashi ha nihongo mo benkyou shi.teimasu [I also study Japanse]. (I'm in the third semester now, but it's almost all review for me after taking so much of it in HS). So far, Arabic isn't that bad. The alphabet isn't that hard; it's different but nothing like the kanji you would have to learn with Chinese/Japanese/possibly Korean (though probably not). Japanese grammar is easier, but Arabic is more like Englih, judging from experience thus far. With Asian languages, the word order, etc. is radically different.</p>
<p>Arabic is truly a difficult language to master. The pronounciation, text and what not are alot more intricate and different than that of English or other foreign languages that people often learn. But if your upto it then why not?</p>
<p>Learning Arabic will probably give you a big step-up from most other people in the world, since the Middle East is such an important and misunderstood region.</p>
<p>As for Korean, there's not much use to it but it's definitely easier than either Japanese or Chinese. It WOULD make you "weird" in the best sense possible.</p>
<p>I disagree in regard to Japanese grammar. Wait until you start learning tenses like 受動態 (passive) and 使役動詞 (causative). Or my favorite, the passive causative.</p>
<p>Then, do all of them in 敬語 (keigo/polite) or 尊敬語 (sonkeigo/humble) and you have a real mess on your hands.</p>
<p>Oh, did I mention that there are entirely different conjugations used in literary Japanese? And that these rules don't always hold depending on the dialect?</p>
<p>Ugh...Japanese...:rolleyes: Arabic HAS to be easier. :p</p>
<p>nbachris,</p>
<p>Actually, Korean is considered a "target language" for many government agencies.</p>
<p>UCLAri,
I KNOW causative and passive (and the combined) and some son/kenjyougo (admittedly, the latter is not my strong point, but really whose is it?). I know all the "basic", grammar (all the conjugations, etc). I can read with a dictionary Japanese poetry/magazine articles/ short stories (and write essays on them) Japanese has its tricky points, yes, but I think its difficulty is way overestimated by the general public.</p>
<p>Arabic is very hard to learn. You can spend all four years in college studying it, and still only have a basic grasp of the language. Why don't you try French if you're so tired of Spanish?</p>
<p>Im going for learning Arabic as well because im pretty much very close to becoming fluent in Spanish and I defintley want to BE in the Middle East and be able to talk to the people. By the way, the pay is great if you work for the Government and are an Arabic speaker....only 20% of the jobs in the gvt that need Arabic speakers are filled. Anyways, i think if you put your mind to it, you'll succeed...i defintley will put my mind to it.</p>
<p>I've got a friend from Saudi Arabia, Arabic is his native tongue (though he speaks fluent English as well). He said that one of the tough things about English is that he pretty much had to forget all about Arabic. Taking this into consideration, just reverse that thought. Think of yourself learning a whole new language. (Consider English as a big reference book, if you will--for translation and knowledge/vocab purposes but not as something to use while doing your Arabic).</p>
<p>If that wasn't the clearest post, I apologize. But I think I got my point across.</p>