Yesterday was the first day of the new term of my Arabic class. When I did level 1 last month, I was not sure that I would continue….but have realized the benefits of knowing the language of the country you reside in-I don’t need to call up my husband’s secretary in a panic to translate what my maid is trying to tell me-(is she asking for a day off or a raise?), at the neighborhood grocer, I can confidently ask for help to locate things and the other day at the Attaba market, I even bargained in Arabic!
Last evening at the class, we started with Arabic alphabets-level 1 was only ‘spoken” arabic. Arabic has 28 alphabets and our teacher has promised us that we shall finish the alphabets in two hours!!! Ambitious? I find it incredibly hard to believe that I shall soon be able to read and write arabic-the script looks so intimidating. Arabic has no vowels, in place of vowels, you use dots, slashes and a “comma”, placed above or below an alphabet to change its pronunciation-it could then be a ‘ba’, ‘be’, ‘bu’ or ‘b’. But in typed or printed arabic, even the “vowels” are missing-so you have to guess the word, which is fine if you have a good grasp of the language. Otherwise the attempt will definitely end in disaster!
The Dravidian languages of India, such as Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telegu (widely spoken in south India) seem very alien and “unreadable” to north Indians like me. Hey, but not any more, once I have mastered Arabic, these languages will be a cake-walk!
Last evening at the class, we started with Arabic alphabets-level 1 was only ‘spoken” arabic. Arabic has 28 alphabets and our teacher has promised us that we shall finish the alphabets in two hours!!! Ambitious? I find it incredibly hard to believe that I shall soon be able to read and write arabic-the script looks so intimidating. Arabic has no vowels, in place of vowels, you use dots, slashes and a “comma”, placed above or below an alphabet to change its pronunciation-it could then be a ‘ba’, ‘be’, ‘bu’ or ‘b’. But in typed or printed arabic, even the “vowels” are missing-so you have to guess the word, which is fine if you have a good grasp of the language. Otherwise the attempt will definitely end in disaster!
The Dravidian languages of India, such as Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telegu (widely spoken in south India) seem very alien and “unreadable” to north Indians like me. Hey, but not any more, once I have mastered Arabic, these languages will be a cake-walk!
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