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Arabic chicken-and-egg problem. | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| lackinglatin Triglot Groupie United States randomwritingsetc.blRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5979 days ago 62 posts - 146 votes  Speaks: English*, Esperanto, Modern Hebrew Studies: Spanish | Message 9 of 13 09 March 2010 at 11:11pm | IP Logged |
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I can assure you that learning an African style Arabic will mess you up and take quite a bit of undoing if you go to a country with a different pronunciation. I'd say it's not worth it. I haven't used the FSI for Arabic pronunciation, but that sounds perfect. Definitely go for something along those lines.
I also absolutely agree about the vowel markers. They aren't baby steps, they're just useful in the beginning. It's the same way with Hebrew--I don't need them anymore, but absolutely still use them if a word isn't obvious in its pronunciation from its 'pattern', shape. After a while, you just start to feel it. It shouldn't hurt you, really, though if you're afraid of it being a crutch, just read a sentence with the vowels, and them read the same sentence written without. Your brain will figure it out. I learned vowels in Hebrew on accident. I knew how a lot of it sounded spoken, and the idea of how they were written without vowels. Then I started reading a self-teach book that had dialogues written with vowels, and since I already knew the vowels, they just matched. It's not so hard, it just takes some time to adjust to. Some of the vowels are written, and possible ones in between aren't so vast, and get familiar quickly. Good luck! :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| spanishlearner Groupie France Joined 5453 days ago 51 posts - 81 votes Speaks: Spanish* | Message 10 of 13 09 March 2010 at 11:20pm | IP Logged |
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Don't get too stressed. How often must you look up English word pronunciation in a dictionary? Through exposure and constant contact with the language you'll eventually develop the same familiarity with Arabic. Just keep reading, writing and listening without constantly worrying about when you'll reach the top of the mountain.
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| Pyx Diglot Senior Member China Joined 5734 days ago 670 posts - 892 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 11 of 13 09 March 2010 at 11:48pm | IP Logged |
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Just "Nose, to the grindstone, boy"! ;) The beginning is the hardest part - it took me over a year of studying Mandarin to finally start seeing some light. You just need to power through that phase. Just be grateful, that Arabic has an alphabet at all :)
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| staf250 Pentaglot Senior Member Belgium emmerick.be Joined 5696 days ago 352 posts - 414 votes Speaks: French, Dutch*, Italian, English, German Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 12 of 13 11 March 2010 at 11:43am | IP Logged |
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I've a kind of answer on my thread "Arabic: a new beginning", I began on the same moment as you were doing.
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| global_gizzy Senior Member United States maxcollege.blogspot. Joined 5702 days ago 275 posts - 310 votes Studies: Spanish | Message 13 of 13 11 March 2010 at 7:36pm | IP Logged |
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I'm going to recommend that you give the Gateway to Arabic series a try. They are meant for school children between grades 3 and up.
They are thin but very good books. They teach MSA and handwriting from the first page. Look around online and you can get all 9 plus a CD or 2 for about 120. They are mostly secular, but there is a bit of Islamic/religious vocabulary sprinkled throughout. They were the most effective books I used during my early youth and I'm planning to pick back up my Arabic using the series. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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