I'm Latina and I'm planning to move to Egypt with my fiance(he's Egyptian) and I speak no arabic whatsoever, although I am fluent in Spanish. I really want to learn to speak Arabic, if i'm going to be living there. So if I live there for about a year, will I learn to speak arabic, without taking any arabic language classes?
Languages - 13 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
This is a tough question because it all depends on how quick you are able to pick up a language. Also, you have to take into consideration that you want to learn one of the most difficult languages to learn in 1 year. I don't know; I would definitely not be able to do so: I couldn't pick up French in 1 year, and Arabic is extremely harder. -By the way, I am also a Spanish speaker; I am from Spain. *AMBER: I guess you are calling me stupid.*
2 :
Are you SURE you want to live in Egypt with your fiance? Women are considered little more than property there. In Egypt, you can be put to death by stoning if you talk back to your husband/fiance, and they will take the word of a man over that of a woman every time. You will basically be stripped of your individuality and all of your rights if you go, so think long and hard about it before getting on the plane.
3 :
Impossible. Just being immersed in the culture does not mean that you are going to be able to process their language and understand it. You need to study for years, especially a difficult langauge like arabic, before you will become fluent. But, living there will be an advantage, especially if you engage in some intensive language courses while you are there. If you lived there for a year, and studied for 2-3 hours every night, you may have a good shot at being able to have basic conversations, after a year. But reading and writing is another story. You will have to study for years before you will know their written language. Your best bet is to study before you go. Take a course, listen to some tapes and get some books. The more of a base you have before you go, the more your language will increase when you get there. And while you are there, get out often to use your new language skills.
4 :
You may pick up a lot vocabulary but you won't know how the words fit together (their order), which are verbs (or how they change), which are nouns, which are adjectives, etc. or let alone read without some formal instruction - fluency consists of competency in all three areas of a language (reading, writing, and speaking)...and even with classes, don't expect to be fluent within a year...Language acquisition, especially if the language in question is not related to your 1st or 2nd takes a while....It is usually best to take some introductory courses before complete immersion in a language
5 :
any capable person is able to pick up the language in 6 months, if your will is strong then you'll be able to do it, and dont mind what these people is telling you, just do what you want and everything will be easy, for stupid people it usually takes years to learn a new language, all croppy... my 2 cents... and yes I speak 5 languages
6 :
Arabic language have 2 dialects the classical which is taught at schools and the regular dialect spoken at home, like any other language, its not easy and all depends how much you are planing to practice it, if you decide to speak it with everyone you should pick it up and be able to understand it what you hear with in a year, but to be able to speak fluently you will need more time and practice...good luck.
7 :
1 year is too short time to learn such ahard langauage like Arabic watever u take classes or not .. keep up hard work ..Good luck im live in Egypt..
8 :
No- don't be silly- did you pick up fluent English in a year? You have to learn an entirely new alphabet- which is complex, a new cypher system, a new grammatical system. You definitely need a teacher- otherwise you'd only pick-up crude street-Arabic- not anything worth learning. Arabic is completely dissimilar to a Romance or Latin based language, like Spanish or Portuguese. Even English is 50%+ Latin derived.
9 :
Well, to be honest i really dont think that's possible.Arabic is not a simple language & it's very different from English & Spanish. Of course by living in Egypt u'll be exposed to arabic a lot but that can never make u a fluent speaker of Arabic.If u want to speak arabic fluently u'll just have to take classes, i dont think that there is any other way.I'm sorry.
10 :
First, I hope you'll be glad there, second you'll learn to both to speak and to write arabic, just practise. Good luck
11 :
What your doing sounds like running after the wind. If you even plan to go to Egypt you will need to do some sort of Intensive self study..... 2 to 3 hours a day for a month or two or spread it across 3 months of some serious studying. Maybe ask yourself.....What does being fluent in language mean? How much do want to master Arabic? If your serious about it get the book Al-kitaab fii Ta'allum Al-'Arabiyya with DVD's A Textbok For Begining Arabic also get your hands on a good verb book, sound files of specific things you want to know(maybe have your husband record some for you), and the program Rosetta stone. On a further note, Arabic is a CAT3 language according to www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/learningExpectations.html Study hard for a couple of months before going and when you go there you'll have more than enough practice. You will also get practice at thinking in Arabic and it will become a life long learning process.
12 :
First off, what "sarge" said is absolutely not true!! As for your question, to be honest with you, I don't think that you'll be able to speak Arabic fluently in just one year. You'll probably be able to understand many words and simple sentences, but you won't be able to speak it fluently. That's due to the fact that, not only is Arabic one of the hardest languages to learn but also because it's VERY different from English and Spanish regarding the grammatical structures. I strongly recommend that you attend Arabic classes for foreigners which are offered by many cultural centers. Also, ask your fiance to speak Arabic with you every now and then and you can contact me if you want. :-) I'm Egyptian and I'm a HUGE fan of the Latin culture, my favorite type of music is Salsa and my ultimate favorite singer is Marc Anthony.. :D Te deseo lo mejor.
13 :
I don't think you'll be FLUENT, but pretty good at speaking it if you have a teacher or your boyfriend teaching you everything well. You'll be lucky that you have a boyfriend that speaks it! He'll always be around to help you with your Arabic! Go find a language school if possible. =) ¡Buena Suerte, no te preocupes y diviértete en Egipto! Aprenderás el árabe cueste lo que cueste.
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