The Proof Is In The Certificate

So this morning I passed my 'Introductory Arabic' class with a score of 30 out of 30 (my teacher was in a good mood and decided not to deduct points from a small mistake I made in the shape of one letter) and here's the proof:


(My very first - but hopefully not last - Arabic certificate)

I actually like the front page better - with its Arabic calligraphy in golden letters - it makes it look really important! None of my university certificates have ever looked this nice...!



Unfortunately I am still very limited in my ability to speak Arabic - it does not go much beyond 'hello', 'goodbye', 'how are you?' and 'thank you' - but then again, those words do go a long way and every little effort seems to be appreciated here.

The bulk of the 10-hour class was spent on learning the Arabic alphabet - which is not optional but rather compulsory for moving on to the next levels. I do appreciate, though, that it is a big help to be able to read some Arabic (with time) especially since there is no official transcription of the Arabic language (unlike for example Chinese, where the pinyin system is a very strict system of transcribing Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet). In other words, if you want to be able to pronounce the words, you have to be able to read them in Arabic (attempts are of course made to write Arabic words using Latin letters but as there are no fixed rules everyone seems to have his/her way of doing that - making it even more confusing).

There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet - not such a big deal in itself - as long as you remember to write from right to left:

أ ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن هـ و ي

The trouble starts when the letters change shape according to their position in the word - one shape if it is the first letter in the word, one shape if it is in the middle and one shape if it is the last letter in a word. Add to that, that the shape again depends on whether the preceding letter is on that can be connected or not (there are 6 of the 28 letters that cannot be connected from the left). So in reality, for each of the 28 letters, I had to learn the following:

1) the name of the letter itself
2) the sound of the letter (not the same as its name)
3) to write the letter itself
4) to write the letter if it is first in the sentence
5) to write the letter if it is in the middle and the preceding letter can be connected
6) to write the letter if it is in the middle and the preceding letter cannot be connected
7) to write the letter if it is in the end and the preceding letter can be connected
8) to write the letter if it is in the end and the preceding letter cannot be connected

Our sofa table with the 28 letters lined up for practice:



And the worse part: the different shapes of the letters according to their position in the sentence:



Once that hurdle is passed, there are 5 different accents that can be added to each letter giving it one of 3 vowel sounds, no sound or an emphasis (like a double consonant) - or a vowel sound AND an emphasis together. You do the maths on how many combinations that gives you!!!

In terms of pronunciation, some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English whereas others are completely new to me - including those that originate in the throat or where part of the sound is to make a so-called 'glottal stop' in the throat - almost like the sound one would make if being strangulated. With practice, though, I think it will not be a big problem. What is more of a problem is that there are so many different dialects of Arabic being spoken. I am now learning classical Arabic - as should all Arabs in school - but what is being spoken on the street is often very different. Even within a small country as Kuwait, the Kuwaitis have their own dialect, the Egyptian guest workers another, the Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinian others and even the other Gulf states have their own ones.

In all honesty I have no intention of becoming fluent in Arabic - that would require a massive full-time effort. I do however want to be able to communicate on a basic level - especially since a great part of the decision to accept the job offer was the opportunity to travel in the region and experience the different countries and cultures of the Gulf and the Middle East. So far I have never lived in a country without attempting to learn at least a minimum of their language - just to be able to be polite if nothing more - and I don't see why I should do it any differently this time. I also firmly believe that in order to be able to better understand a culture it is necessary to understand its language.

Now for the fun part: I came across this webpage when trying to look for help on the alphabet. It really is quite funny - tell me if you can tell the different sounds apart? (The sound being ahead of the graphics certainly doesn't help...) Also, if you have the patience to watch it to the end (it's just a few minutes) that does give you a great vocabulary for everyday use :)))) (click the link below and don't forget to turn up your computer's volume).

Link