Brits should start learning some Arabic

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Reply 280

Iqbal007

Original post by NekoNoKoi

Fair point, however I still wouldn't want to visit some of those places because of their laws etc.

You could say the same about other countries as well, hence you wouldn't even leave the UK for that matter.

Reply 281

NekoNoKoi

Original post by Iqbal007

You could say the same about other countries as well, hence you wouldn't even leave the UK for that matter.

There are many countries in the world where there are laws against women, homosexuals and others being treated as inferior. At least in Europe there is a very low chance of a woman being jailed for being raped because she had extramarital sex and was drunk, something Dubai cannot attest to.

Reply 282

Iqbal007

Original post by NekoNoKoi

Thats terrible reasoning for not wanting to learn another language........when every country has its own flaws in terms of the law

Reply 283

NekoNoKoi

Original post by Iqbal007

Thats terrible reasoning for not wanting to learn another language........when every country has its own flaws in terms of the law

If I learn a language, it is because I would like to visit the country and experience it's culture and quirks fully, something which I believe you can't do as much if you don't know the language. I do not wish to visit that part of the world and clearly I'm not that interested in the language as a whole anyway.

Reply 284

John Stuart Mill

i'd like to learn Arabic to read the medieval scholars from Islam who built on their classical predecessors.

Reply 285

simon_g

Original post by John Stuart Mill

i'd like to learn Arabic to read the medieval scholars from Islam who built on their classical predecessors.

Arabic used by scholars was a classical arabic- not the modern language used in Arabic countries (called Modern Standard Arabic)- they are basically 2 different lingos (for non-arabs at least)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/10091971/British-ambassadors-struggle-with-Arabic.html

haha, 3 of 16 ambassadors speak Arabic... nice :smile:

but seriously- Brits and Americans are well known for their "language-ignorance".
TBH, I'd love to see the Interlingua ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlingua ) introduced to schools, as a short (half-term) introduction to the Romance languages. Also a bit of Dutch wouldn't hurt.

Reply 286

ConsiderScience

No thanks.

Ill stick with learning spanish.

Reply 287

Катя

Original post by Plainview

لول

No. British kids should learn German, Latin and Spanish. Not in that order – German and Latin because between them they give a very thorough understanding of our own language, and Spanish because it is perhaps the best combination of future relevance and ease of acquisition. Chinese is too difficult for most children. French is a pointless comparison – it was born out of the days when most kids just went to France on holiday as it was closest. Arabic makes no sense at all.

Somehow the Chinese manage to learn their own language and ours just fine.

Reply 288

Plainview

Original post by Катя

Somehow the Chinese manage to learn their own language and ours just fine.

Yeah, and they clean up at the Olympics too. Funny that.

Reply 289

Three Mile Sprint

Original post by Iqbal007

Thats terrible reasoning for not wanting to learn another language........when every country has its own flaws in terms of the law

Indeed they do.

Arabic speaking ones tend to have more flaws though, with further reaching consequences, and much worse human rights records.

Reply 290

Iqbal007

Original post by Three Mile Sprint

Indeed they do.

Arabic speaking ones tend to have more flaws though, with further reaching consequences, and much worse human rights records.

I would say the latter is arguable.....however Arabic does certainly have advantages depending on future work interests or if you want to travel, etc

Reply 291

Three Mile Sprint

Original post by Iqbal007

I would say the latter is arguable.....however Arabic does certainly have advantages depending on future work interests or if you want to travel, etc

I would agree it's a useful language, I myself have put it to good use.

There are better ones to learn though.

Reply 292

sineadduffy

I would have rather done Arabic then French in high school!

Reply 293

Al-Mudaari

Original post by John Stuart Mill

i'd like to learn Arabic to read the medieval scholars from Islam who built on their classical predecessors.

Good man.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 294

Iqbal007

Original post by Three Mile Sprint

I would agree it's a useful language, I myself have put it to good use.

There are better ones to learn though.

Again depends on a individuals own interests...it would help for those who work with middle east partners, or oil industry in the middle east, etc or those who want to travel through such parts.

Are you dizzie brav?

I don't understand why people don't want to learn arabic just for the fun of it! It's a language that is over 1000 years old and unlike latin it is still being used. Sure you may never intend to visit a country that speaks arabic but just saying 'I can speak arabic' is pretty cool in my opinion. It's a shame people judge the language based on its current laws used in SOME countries that speak it etc.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 297

SoftPunch

Original post by rickfloss

to speak arabac learn one word

Allah, ALLLAAHH, and ALLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

that will comprimise about 75% of all words spoken in arabic

Best post ever. :rofl:

But seriously OP - when I lived in Dubai, I had to learn Arabic. What happened now? Forgot it already and have no intention to be arsed to learn it over again.

Reply 298

Swanbow

In the unlikely event that I emigrate to a Middle Eastern Arabic speaking country I'd probably make an effort to learn it. Otherwise I'm not going to bother, much rather focus on a Germanic language instead.