BilArid. 12 ways to learn Arabic. Tatiana Prolesko

part of the readers will open it first.

      1. Arabic is a flexible language. The same word meaning can be conveyed in several ways: the structure of the proposals is not as rigid as, for example, in English or French. In this respect, Arabic is similar to Russian.

      2. Arabic is a mathematical language: words and sentences are constructed by certain formulas. This is a tremendous advantage of Arabic – a minimum number of exceptions to the rules.

      So you do not have to cram much! If one learns grammar at a reasonable level, one word can in some cases, be composed of more than a dozen derived words using model formulas.

      So, knowing only 500 verbs, we are talking about a vocabulary of about 2,500 words! Besides this, the emphasis in Arabic words is logical and straightforward.

      3. In Arabic, words are read as written. There are specific rules, but they are clear. Remember that English has many reading rules, and remember many exceptions. It is not uncommon to find that several very different words in their spelling and meaning sound pronounced very similar, often in the same way! We do not talk about French at all. And these are European languages that are traditionally considered as easy!

      4. In Russian and Arabic, there are only three times – past, present, and future. Remember how many are in English!

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      5. Most readers do not even realize that they already speak a little Arabic! Many famous words have come precisely from Arabic. For example, “coffee,” “digit,” “zero,” “nabat,” “muslin,” “halva,” and others. A number of these words have the prefix “al,” which tells us about their Arabic origin: “algebra,” “almanac,” “alcohol,” “alchemy,” “Aldebaran,” “Altair,” etc.

      ______________________________________ (write a familiar word if you remember it!)

      6. Arabic is the richest language in the world in words commonly referred to as synonyms in other languages. However, it is unnecessary to be frightened in advance: knowing 500 to 1000 words for a simple conversation is enough.

      Consider the example: in Arabic, a few dozen words mean love or close concepts that other language speakers can translate with only one (!) word. The same applies to Antonyms.

      Cons of Arabic language

      In the previous chapter, we have found out that Arabic, contrary to popular belief, is in many ways easier than other languages. Nevertheless, at the same time, Arabic is an oriental language, which has its complexities and nuances, which might seem incomprehensible at the beginning.

      According to rough calculations, it takes three and a half times more time to learn Arabic than, for example, Spanish.

      Let’s take a look at the main difficulties:

      1. The first thing a newcomer faces and is frightened of is Arabic ligature. The spelling of words looks very complicated because it is not similar to a letter in Cyrillic or Latin: the letters are connected and resemble intricate patterns. When learning to read Arabic, we must focus on small details, which are unnatural to one. In addition, some textbooks present the script in such a way that completely discourages delving into and understanding.

      However, fear of the Arabic letter is false: it evaporates after the first weeks of learning. 28 letters are connected in different combinations, both in print and in writing. All you have to do is remember these 28 letters and their spelling!

      Of the 28 letters, 22 have four spelling variants (the letter stands separately, in the beginning, middle, and at the end of the word), and six letters have two variants (stand-alone and in conjunction with the previous letter). Some letters are written the same and differ only by the position of the points.

      How to ease the process: learn letters by similar groups rather than alphabetically.

      For example, some letters are written in almost the same way in all positions in the world except for the points, meaning that the outline must be memorized only once. You also need to remember the points. This item follows from the previous one. However, in the middle of the word, the points will often help determine the letter.

      Print out the alphabet and always keep it handy. When opening a book or website, read by peeking there. Working with text is much more effective than remembering letters written in a column. Do not write down single letters a hundred times. Two or three lines are enough to remember the writing sequence.

      To some extent, the image of the Arabic language embodies the sculpture «Power of Words» by the Emirati sculptor Mattar Bin Lahej. It is a large ellipsoid consisting of bound Arabic ligatures. It is an indescribable sensation when these elegant words surround you from all sides and create a sense of touch with centuries-old art!

      2. The second feature (actually just the absence of habit) is the letter’s direction from right to left. But you will get used to that after a few written pages in Arabic.

      3. Unusual pronunciation of Arabic sounds. The peculiarity of the Arabic language is that several groups of sounds are almost identical for the European or Russian ear. The mistake of many is that in trying to start talking as soon as possible, in an attempt to write words, phrases, and sentences, not enough attention is focused on pronunciation. It makes it difficult for the Arabs to distinguish between words and to understand what we want to say to them.

      The solution to mentioned complexities will be lessons with a tutor or attending a course at the very beginning of the study. Even if you are sure about learning the language yourself, take at least 8—10 lessons with an experienced teacher. After that, it will be easier and faster to continue on your own. You will save a lot of time and energy!

      4. The grammar and gravitas of Arabic words. It is essential to learn how to use words of similar meaning correctly in the context. The meaning of Arabic words is embedded in the root system. In order to accurately define the meaning and choose the appropriate form of words, one must understand the morphology of the Arabic language.