Speaking Arabic

[wanttolearnarabic]

Hi

I’m absolutely desperate to learn Arabic. I’ve always been mesmerised by it and thought it seemed a really fascinating language to learn, as daft as that may come across. I live in an area with lots of people who speak Arabic and little English so it would be really great to know a bit to be able to speak to people in a language they are more comfortable in (just in everyday situations like going to the shops, saying hello, meeting new people etc :) ) but I don’t actually know anyone personally who speaks it so I can’t really practice with anyone and I have no experience in the language. But I’ve heard that the pronunciation can be extremely difficult and that even people who can read it may struggle to speak or listen to it as it’s really different from reading (that may be wrong but it’s just something I’ve seen online)

does anyone have any advice or recommendations for learning it? Or any good resources? Thanks in advance :)

Duolingo is always good, or you could ring up the local mosque and ask if they do Arabic classes for women (assuming you are a woman, of course!).

Find out what Arabic your neighbours speak, there are many varieties.

This. Also you are totally right that written and spoken Arabic are almost like two different languages and the dialects can be very different from each other (even Arabic native speakers don’t necessarily understand every dialect). Duolingo is a good start for the alphabet and basic grammar in formal Arabic but to learn to speak you really need to study the specific dialect then spend a lot of time around Arabic speakers to hear how they use the language.

I wouldn’t go to mosque Arabic classes unless you specifically want to read the Quran. Quranic Arabic is very far from everyday spoken Arabic so beyond getting a very basis feel of how the language works it won’t help you much.

There's a page on Instagram called Learn Arabic Fast. I think it give you a little insight into it. Could learn some words yourself. I would contact your local mosque and see if they are able to teach you the basics. It does take time so I think it would be a good starting point x

First, you need to figure out which dialect the people you want to talk to speak. A Syrian will not understand an Algerian, for example. All dialects have their own characteristics and own grammatical differences. So you need to figure out which one you want, so you don't waste your time.

Second, learn the alphabet (this will easily take you a couple of weeks). As soon as you have done so, start buying a starter lesson book in your preferred dialect. Don't bother with standard Arabic. Unless you are keen to read books, it will not help you. Imagine it as if it were Latin, and you want to learn French. They may be related, but why would you bother with Latin?

Third, use NaTakallam to practice speaking. Look it up. Duolingo Arabic is noy very good, and again, Standard Arabic. NaTakallam is online and you speak to native speakers.

It is a great language!

As others have said dialects vary. A lot of media is in Egyptian Arabic but this has a very distinctive and strong accent. DH is North African and Egyptian Arabic is noticeably different. I can also hear when DH is talking to someone from the Middle East rather than North Africa because he changes the way he speaks quite significantly.

Mastering Arabic by Wightwick and Gafaar is one of the best known beginner texts but again it is Modern Standard Arabic. If there is a large Arabic community you may find a more general language school locally not just a Mosque based one.

A word of warning if you are learning from North Africans, you might find that they use a fair bit of French or Arabicised(?) French in their dialect.

If you want to learn in a class the City Lit Institute has excellent face-to-face and online courses,