Why and how to master the Arabic language

BlogLanguagesArabArabic Language Difficulties: Why and how to master the Arabic language

Is it difficult to learn Arabic?

It is often believed that learning the Arabic language is difficult for Europeans: the Arabic alphabet, its grammar and its pronunciation are totally different from our linguistic roots. A Spaniard can easily learn to speak Italian, French or English, since Indo-European languages ​​are built from the same roots.
When learning the Arabic language, the business can be much more difficult than previously thought. Without a doubt, it is difficult, but with effort, everything is achieved.
How long does it take to learn Arabic? One month? One year? Several years? What volume of work does this language training require? What are the difficulties of learning Arabic? Can I learn Arabic online ?
This is what we are going to clarify in this article: here are our reflections on the Arabic language in terms of its difficulty and the time it takes to learn it.

Is it difficult to learn Arabic?: Why and how to master the Arabic language

Learning a foreign language is never easy; it always requires some effort on our part. And of course, learning the Arabic language also requires a significant personal investment.
Learning to speak Arabic is difficult, but if you persevere, you will reach the top!
Is it difficult to learn Arabic? Maybe yes, maybe not. All students are not endowed with the same neural plasticity. Thus, for some, the acquisition of the basic elements of the Arabic language will be easier than for others, especially if, in addition, they have received English, French, Italian or German classes. The brain of a student who takes language classes since childhood will need less time to learn a new alphabet, a new grammatical system (personal pronouns and possessive pronouns, suffixes and prefixes, etc.) and Arabic vocabulary than an adult than ever have worked on your language skills.
First of all, we must put aside preconceptions about the Arabic language (and, incidentally, clichés about Arabs): being the eighth most widely spoken language in the world and the official language in 23 countries, it is very useful to learn to speak Arabic. But due to its alphabet and script, the language of the Prophet seems impossible to learn.
Arabic is a Semitic language called “trilitera”, that is, it is a language whose roots are lexical units made up of three consonants. Since it has few vowels and many consonants, the Arabic language is very different from our mother tongue, from German, French or English.
Arabic pronunciation, which has guttural sounds, requires the student to step out of their “comfort zone.” Therefore, learning to speak Arabic is like a long journey full of traps.
However, Spanish has many words of Arabic origin. You will quickly realize during your Arabic courses that many vocabulary words that we use every day come from Arabic, and that you already know many sounds.

Here are our tips to learn Arabic easily:

De-dramatize difficulties
Forget about prejudices related to the Arabic language
Accustom the ear to the many sounds the brain is not used to
Demystify the complexity of the Arabic alphabet: Although most of the 28 letters have four forms (isolated, initial, middle and final), once you memorize it, you will have it mastered.
Choose what type of Arabic to learn. This language is divided into two linguistic groups: learned Arabic and dialect Arabic. The latter is more difficult to learn because each of the Arab countries has a different dialect. Choose to sign up for educated Arabic classes, as it is standard, modern and common to the entire Arab world.
Getting used to the Arabic script and its reading sense from right to left, which is an additional challenge compared to the Latin alphabet.
Finally, if you want to become bilingual or simply learn the basics of Arabic, get yourself some good adapted learning material: buy method books and a dictionary, follow online Arabic classes, download apps to learn Arabic for free , take classes at a language school, or speak with natives of an Arab country to improve your oral expression.
Learning Arabic is a relatively complex undertaking, but not impossible for those who make an effort. Can it be learned quickly?