Arabic - Toughest language to learn??

[KnightLite]

I am currently learning the Arabic Language, and I am having many troubles with it. It's very difficult, with different letters, pronounciations, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anybody else here know Arabic and another language?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If so, any good pointers on how to approach this would be helpful, because over the last 2 months, I've hardly learned a thing..

[Pyro]

Learning any new language that you don't hear regularly is bound to be very difficult. Being my idiotic self I've actually signed up for my 4th and 5th language for next term at school :| Short courses though. But that's beside the point...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not learning anything for the first weeks/months usually isn't really true, odds are you've picked up quite a few words and can communicate with some basic sentences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simply give it time. It's a another language, it's had thousands of years to evolve into what it is. You can't expect to learn it quickly ;) You didn't make it easy for you when you picked a language with a different set of letters, but keep trying and I'm sure you'll one day wake up and realize you actually can speak some Arabic.

[my_pet_worm]

actually, english is the hardest language out of ALL languages

[DevNRG]

actually, english is the hardest language out of ALL languages

 

 

 

Yea, because of all the "exceptions to the rule".

[Guest]

Chinese, English, and German

[my_pet_worm]

for example, you ask a little kid how to spell knight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

they will spell night( as they know it), where does the k come from?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

knife? ki-nife

 

 

 

know? ki-now

 

 

 

antique? anti-q

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

its an extremmly hard language to learn

[Pyro]

actually, english is the hardest language out of ALL languages

How do you define difficulty of learning languages? Amount of grammar rules and exceptions? Well, for example English only has "the" in front of nouns. Swedish has "Det" and "Den". German has "Der", "Das", "Die". Obviously many languages have even more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exceptions to rules aren't that bad, what is bad is when the basic rules are numerous and difficult to remember. In my opinion as a non-native English speaker, this is not the case with English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really fail to see why English would be any harder than the other ~3000 languages out there. Sure, for those who do not speak another indoeuropean language it is going to be difficult to learn it. The same could be said for any other language and family of languages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, for the record, unprounced letters exist in most languages.

[paul_wilson]

lol ive been learning italian for 3 years and i have learnt NOTHING!

 

 

 

funny how i pass with B's and C's though :S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

al i know is how to swear and my mum told me that night on new years day when she was still waisted :P

[vmser]

 

actually, english is the hardest language out of ALL languages

How do you define difficulty of learning languages? Amount of grammar rules and exceptions? Well, for example English only has "the" in front of nouns. Swedish has "Det" and "Den". German has "Der", "Das", "Die". Obviously many languages have even more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exceptions to rules aren't that bad, what is bad is when the basic rules are numerous and difficult to remember. In my opinion as a non-native English speaker, this is not the case with English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really fail to see why English would be any harder than the other ~3000 languages out there. Sure, for those who do not speak another indoeuropean language it is going to be difficult to learn it. The same could be said for any other language and family of languages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, for the record, unprounced letters exist in most languages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the first thing: Dutch no longer use falls, except in some old expressions.. Fortunately. Latvian, if I remember correctly, has 14 falls!

 

 

 

My dialect (west-flemish) still has some kind of falls to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for exceptions: English is like NOTHING compared to french. And german is like the opposite: Pretty much have rules for everything there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find english EASY to be honest. But I think, for a foreigner, dutch is rather hard to learn...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I can confirm: dutch, french, and german also have unpronounced letters.

[paul_wilson]

i know pig latin perfectly... does that count?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and italian has different ebdings to words depending on if ur talking about a male or female and all the il la lo l'

[Google90]

Spanishs is also hard with all the conjugation and stem changing verbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You need 1 word for he,she,they,it,etc :lol:

[Mayjest]

One advantage of English is that the grammar is fairly easy. The pronounciation is the hard part. There are 3 different ways of saying 'ugh'. Laugh, cough, and something else that I can't remember. I just remember my German teacher telling me there were three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for Arabic, one of my friends is about to start her 3rd year of an Arabic and Middle Eastern politics combined degree. If seen her books, there's some really difficult stuff in there.

[magekillr]

Spanishs is also hard with all the conjugation and stem changing verbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You need 1 word for he,she,they,it,etc :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

languages are that way....spanish is a joke :roll: no offense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i took 2 years of german...wasn't too bad....woulda been easy if i studied...but i managed a 92 for the year (couldnt sleep or i woulda failed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

took 2 years of spanish...easiest language ive ever seen....i slept almost evey day unless we learned sumthing new...paid attention for like 5 minutes then slept again...a joke especially in the beginning years...but all languaes are hard for fluency...take 20+ years if u dont live in a native area

[runesmithie]

You took 2 years of spanish after 2 years of german?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's what made it so easy ;)

[Phil]

Apparently spanish is easier to learn if you learned French beforehand (or vice versa), or so I've been told by a few people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although I never enjoyed taking languages at school, I never had any trouble with german or french and I'm sure that if I actually wanted to learn it and did the work needed I could learn it quite easily.

[KnightLite]

Learning any new language that you don't hear regularly is bound to be very difficult. Being my idiotic self I've actually signed up for my 4th and 5th language for next term at school :| Short courses though. But that's beside the point...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not learning anything for the first weeks/months usually isn't really true, odds are you've picked up quite a few words and can communicate with some basic sentences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simply give it time. It's a another language, it's had thousands of years to evolve into what it is. You can't expect to learn it quickly ;) You didn't make it easy for you when you picked a language with a different set of letters, but keep trying and I'm sure you'll one day wake up and realize you actually can speak some Arabic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That would seem like the logical answer, but I am 18 years old, and I have learned 10 languages already (sorta, chineese i doubt I would be able to maintain an intelligent convo in.) so I'm used to not having a problem with learning languages. I grew up bilingual, different relatives spoke different languages, so by the time I was 5 years old, I knew Spanish, English, and German about as well as any 5 year old would know their own language.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arabic is different tho, and I was hopin to find somebody else on these forums that speaks it so they could help me out a little bit as to how to approach it.

[runesmithie]

 

Spanishs is also hard with all the conjugation and stem changing verbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You need 1 word for he,she,they,it,etc :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

languages are that way....spanish is a joke :roll: no offense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i took 2 years of german...wasn't too bad....woulda been easy if i studied...but i managed a 92 for the year (couldnt sleep or i woulda failed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

took 2 years of spanish...easiest language ive ever seen....i slept almost evey day unless we learned sumthing new...paid attention for like 5 minutes then slept again...a joke especially in the beginning years...but all languaes are hard for fluency...take 20+ years if u dont live in a native area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So why's it a joke? It's the second most spoken language...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, sure I should take HibidyGibidy just because it's hard... and only 5 people in teh whole world speak it!

[hohto]

German and sweden aren't that hard, I've studied both and done pretty well without actually doing anything more than sitting in the class. Finnish is pretty hard language, we have so many irregularities and weird things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

few examples: (see how "auto" word changes)

 

 

 

my car = minun autoni

 

 

 

your car = sinun autosi

 

 

 

his/her car = hÃÆÃâÃâänen autonsa

 

 

 

our car = meidÃÆÃâÃâän automme

 

 

 

your car = teidÃÆÃâÃâän autonne

 

 

 

their car = heidÃÆÃâÃâän autonsa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I drove fast with my car = Ajoin kovaa autollani

 

 

 

You drove fast with your car = Ajoit kovaa autollasi

 

 

 

I tested a red car = Testasin punaista autoa

 

 

 

I came from the red car = Tulin punaisesta autosta

 

 

 

I came by red red = Tulin punaisella autolla

 

 

 

I like driving with the red car = PidÃÆÃâÃâän punaisella autolla ajamisesta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

don't torment my dog = ÃÆÃââââ¬Ã¾lÃÆÃâÃâä rÃÆÃâÃâäÃÆÃâÃâäkkÃÆÃâÃâäÃÆÃâÃâä koiraani

 

 

 

Yea I don't torment = en rÃÆÃâÃâäÃÆÃâÃâäkkÃÆÃâÃâäÃÆÃâÃâäkkÃÆÃâÃâäÃÆÃâÃâä

 

 

 

^Try pronouncing the those sentences. If you can, record them with a mic and post here :D

[runesmithie]

German and sweden aren't that hard, I've studied both and done pretty well without actually doing anything more than sitting in the class. Finnish is pretty hard language, we have so many irregularities and weird things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

few examples: (see how "auto" word changes)

 

 

 

my car = minun autoni

 

 

 

your car = sinun autosi

 

 

 

his/her car = hÃÆÃâÃâänen autonsa

 

 

 

our car = meidÃÆÃâÃâän automme

 

 

 

your car = teidÃÆÃâÃâän autonne

 

 

 

their car = heidÃÆÃâÃâän autonsa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's called conjugation, and I'm VERY glad English doesn't have it (well, much)

[stan18]

One advantage of English is that the grammar is fairly easy. The pronounciation is the hard part. There are 3 different ways of saying 'ugh'. Laugh, cough, and something else that I can't remember. I just remember my German teacher telling me there were three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for Arabic, one of my friends is about to start her 3rd year of an Arabic and Middle Eastern politics combined degree. If seen her books, there's some really difficult stuff in there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

dough?

[runesmithie]

 

One advantage of English is that the grammar is fairly easy. The pronounciation is the hard part. There are 3 different ways of saying 'ugh'. Laugh, cough, and something else that I can't remember. I just remember my German teacher telling me there were three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for Arabic, one of my friends is about to start her 3rd year of an Arabic and Middle Eastern politics combined degree. If seen her books, there's some really difficult stuff in there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

dough?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ugh maybe?

[magekillr]

 

 

Spanishs is also hard with all the conjugation and stem changing verbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You need 1 word for he,she,they,it,etc :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

languages are that way....spanish is a joke :roll: no offense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i took 2 years of german...wasn't too bad....woulda been easy if i studied...but i managed a 92 for the year (couldnt sleep or i woulda failed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

took 2 years of spanish...easiest language ive ever seen....i slept almost evey day unless we learned sumthing new...paid attention for like 5 minutes then slept again...a joke especially in the beginning years...but all languaes are hard for fluency...take 20+ years if u dont live in a native area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So why's it a joke? It's the second most spoken language...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, sure I should take HibidyGibidy just because it's hard... and only 5 people in teh whole world speak it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

who said u shouldnt take it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

he said it was hard and i personally felt it was very very easy...

[Goku20170]

Any language in the begining is hard. Some are harder than others. I can and read and speak properly in Arabic. I've been reading Arabic for the last five years or longer. At first I found it hard with all the rules but thats just like any other language that your not fimilar with. Yes Arabic is a hard language but it really depend on the person. If you can speak French then I think you really won't have a hard time pronoucing the sounds. I my self cannot speak French but I did find it hard. In English you do not use differn't sounds. It hard to explain but what I mean is that if you are use being able to being a sound from your chest or from the bottom of your throat then it will be easy. In english you don't have to do that so if you are learning it and the only language you can speak fluently is english then it will be hard.

[Evil_Elf]

French was hard as hell once I got past the first 2 years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't even remember any of the bs rules and setups and whatnots anymore

[Pete_the_Viscous]

 

actually, english is the hardest language out of ALL languages

How do you define difficulty of learning languages? Amount of grammar rules and exceptions? Well, for example English only has "the" in front of nouns. Swedish has "Det" and "Den". German has "Der", "Das", "Die". Obviously many languages have even more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well... though the word "the" is spelled the same each time, it is pronounced differently (you know: thee alien fired thuh ray-gun). Then, of course, there's "a" and "an"--it's not a gender thing, but it amounts to the same, really.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone mentioned something about Spanish and French being easier to learn when you have learnt the other one of the two--that's true; it's the same with all languages that derive from the same source. That's one of the things that's different about English, though: we have the latin influence... but also all the other languages are there, too (I don't know what it's called but "Viking/Norse", for example), which is possibly what gives rise to most of the odd, contradictory rules. I gather that French is a language rather unwilling to be influenced by its neighbours--as such it's closer to how it started out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My father (whose first language was Hakka) tells me that English sounds, to people who don't know it, much like other languages with viking influences--rather than like French or Spanish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I personally find French the hardest to learn, as I can't make the sounds without feeling like an idiot--this is not to say that French people speaking French sound like idiots, or that the language itself sounds idiotic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

German is easy to learn (I found) when one knows English, as a lot of the sounds are the same, and the rules of how to make those sounds--other than, of course, the w/v business. Besides... there's an incentive to learn German: it sounds so rude. I'd give an example of what I mean, but it'd be taken out by the censor. If I were to continue learning a language--which I shall do one day--it'd first be German, then Welsh, then others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be honest I think the difficulty of one language depends almost entirely on what languages one already knows. I think that most people encounter English very often, so are already used to the sound of it by the time they come to learn it--to people who don't have this advantage--or the knowledge of other, similar languages--it might be harder than other languages. Possibly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another thing is that, while lots of people speak other languages, most don't know the language up to a standard at which they can make judgements on how complicated it is. I, for one, don't know English well enough to comment on the more complex aspects of it--and it's my first language. I imagine it's true of all languages.