ages ago i purchases an arabic language cd set. of course i never opened it. i'm once again determined to learn arabic and this time i've registered for a course downtown.

it's only once a week for ten weeks so i don't expect to have any kind of conversational skills when its over but i do expect to have a rudimentary understanding of the language.

hopefully this basic intro will be enough to get me started on my cd set!

i know about total immersion methods but, assuming one can't engage in total immersion, what tips do you bilingual people have to offer? any tips for adult language students?

Yes!

When you see brownskins like me, don't just assume I speak spanish.

Imago said:

people do that to my mom constantly, and to me occasionally. it's funny.

Imago said:

Ay Papi!!! no me confundo con usted..

i hope you do good! personally speaking i want to learn other asian languages such as thai(a certain someone kinda crushed me dreams of learning it..well kinda), vietnamese,japanese,mandarin,cantonese...i wanna know what the people are saying about me lol..

weepingwall said:

i would LOVE to learn Korean just so i know what the ladies at my nail salon are saying about me! i know they are talking shit about me.

sassybritches said:

lol..but enough with stereotypes..i honestly thing that the asian languages sound beautiful..

weepingwall said:

oh, i wasn't stereotyping, my nail salon is owned by koreans and i'm sure the woman i go to talks trash about me. i just get that feeling when she looks at me, says something to the other ladies, and then they all laugh. but she makes my hands look presentable so i put up with it.

and, yes, i think asian languages sound very cool. from what i've heard it's easier to learn to speak them than it is to learn to write them. i wonder if this true?

sassybritches said:

i don't know..i mean not just with asian..i can't write spanish that well myself..i speak it perfectly and i understand it..but i can't write it that well the grammar rules are very different than the ones in english.

More people should learn Arabic, Farsi, etc., etc.

I know a few words and phrases... as do my kids.. I had several kuwaiti friends when i was younger as well as a few who live there still.

I've made a few stabs at it myself. Married an Egyptian for a while. When I travelled in the Mideast, I collected simple words as I heard them, wrote them in a notebook, and would memorize in my free time. Problem is different countries have different dialects. Palestinian Arabic is different than Egyptian Arabic, and then there's modern vs. classic, entirely two different languages almost. It's HARD.

salam alaikum...

Wow, good luck. It look really difficult to master. Are you learning to write Arabic aswell? I find it hard enough just learning Spanish!

Oh Yeah?

Which dialect?

I know Masri (sp?) enough to have a conversation anyway.

TotalANXiousNESS said:

modern standard? is that a dialect? if so, then that's it. otherwise, i'll let you know after my first class on monday.

JDInteractive said:

yes, there will be writing as well. the writing seems relatively easy enough to grasp, the only "catch" being it's right to left and each letter has four possible ways of being written.

heartbeatocean said:

sukran

it looks like it will be hard but, for the first time in a long time, i actually have free time. i think as long as i stick with it and use it regularly outside of the classrooom, i'll do alright.

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[Edited 9/5/07 8:44am]

sassybritches said:

Excellent, well good luck with it all.

sassybritches said:

Travel to the Middle East. People there absolutely go ape if they find out you even know a few words. They take it as a huge compliment that you'd even bother. And people are very willing to volunteer a bit tutoring. Also, even in cosmopolitan cities like Cairo, many people hardly speak a word of English, so it's easy to find people to converse with...cab drivers, etc. Unlike a place like Paris, for instance, where EVERYONE wants to practice their English on you.

sassybritches said:

I dunno.

I don't know that its a dialect.

Probly just the basic words that are the same in all dialects??

What country is your learning kit from or whatever?