Good Reasons Why You Need To Learn Arabic

Do You Have Good Reasons Why You Need To Learn Arabic?
Well, here are 10 good reasons to start learning Arabic.


If you are NOT considering to learn Arabic, the you may want to read this....
You may ask, what are the benefits. On top of basic reasons why everyone should learn a new language, here are 10 solid reasons why Arabic will be the excellent choice for you.

1. Arabic is the 5th most commonly spoken native language in the world.
If you travel to countries in northern part of Africa, or middle east, or even the south Asia, like Pakistan or the Western part of Chine, you will be surprise by the large number of people that can speak Arabic.
Arabic is the official language of over 20 countries and there are well over 300 million native speakers of the language. These speakers are largely concentrated in the Middle East, but there are minority groups of native speakers throughout the world. It is also one of the official language of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference, and the African Union.

2. Arabic is the language of Islam of Islam.
In addition to the millions of native speakers, many more millions know Arabic as a foreign language, since as the language of the Qu'ran, it is understood by Muslims throughout the world.In Malaysia and Indonesia, millions of young students attended the Islamic School where arabic is the language of instruction. If you listen to one of the Malaysian Radio, the Arabic Session on the radio had been received well by the population.

3. There is a high demand and low supply of Arabic-speakers in the Western world.
Relatively few Westerners ever venture to learn Arabic. With the growing importance of the Middle East in international affairs, there is thus an extreme shortage of workers in the West who are versed in Arabic language and culture. Those who study Arabic can find careers in a variety of fields: journalism, business and industry, education, finance and banking, translation and interpretation, consulting, foreign service and intelligence, and many others. Only 1 % of the United States 12,000 FBI agents have any knowledge of Arabic at all, and this includes those who know only a few words.

4. There are financial incentives for learning Arabic.
The US government has designated Arabic as a language of strategic importance. The National Strategic Language Initiative instituted in 2006 promotes the learning of Arabic (and other languages deemed critical) among Americans through numerous scholarships and supported learning opportunities. These include support for language courses from beginning to advanced levels, study abroad programs, intensive instruction opportunities, teacher exchanges, and professional development.

5. Arabic-speaking nations are a fast growing market for trade.
Initiatives to integrate the Arab world into the global economy are opening up numerous potential nw business opportunities. The Arab region with its rapidly growing population provides a huge export market for goods and services. With a GDP of over 600 billion dollars annually, the region also has much to offer the world market. In order to do business effectively, one must understand the language and culture of the people with whom one hopes to negotiate and conduct trade.

6. Arabic-speaking peoples have made significant contributions to world civilization.
While Europe was experiencing the relative intellectual stagnation of the Middle Ages, the Arab-Islamic civilization was at its zenith. Arabs contributed a great deal to the advancement of science, medicine, and philosophy. Much learning from the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine cultures was preserved for the world through the Arab libraries. Arabs have also made significant contributions in such areas as literature, mathematics, navigation, astrology, and architecture. A knowledge of Arabic enables the exploration of this vast body of knowledge in their original language.

7. The Arab-speaking world has a rich cultural heritage.
The Arab world has its own unique art, music, literature, cuisine, and way of life. Westerners know about belly dance, perhaps have read 1001 Nights, and may have tried some some popular Middle Eastern dishes such as hummus or falafel, but Western exposure to the Arab way of life is generally limited. In exploring the Arabic world, you will learn to appreciate its distinct cultural products and practices and you will come to understand some of the values important to the Arabic people, such as honor, dignity, and hospitality.

8. Knowing Arabic can promote intercultural understanding.
In addition to having limited exposure to real Arabic culture, Westerners are presented with one-dimensional negative stereotypes of Arabic-speaking peoples through the news media, Hollywood films, and other sources. At the same time, events in the Middle East affect our daily lives. Reliance on such false and superficial images can lead to mistrust and miscommunication, to an inability to cooperate, negotiate, and compromise, and perhaps even to military confrontation. Those who learn Arabic gain deeper insights into the cultural, political, and religious values that motivate people in those cultures. People who know Arabic can negotiate the cultural and linguistic gap between nations, assist in solving and avoiding intercultural conflict, and help businesses successfully engage in international trade.

9. Arabic influence is evident in many other languages.
The export of concepts, products, and cultural practices from Arabic-speaking peoples is evident in the vocabulary that Arabic has lent other languages. Algebra was invented by Arab mathematicians in medieval times. Such staple products as coffee and cotton came from the Arab world, as well asjasmine, lemon, andlime. Other Arabic loanwords appearing in English denote such diverse things ashenna, macrame, lute,mattress, gerbil, sorbet, safari and muslin. The influence of Arabic culture is apparent not only in the English language. Numerous Arabic contributions are also discernible in Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, Spanish, Swahili, Urdu, and other languages.

10. The Unites States has an Arab-American minority.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2002 census, there are 1.2 million people of Arab heritage residing in the United States. Though a relatively small population, their numbers are quickly growing; people of Arab ancestry in the U.S. increased by about 40% during the 1990s. Intercultural understanding begins at home. Even just a basic knowledge of the Arabic language and culture can improve understanding and acceptance of this often misunderstood and misrepresented group of Americans.

Basic Arabic Vowels

Learning Arabic can be fun.. In the initial learning, a marking stroke is put on the letters  to identify the sound. Let see an example used in the following word.

1.  درس - Arabic is written from right to left, in the example given, there are 3 letters.
        د   -  dal -
        ر  - ro
       س - sin
 in the above word, for beginner, a stroke(or marking) will be put on top of each letters so show that it sound like having a letter "a " after the vowel... so it will sound.....da ....ra...sa... ( the sound cannot be directly translated into english words). In Arabic the stroke on top is called 'fathah'

These markings help readers to read the Arabic. For that reason, the readers of Quran can read it, and listeners will not know if the reader is an arabic or not.

2. Example 2 ---  درب .
The second word is da...ri...ba
You may ask why can't  it be different sound. The answer is simple.... That is how it should sound ... Like the word "I" in English, everyone knows how it should sound except those who do not know English.

The second stroke is at the bottom, giving sound like vowel followed by the letter i.. The stroke at the bottom is called kasrah.
/
د  .... stroke on top -- like +a ... sound da
ر .....   stroke at the botton... like + i .... sound ri
ب ....  stroke at the top      like + a ......sound ba

Arabic Today

Arabic As It is Today

Arabic the fifth widely spoken language. It is the official language of all the Arab countries such as the Saudi Arabia, UAE (the United Arab Emirates), Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar,  Syria, Sudan,  Tunisia,  and Yemen. It is spoken by about 360 million of native speakers and it is also the language of religion for millions of Muslims in many other countries like India, China and Indonesia. In Europe and USA, it is used by some immigrants who originated from middle east.

You may be able to see the influence of various colonial powers in different parts of the Arab world, despite the years on independent. In the Mahgreb countries of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, for instance, The influence of France is still very much in evidence in its former colony like Mahgrebi, Algeria and Morocco. British interests were evident in Egypt, Iraq and Jordon.

During the oil-boom period of 1970s, big number of Arabs from the gulf states came to setup business in UK. As they were bring large amount of money, they were accepted by the UK government. You can find them living in some of the affluent suburbs of London. The recent turmoil in Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine hand resulted to the rise to the numbers of refugees. A survey of London schoolchildren conducted in 2000 showed that Arabic was the seventh most commonly spoken language in the capital, used by 1.23 per cent of the school population.

The emergence of an independent Arabic language newspaper Al Hayat in London give an indication of the number of local Arabic speakers.

The history of Arabic Language
Arabic has a long and successful history. It was the language of learning when the Muslims were leading in many areas. The westerners were flocking to learn from the Muslim Universities in Spain and North Africa. The situation in not unlike what it is today.
Arabic is the sacred language of Islam, is a member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages. The religious conquests of the seventh century AD resulted in the spread of the language over a very wide area from the Arabian peninsula where it originated. Its grammar has remained largely unchanged over the centuries, though its vocabulary has developed to include modern elements.

A variety sometimes known as Modern Standard Arabic is used today for communication among educated people throughout the Arabic speaking world. In contrast, the colloquial Arabic used in everyday conversation varies a great deal from country to country. The Maghrebi Arabic spoken in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, for instance, is very different from the Mashriqi Arabic spoken from Egypt to the Persian Gulf.

The writing system
Arabic has been a literary language for over 1500 years. It is written from right to left. Words are very often formed by adding vowels to consonant root forms. The consonants carry the underlying meaning and the vowels grammatical information, such as parts of speech and tense.

Take, for instance, the root form kataba, meaning he has written:
many many words emerge from it.
kitab -- a book
aktob--please write
katib -- a writer
maktab-- an office

The heavy reliance on the consonant roots of words has given rise to writing systems consisting largely of consonants. The letters are given the markings to indicate the sound if it. There are seven basic markings, above, below, front and the double of each. These markings enable Quran to be easily read, but of course without the understanding of it.

Most letters change its form according to their position - initial, medial, final or isolated. Another characteristic is that, the letters can be joined together even though they are of different words.    

Calligraphy is a highly venerated art form, providing a link between the Arabic language and the Islamic religion. Proverbs and passages from the Qu'ran are often important sources for calligraphic art.

Arab names
Arab and Muslims do not posses a surname. They have adopted the western system just to satisfy the requirements of filling the forms in some countries. Let us see how the system work.

Grandfather   - Abbas Ausama Ali
Father -Tahir Abbas Ausama
Son - Salam Tahir Abbas
Daughter      - Fateema Tahir Abbas

The child's personal name is followed by the father's and grandfather's personal names. Alternatively, in states such as Oman, bin (son of) or bint (daughter of) is inserted before the father's and grandfather's names which, in turn, are followed by a family name starting with Al - (e.g. Salam bin Tahir bin Abbas Almoharby, Fateema bint Tahir bin Abbas Almoharby).