ARABIC

400 pages

Arabic is spoken by the 200 million residents of the Arab states. The language is also understood by millions of Muslims living in Pakistan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Malaysia, and Turkey.

Arabic owes its wide reach to the success of the Islamic empire of the 7th century. Prior to the conquests of this period, Arabic was just one more Semitic dialect, limited to an area of the Arabian Peninsula. Of course, Arabic is not the only major world language that spread through conquest. The same can also be said of French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and even Japanese.

All educated Arabic speakers are familiar with two versions of the language: formal Arabic-- also known as Modern Standard Arabic, or MSA ----and their own local, colloquial version of Arabic.

MSA is based on classical Arabic, the language of the Koran. MSA differs little from region to region, and it is the lingua franca of educated Arabs. MSA is used for any spoken or written communication that has an element of formality, or which needs to be readily accessible to an audience beyond a particular region. MSA is therefore the Arabic of newspapers, political speeches, and most university settings.

Colloquial Arabic, however, varies considerably from place to place. The colloquial Arabic of Iraq is quite different from the colloquial Arabic of Saudi Arabic or Lebanon. This is the language of the home, the marketplace, and the workplace.

There is an important connection between Arabic and Islam. The Arabic language has a special status within the religion. It is the language not only of the Koran, but for prayer and religious commentary. A mastery of Arabic is an important part of Muslim identity-- even for the Muslim living in a country in which Arabic is not an official public language.

Arabic is written in a phonetic script, from right to left. The script is always written in a joined, or cursive, form. Arabic contains three short vowels and three long ones. There are no diphthongs (vowels that create a new sound when combined), as in the English words enough and beard.

One curious aspect of written Arabic is the omission of short vowels. The best way to explain this is to create an imaginary example in English. If short vowels were omitted in English, then the word “dirt” would be written drt. You can probably see the potential difficulty here: you would need to rely on context to know that the author intended the word “dirt” and not the word “dart”. (A system of indicating Arabic short vowels does exist, but this is used only in a few limited situations.)

Should you learn Arabic? The answer depends on your criteria for selecting a language. Arabic has in its favor a large population of native speakers, and a status as one of the world’s “prestige” languages. There was once a shortage of Arabic courses and learning materials, but this situation has changed in recent years. Since 9/11 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the number of self-study courses for students of Arabic has grown considerably. Arabic courses have also been added to many university course catalogs.

In the minus column, first of all, is the difficulty of Arabic. If your high school Spanish class gave you fits, then you may be a bit overwhelmed by Arabic. The language has multiple hurdles for the native English-speaker to clear: a new writing system, strange phonetics (one popular textbook likens a particular Arabic consonant to the sound a person makes when gagging), and a completely unfamiliar vocabulary (unlike Spanish, French, or German, Arabic shares virtually no words with English). In practical terms, this means a lot of time and work before you will be able to take the language for a reasonable text drive.

The second negative point has nothing to do with the language itself: most of the places where Arabic is spoken are currently unsafe for Western visitors. Therefore, the career applications of the language are mostly limited to intelligence and law enforcement.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t learn Arabic. (I am studying it myself, in fact.) The importance of the language at the “big picture” level is undeniable. Moreover, we should not assume that the violence and chaos in the Middle East are permanent.

If you are shopping for your first foreign language, though, there other choices that will likely give you more benefits. (Read How to Choose a Foreign Language.)




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	Arabic Above: Arabic writing (Source: Al Jazeera) Click here for sample chapters 400 pages Copyright © 2007 by Beechmont Crest Publishing First edition, 2007 0-9748330-6-1 Arabic is spoken by the 200 million residents of the Arab states. The language is also understood by millions of Muslims living in Pakistan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Malaysia, and Turkey. Arabic owes its wide reach to the success of the Islamic empire of the 7th century. Prior to the conquests of this period, Arabic was just one more Semitic dialect, limited to an area of the Arabian Peninsula. Of course, Arabic is not the only major world language that spread through conquest. The same can also be said of French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and even Japanese. MSA vs. Colloquial Arabic All educated Arabic speakers are familiar with two versions of the language: formal Arabic-- also known as Modern Standard Arabic, or MSA ----and their own local, colloquial version of Arabic. MSA is based on classical Arabic, the language of the Koran. MSA differs little from region to region, and it is the lingua franca of educated Arabs. MSA is used for any spoken or written communication that has an element of formality, or which needs to be readily accessible to an audience beyond a particular region. MSA is therefore the Arabic of newspapers, political speeches, and most university settings. Colloquial Arabic, however, varies considerably from place to place. The colloquial Arabic of Iraq is quite different from the colloquial Arabic of Saudi Arabic or Lebanon. This is the language of the home, the marketplace, and the workplace. There is an important connection between Arabic and Islam. The Arabic language has a special status within the religion. It is the language not only of the Koran, but for prayer and religious commentary. A mastery of Arabic is an important part of Muslim identity-- even for the Muslim living in a country in which Arabic is not an official public language. Arabic is written in a phonetic script, from right to left. The script is always written in a joined, or cursive, form. Arabic contains three short vowels and three long ones. There are no diphthongs (vowels that create a new sound when combined), as in the English words enough and beard. One curious aspect of written Arabic is the omission of short vowels. The best way to explain this is to create an imaginary example in English. If short vowels were omitted in English, then the word “dirt” would be written drt. You can probably see the potential difficulty here: you would need to rely on context to know that the author intended the word “dirt” and not the word “dart”. (A system of indicating Arabic short vowels does exist, but this is used only in a few limited situations.) Should you learn Arabic? The answer depends on your criteria for selecting a language. Arabic has in its favor a large population of native speakers, and a status as one of the world’s “prestige” languages. There was once a shortage of Arabic courses and learning materials, but this situation has changed in recent years. Since 9/11 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the number of self-study courses for students of Arabic has grown considerably. Arabic courses have also been added to many university course catalogs. In the minus column, first of all, is the difficulty of Arabic. If your high school Spanish class gave you fits, then you may be a bit overwhelmed by Arabic. The language has multiple hurdles for the native English-speaker to clear: a new writing system, strange phonetics (one popular textbook likens a particular Arabic consonant to the sound a person makes when gagging), and a completely unfamiliar vocabulary (unlike Spanish, French, or German, Arabic shares virtually no words with English). In practical terms, this means a lot of time and work before you will be able to take the language for a reasonable text drive. The second negative point has nothing to do with the language itself: most of the places where Arabic is spoken are currently unsafe for Western visitors. Therefore, the career applications of the language are mostly limited to intelligence and law enforcement. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t learn Arabic. (I am studying it myself, in fact.) The importance of the language at the “big picture” level is undeniable. Moreover, we should not assume that the violence and chaos in the Middle East are permanent. If you are shopping for your first foreign language, though, there other choices that will likely give you more benefits. (Read How to Choose a Foreign Language.)	Note: my personal recommendations for students of Arabic in the margins