<p>I just wanted to hear other people's opinion on the usefulness of Arabic.</p>
<p>I am studying Finance & Entrepreneurship. I have a strong desire to learn Arabic. But I'm afraid that I will forget it from the lack of use in the future and that it will become a waste of time. </p>
<p>I am most interested in learning an Egyptian Dialect and Classical Arabic. </p>
<p>I do like the sounds and rhythmn of the music and could be interested in Egyptian media. </p>
<p>If I were not to learn Arabic I would learn French. </p>
<p>I would especially like to hear from people who have majored or are majoring in Arabic now.</p>
<p>Well, French is definitely a useful language when dealing with foreign countries (My French teacher - okay, so she's biased - is always reminding us that it's the "language of diplomacy". Obviously we aren't talking diplomacy right now, but it is a very widely used language in other, especially African and European, countries.</p>
<p>As for Arabic (which I am studying next year in HS) honestly I doubt there's ever been a more useful time for it to be known. I guess I don't know whether you're an American, but assuming you are, I can tell you that many of the biggest organizations - especially government related - are desperate for Arabic speakers. Obviously, most of this is security/diplomacy-related, but virtually every avenue needs more. </p>
<p>Right now, there's an enormous demand for eastern styles: food, fashion, music, whatever. Going into Egyptian media would be a very good move. I also think your choices of dialect are sound: Egyptian is probably the most well-understood dialect out there, and classical, being the dialect of the Koran, is also widely understood (although it would sound a bit awkward to their ears, something akin to a foreigner speaking King Jame's English to us).</p>
<p>I'm not particularly interested into going into the governement sector. I guess what I'm worried about is never being able to use it because there seems to be limited jobs dealing with business and Arabic and the rarity of finding someone that speaks arabic and especially the one I plan to study. thanks for your response.</p>
<p>Yeah, that makes sense...but the nice thing about there being such a rarity is that if you really love it and get solid in your abilities, everyone who <strong>does</strong> want/need Arabic speakers will be desperate for you. I agree that if you don't go into something directly Arabic-related, you may lose your ability quickly, but that doesn't have to happen if you don't want it to.</p>