Arabic

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I want to learn Arabic to impress this one girl I have been going out with (sounds desperate but she's worth it).Although I am willing to pay $300 for an intro class and do night school, I want to use the internet as much as possible. Any suggestions?

― staring at the sun (Another perfect catastrophe), Monday, 4 September 2006 06:21 (eighteen years ago) link

Insha Allah, you will find a way. I can tell by your name. Have you considered guess papers for an answer to your question?

― Guess Papers Is A Feeling (Guess Papers Is A Feeling), Monday, 4 September 2006 07:34 (eighteen years ago) link

just curious...what sort of arabic are you going for? from what my arab friends have told me, arabic from the gulf is a bit ugly, egyptian is sorta sing-songy and fun, and north african is miles away from the arabic of the middle east. i can't remember what they've said about the rest of the arab world--but i do know its something to consider if you're still trying to decide on where you want to learn.

― waxyjax (waxyjax), Monday, 4 September 2006 09:05 (eighteen years ago) link

waxyjax your insults are felt from the gulf of aden to the tip of qatar

― Guess Papers Is A Feeling (Guess Papers Is A Feeling), Monday, 4 September 2006 09:08 (eighteen years ago) link

may you taste the vexations of five thousand scimitars, my friend.

― mr. brojangles (sanskrit), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:58 (eighteen years ago) link

Arabic from the Gulf os ugly? Isn't the Arabic they speak the one that is closest to classical Arabic (which is far from ugly)? If I had started learning Arabic when I said I wanted to, I could be working for the CIA or an oil company by now. Whoopee.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 4 September 2006 13:24 (eighteen years ago) link

Funny this should come up because this morning one of my best friends has gone to spend a year in Syria as part of his Arabic degree. He tells me that the language itself is tough, with the shapes of letter changing depending on what their word means. It doesn't strike me as something you can learn in three to four weeks, more a sort of life-time commitment.

You proposed to this girl yet?

― Obvious Ninja (Haberdager), Monday, 4 September 2006 13:29 (eighteen years ago) link

My girl is Egyptian so I guess that's what I want to focus on(although I wouldn't mind learning arabic coloquialisms from other arab speaking countries). I understand it will be difficult and it will likely take a long time to learn but I am ready to tackle that challenge. It took me 2 1/2 years to learn Japanese so I am looking at 2008 at least before I feel comfortable with the language. That is not a long time in the scheme of all things.

― staring at the sun (Another perfect catastrophe), Monday, 4 September 2006 14:27 (eighteen years ago) link

Nasty looking site but my employer (languages dept at a UK university) links to it so it can't be totally disreputable: http://i-cias.com/babel/arabic/

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 4 September 2006 14:46 (eighteen years ago) link

wait, you learned japanese but you're still single? i think you may need a new strategy.

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Monday, 4 September 2006 15:26 (eighteen years ago) link

How did you learn Japanese in 2 1/2 years?!

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 4 September 2006 15:35 (eighteen years ago) link

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0804835411.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― sublime frequency (sublime frequency), Monday, 4 September 2006 18:50 (eighteen years ago) link

I bet he's currently living under the witness protection scheme in Britain now. ;-)

― Obvious Ninja (Haberdager), Monday, 4 September 2006 18:56 (eighteen years ago) link

x-post to rockist.

not sure of all the historic details of the language--i remember them saying it sounded a bit harsh. perhaps the vocabulary is closest to classical arabic...i know egyptians often use words that are different from many of the other middle eastern dialects.

by the way, staring--have you bonded over nancy, the arabic pop star? she's actually lebanese but sings in egyptian arabic. you'll score lots of points with her friends and family on that one!

― waxyjax (waxyjax), Monday, 4 September 2006 22:19 (eighteen years ago) link

Y'know, learning Arabic is probably good insurance for poor
young American males, most of whom will probably eventually
get drafted en masse and shipped over there.

― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 21:44 (eighteen years ago) link

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