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ALEF: Strikingstar tackles اللغة العربية

 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log Post Reply
102 messages over 13 pages: 13 4 5 6 7 ... 2 ... 12 13 Next >>
Préposition
Diglot
Senior Member
France
aspectualpairs.wordp
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186 posts - 283 votes 
Speaks: French*, EnglishC1
Studies: Russian, Arabic (Written), Swedish, Arabic (Levantine)

 
 Message 9 of 102
08 January 2011 at 2:47am | IP Logged 
strikingstar wrote:
I started out learning Arabic with Rosetta Stone (don't do it, maybe use it only when
you have a more solid understanding of the grammar) and I quickly got annoyed wondering
why 'He runs' is yajrii instead of yajruyu. I figured it was important to learn how to
conjugate the different types of verbs early on. With most of my previous languages, my
early focus was typically vocabulary acquisition. However, with Arabic, I found that
grammar was too important to ignore. People say that Arabic grammar is very regular.
However, they also fail to mention the sheer number of rules and conventions, many of
them seemingly trivial and petty, and not all of them apparently logical. Of course
it's difficult to be irregular when you have rules covering just about everything under
the sun.

And I might just translate the whole song into Swahili. I've never found a Swahili
version of it. Just gotta get the rest of the lyrics. And on a haunch, I looked up
'falsafa' and it yielded... 'فلسفة', i.e. philosophy. So that's one more word I already
know in Arabic without realizing. Maybe I'll maintain a list of shared words between
Arabic and Swahili that I encounter on this log.



I couldn't agree more with your comment about Arabic grammar. When I first arrived here, I opened a thread
because I had a heard a lecturer in a Yale podcast say that all languages had equal amounts of grammar, but
differently spread out. I could see why it could work, but it still feels that Arabic has more than others. It's not
especially complicated, but (same with the vocab), there is just too much of it, and in my opinion, that's what
makes it difficult.
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strikingstar
Bilingual Tetraglot
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United States
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292 posts - 444 votes 
Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Cantonese, Swahili
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 10 of 102
08 January 2011 at 3:13am | IP Logged 
Yeah, I still remember being laughed at by my Saudi friend for saying 'As-salamu 3laka'
instead of 'As-salamu 3layka'. Didn't even get any points for effort. The English
equivalent would be 'Peace uponay you'. I think part of the problem is that we tend to
think in our native language. And when a rule in our target language doesn't exist in our
native language, there's a tendency to dismiss it as superfluous, contrived or just a
pain-in-the-neck. And it just so happens that there are lots of rules in Arabic that
don't exist in English.
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Quabazaa
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 Message 11 of 102
08 January 2011 at 8:50pm | IP Logged 
I realised I hadn't posted in your log yet! So hello! :) It's very interesting reading about Swahili, so cool that you translated the chorus of Hakuna Matata :D I am actually surprised there isn't an entire Swahili version!

Your comment "it's difficult to be irregular when you have rules covering just about everything under the sun" really made me laugh.. it's so true. Arabic is amazing (or insane depending on how you look at it), how on earth did they end up with so many rules?? :)
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Préposition
Diglot
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France
aspectualpairs.wordp
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Studies: Russian, Arabic (Written), Swedish, Arabic (Levantine)

 
 Message 12 of 102
08 January 2011 at 10:13pm | IP Logged 
Quabazaa wrote:
I realised I hadn't posted in your log yet! So hello! :) It's very interesting reading about Swahili, so cool that you translated the chorus of Hakuna Matata :D I am actually surprised there isn't an entire Swahili version!

Your comment "it's difficult to be irregular when you have rules covering just about everything under the sun" really made me laugh.. it's so true. Arabic is amazing (or insane depending on how you look at it), how on earth did they end up with so many rules?? :)


Well, look at it that way, there's not much to do in a desert :P
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strikingstar
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Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Cantonese, Swahili
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 13 of 102
12 January 2011 at 1:10pm | IP Logged 
Hi Quebazaa, I haven't posted in your log either. I'll get around to it soon. Promise.
Anyways, I've decided I need more discipline, hence I've decided to start posting 5
sentences a day in Arabic. They don't have to be logical, they just have to be
grammatically sound. If there're any mistakes, please feel free to correct them.
Anybody.

So here goes:
١.الولد الساكن في هذا البيت يقول أن صديقته جميلة   
Al-waladu as-saakinu fii hadhaa al-bayti yaquulu 'n sadiiqatihi jamiilatin.
The boy living in this house says that his girlfriend is beautiful.

٢. سأسافر إلى القاهرة لأزور سوق مشهورة
Sa'usaafiru ila al-qaaharti li'azuura suuqan mashhuuratan.
I will be traveling to Cairo to visit a famous market.

٣. فتح المدير باب المكتب وشاهد عماله الواقفين هناك
Fataha al-mudiiru baab al-maktabi wa shaahada 3ummaalahu al-waaqifiina hunaaka.
The director opened the office door and saw his workers standing there.

٤. طاولات المعلم الكبيرة الطويلة مكسورة
Taawilaatu al-mu3allimi al-kabiiratu at-tawiilatu makusuuratun
The teacher's big, long tables are broken.

٥. لم يرجع الوزير إلى بلده بعد اجتماعه مع الرئيس
Lam yarja3 al-waziiru ila balidihi ba3da 'ijtamaa3ihi m3a ar-ra'isi
The minister did not return to his country after his meeting with the president.









Edited by strikingstar on 12 January 2011 at 1:11pm

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strikingstar
Bilingual Tetraglot
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United States
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292 posts - 444 votes 
Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Cantonese, Swahili
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 14 of 102
12 January 2011 at 3:02pm | IP Logged 
Also starting a running log of all the words that I've come across that Swahili has
borrowed from Arabic.

mhandisi - مهندس - engineer
mwalimu - معلم - teacher
darasa (class) - درس (lesson)
falsafa - فلسفة - philosophy
kabla - قبل - before
baada - بعد -after
lakini - لكن - but
tarikh - تاريخ - date
bahari - بحر - sea
ardhi - أرض - earth
hakika - حقيقة - reality
kalamu - قلم - pen
dakika - دقيقة - minute
shaka - شك - doubt
rais - رئيس - president
waziir - وزير - minister
dhalili - ذليل - humble
sifuri - صفر - zero
sita - ستة - six
saba - سبعة - seven
tisa - تسعة - nine
jaribu - جرب - try
ustaadhi - أستاذ - professor
saa - ساعة - time
kahawa - قهوة - coffee
shughuli - شغل - activity
sahani - صحن - plate
sunduku - صندوق - box
siasa - سياسة - politics
Mashariki - سياسة - East
hesabu - حسب - count
baina - بين - between
salama - سلامة - peace
dunia - دنيا - world
afadhali - أفضل - better
tafadhali - تفضلي - please
shukuru - شكر - thankful
karibu - قريب - close
msumari - مسمار - nail
roho - روح - soul
jirani - جيران - neighbor
huzuni - حزن - sadness
dhahabu - ذهب - gold
taratibu - ترتيب - system
tajiri - تاجر - merchant
sakafu - سقف - roof
lazima - لزم - necessary
baraka - بركة - blessing
zamani - زمن - period
imani - إيمان - faith
samaki - سمك - fish
muhimu - مهم - important
azimu - عزم - project
shukuru - شكر - thank
amani - أمن - peace
askari - عسكري - soldier
dini - دين - religion
maarifu - معرفة - knowledge
jeraha - جرح - wound
damu - دم - blood
hekima - حكمة - wisdom
malika - ملك - king
jamhuri - جمهورية - republic
yakina - يقين - certainty
abudu - عبد - worship
sifa - صفة - character
adhibu (punish) - عذب (torture)
ahadi - عهد - promise
hifadhi - حفظ - reserve/save




ellasevia's additions:

ishirini - عشرون - twenty
thelathini - ثلاثون - thirty
arobaini - أربعون - forty
hamsini - خمسون - fifty
sitini - ستون - sixty
sabini - سبعون - seventy
themanini - ثمانون - eighty
tisini - تسعون - ninety
mia - مائة - hundred
elfu - ألف - thousand
nusu - نصف - half
robo - ربع - quarter
wakati - وقت - time
Alhamisi - الخميس - Thursday
Ijumaa - الجمعة - Friday
habari - أخبار - news
kitabu - كتاب - book
rafiki - رفيق - friend
furahi - فرح - happy
asubuhi - صباح - morning
alasiri - العصر - afternoon
alfajiri - الفجر - dawn, daybreak
magharibi - مغيب - west, sunset
lugha - لغة - language
mtihani - امتحان - exam
safari - سفر - trip, journey
mahali - محل - place
kata - قطع - cut
fikiri - فكر - think
huru - حر - free
baridi - بارد - cold
kamusi - قاموس - dictionary
maana - معنى - meaning

PS: Thanks, Swahili, for making Arabic just a little bit easier for me. Nitakushukuru
sana. Asante sana.

Also,
pantalones (Spanish) - بنطلون - pants


Edited by strikingstar on 27 January 2011 at 6:26pm

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ellasevia
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 Message 15 of 102
13 January 2011 at 2:13am | IP Logged 
Can I add some words to your Swahili-Arabic list?

ishirini - عشرون - twenty
thelathini - ثلاثون - thirty
arobaini - أربعون - forty
hamsini - خمسون - fifty
sitini - ستون - sixty
sabiini - سبعون - seventy
themanini - ثمانون - eighty
tisiini - تسعون - ninety
mia - مائة - hundred
elfu - ألف - thousand
nusu - نصف - half
robo - ربع - quarter
wakati - وقت - time
Alhamisi - الخميس - Thursday
Ijumaa - الجمعة - Friday
habari - أخبار - news
kitabu - كتاب - book
rafiki - رفيق - friend
furahi - فرح - happy
asubuhi - صباح - morning
alasiri - العصر - afternoon
alfajiri - الفجر - dawn, daybreak
magharibi - مغيب - west, sunset
lugha - لغة - language
mtihani - امتحان - exam
safari - سفر - trip, journey
mahali - محل - place
kata - قطع - cut
fikiri - فكر - think
huru - حر - free
baridi - بارد - cold
kamusi - قاموس - dictionary
maana - معنى - meaning

...just to name a few simple ones.
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Cetacea
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 Message 16 of 102
14 January 2011 at 2:15am | IP Logged 
strikingstar wrote:

٢. سأسافر إلى القاهرة لأزور سوق مشهورة
Sa'usaafiru ila al-qaaharti li'azuura suuqan mashhuuratan.
I will be traveling to Cairo to visit a famous market.


Is there any reason why you think suuq is feminine? Is it one of those dual-gender words? I'd probably write the same sentence like this:

سأسافر إلى القاهرة لأزور سوقاً مشهوراً

Good luck with your Arabic lessons. Looks like you are making a lot of progress.


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