Learning Arabic or urdu- help please!

[Potatochips4444]

Hi!!!

I was hoping to start learning a new language this year, I was thinking Arabic or Urdu but I have absolutely no experience in languages (other than GCSE level which I’ve now forgotten anyway!) I know it’s a very general and difficult question to answer, but are these languages very difficult to learn? does anyone have any experience in learning them as an adult?

I work in customer service in an area these 2 languages are widely spoken so I thought it would be nice for when customers phone and can’t speak English, so that way I could still try and help them in a way thats easier for them.
Am I being ridiculous to think I could become fluent when I have no experience whatsoever in either of these languages? Is there a best way to approach learning, eg would group classes be a good starting point or does anyone know of any books that would be a good help?

I’m also not sure which one to learn first, I know both are widely spoken but I wasn’t sure if there was one that would be easier to learn first of all or if one would be useful to learn first and would make learning the 2nd one easier?

Last question sorry! I wouldn’t want to cause any offence or seem like I’m appropriating a culture. I know it’s only a language and anyone can learn it, but I have Muslim friends and the racism and micro aggression they routinely face is awful and I wouldn’t want to seem like I’m cultural appropriating or trying to be part of a culture I’m not part of. I’m white/catholic so don’t face the sort of racism others do and I’m very aware of this and wouldn’t want to cause any offence or upset at all (I hope I’ve explained that well). I’m not learning the language to appropriate another culture, it’s just we have some customers who speak these languages and don’t speak English, and I want to be able to talk to them and help as much as I can so learning the language seems like it would help.

Thanks for reading this far and for any advice!!

I can speak Urdu and can also read/write Arabic. Personally in your situation I wouldn’t learn Urdu - it’s just not a language used by non-Pakistanis so is a bit weird although certainly not racist. Arabic would be more suitable as it’s broader and a lot of people speak, read or write in Arabic so I would consider it more useful. It’s also easier to get educational resources for Arabic I imagine. It’s not an easy language however if you only speak English as the letters, grammar, dialects etc are very different to English and also you read/write from right to left as opposed to left to right like English which can be confusing. Can be done though! I’m not Arab but can fluently read/write it and if you have plenty of practice you could to. I would recommend watching some cartoons aimed for kids in arabic which is always a good way to learn languages as there’s lots of repetition. I also have some really good arabic alphabet flash cards I bought for DD to learn so if you are interested PM me and I can send you the link for them. Duolingo also has arabic on it so would recommend to download that. Good luck!

As an Urdu speaker I don’t think its rated as a very hard language to learn, but pronunciation is an issue, very few monolingual English speakers can deepen their d’s for example, Ṭe can also be an issue for a non-native speaker or an adult learner.

Out of the two I would go arabic, written arabic is also easier than written urdu, they very similar, but arabic is a simpler written language.

Arabic is an incredibly difficult language to learn, I say that as an experienced language learner and as someone who is half Arab and who grew up around Arabic speakers so could understand a lot.
It's not impossible, but it will be very hard. To become fluent, it's likely you will need to live I an Arabaic speaking country for a while.

I do second the suggestion on cartoons, it's a great way to learn any language.

Are you thinking just the speech or the written language too?

Its not easy.
Personally arabic would be the preference as it is much more international. Its spoken in more places.
Though there are a lot of similarities in the root words. So some of the words are very similar for certain things.

So I guess if you learned one the other would be much easier to learn.

It won't be easy, but Arabic would be my choice. I am learning to read Arabic (quran) but I don't know what it says. I have weekly lessons and will be able to start reciting sentences soon if I carry on. That's taken about 3 months to get to this point. And that is to read quran, not to communicate. You would need quite a bit of dedication I think and a lot of practise but not impossible if you really want to learn. I think it's fantastic as it is widely used

Thank you all! I’ll look for local Arabic classes and start there. I know I’m jumping way ahead but I really hope I can become fluent both speaking/listening and reading/writing, from everyone’s comments it sounds like it’s a difficult language so I’ll try and get some individual lessons as well as group classes. I was mainly worried it wouldn’t be culturally appropriate for me to learn it or it would be racist so I just wanted to check I wasn’t causing any offence at all.

Thanks so much for everyone’s comments xx

It really isn't racist or appropriation to learn to communicate in a different language. You are not using oppressed people's experiences for glamour or adoration or social media likes. Learning isn't racist. Best of luck with whichever you decide.

I learned Arabic for years and I still can’t really speak it. There’s a huge difference between written and spoken Arabic, so I agree with the PP who said you’re best off spending some time in an Arabic-speaking country.

I know neither - but at university it is an option to learn Arabic
It is the language used by the second largest religion in the world and there’s no downsides to learning

How lovely you are

I think your customers will appreciate the effort that you have made. If it is conversational Arabic that you need, perhaps the best way would be to get some individual lessons to learn some useful phrases first. Italki is very good and you can try out a few different tutors to find someone who suits you. Going from zero to fluency is a massive task, but you don't need to be fluent to communicate and build a rapport. I've learned various European languages and I started Arabic a few years ago. The grammar is waaaaaay way harder than any of the other languages I've tried. However I'm loving it, even though I'm going very slowly and I'm terrible at it. Learning the language is a brilliant way to start learning something about another culture. People usually reactive very positively to someone who is making that effort. Good luck!

The only thing to think about with Arabic is which dialect you want to learn. There are big differences between different types of Arabic (e.g. Egyptian vs Syrian). Some courses will teach modern standard which is used formally in newspapers etc but which no one actually speaks day to day. Just be aware of what you are signing up for and how useful it will be for who you want to so speak to.

I speak some Arabic. It's a hard language to master and I had many lessons.

Maybe learn a few conversational phrases and phrases specific to your work. Then build up from there.