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Questions Regarding Arabic

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93 messages over 12 pages: 1 2 35 6 7 ... 4 ... 11 12 Next >>
SmilingStraw
Diglot
Newbie
United States
Joined 4902 days ago

35 posts - 37 votes
Speaks: English*, German
Studies: Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 25 of 93
06 December 2011 at 1:41am | IP Logged 
I see. I guess I had it all wrong then.

So is MSA comparable to Latin and the Romance languages, then?
For example, learn Latin, and Spanish and Italian will be easier?

Also, how did you come around learning it? Self study or classes?


Thanks,


SmilingStraw
1 person has voted this message useful



Humdereel
Octoglot
Groupie
United States
Joined 4970 days ago

90 posts - 349 votes 
Speaks: English, Spanish*, Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Written), Turkish, Persian, Urdu
Studies: Russian

 
 Message 27 of 93
07 December 2011 at 2:13am | IP Logged 
The Latin and Romance analogy isn't perfect, since some of the Romance languages are much more different than some of the Arabic dialects, and the dialects are much much closer to MSA than Romance languages are to Latin. However, it's a similar idea, per say.

As for how I learned it, it would be a long story that might not be totally relevant to this thread, so I sent you a PM.
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stelingo
Hexaglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5824 days ago

722 posts - 1076 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian
Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin

 
 Message 28 of 93
07 December 2011 at 9:12pm | IP Logged 
Humdereel wrote:
The Latin and Romance analogy isn't perfect, since some of the Romance languages are much more different than some of the Arabic dialects, and the dialects are much much closer to MSA than Romance languages are to Latin. However, it's a similar idea, per say.

As for how I learned it, it would be a long story that might not be totally relevant to this thread, so I sent you a PM.


I am always interested in hearing how people have learnt one of the more difficult languages such as Arabic. Do share.
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KSAKSA
Groupie
Australia
Joined 5137 days ago

65 posts - 99 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Arabic (Gulf)

 
 Message 29 of 93
08 December 2011 at 10:32am | IP Logged 
^^ me too :)
1 person has voted this message useful



Humdereel
Octoglot
Groupie
United States
Joined 4970 days ago

90 posts - 349 votes 
Speaks: English, Spanish*, Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Written), Turkish, Persian, Urdu
Studies: Russian

 
 Message 30 of 93
08 December 2011 at 11:55pm | IP Logged 
LOL, alright, I'll write my long story soon, but not right now. I want to make sure I have enough to time to elaborate and right now I don't. :-D I actually haven't given all the story to SmilingStraw yet.
1 person has voted this message useful



kanewai
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
justpaste.it/kanewai
Joined 4881 days ago

1386 posts - 3054 votes 
Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese
Studies: Italian, Spanish

 
 Message 31 of 93
09 December 2011 at 8:06am | IP Logged 
I don't know if I like the Latin analogy. People on the street can't read Latin, even if
they already speak a Romance language. MSA, though, is still actively used in the papers,
literature, and tv.

Not that I have any better analogy, mind you.

As for how to learn, short of immersion: most people seem to make multiple attempts,
getting a bit further with each new approach.
1 person has voted this message useful



Humdereel
Octoglot
Groupie
United States
Joined 4970 days ago

90 posts - 349 votes 
Speaks: English, Spanish*, Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Written), Turkish, Persian, Urdu
Studies: Russian

 
 Message 32 of 93
10 December 2011 at 12:13am | IP Logged 
I figured I'd at least start my report on how I learned Arabic, though this is not all of it.


I started learning the language at age 16, however I was not very disciplined at the time. I didn't study more than four hours a week, mostly because I had so much to do that was school related and because it wasn't my only hobby. Now, how did I get interested? For 7th grade, I went to a school that offered Turkish (yes, Turkish), which kindled my interest in other languages. Once I got out of that school, I somehow stumbled upon Arabic. I liked the sound and once I started exploring the script, I was 100% certain that it was a language I wanted to learn (I'd get back to Turkish later, I thought). It took me six months to actually get any materials, so that's when I truly started.

I already had two Arabic-speaking friends (one Iraqi and one Egyptian) before I started learning the language, but my friends proved very supportive and were thrilled that I was interested in their language. I started with MSA, more particularly with learning the script (I used "The Arabic Alphabet"), and mastered that within a few weeks. From there, I started going onto grammar. After this, however, was when I was not as able to dedicate as much time to Arabic. So my first year-and-a-half of Arabic consisted mainly of learning the script, learning vocabulary, and basic conversation. Finally, a six months before turning 18, I got to delve into the grammar with a more composed approach. My first book was "An Introduction to Modern Literary Arabic", and luckily, this proved to be a highly effective book for me (other Arabic students usually end up going through several unsatisfying books before finding their best one). With this, I had gotten a basic grip on Arabic grammar, though I was certainly not finished yet.

To be continued...


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