Looking for a challenge

After I retired, I continued to travel, at a more leisurely pace, and taking more time in each place. And because now I have more time and I want to spend it in a useful manner, I decided to take up the challenge of learning a really foreign language (I speak 5 Indo-European languages, and that is no major feat for somebody whose native language belongs to that family) which could give me access into a major non-European culture. With much idle time on my hands, I also needed a challenge to keep my brain in good shape, something more demanding than crosswords puzzles, so I thought a difficult language would fit the bill.

Oh boy! I wanted a challenge, I found it. With the self-confidence of a person who felt at ease in a few other languages, I embarked on the study of Arabic thinking that within a year, two at most, I would be fluent. I totally misjudged the magnitude of the endeavour, especially the amount of self study required and individual effort (it would probably have been more effective had I been obliged to live in an Arabic country). I tried several approaches: home study, then taking a few classes a week, even enrolling in special programs offered to foreigners in the Arabic-speaking countries – I spent altogether about 8 months in such programs.

There was progress, of course, but at some point, after two years of this, I felt I had reached a plateau. All courses for foreigners in Arabic countries were the same, advanced level was not really advanced, the students’ level was very heterogeneous, I kept redoing the same things all over again. What I needed was a personal, customized approach to the study, where I could focus on my weaknesses and build on what I had already achieved. Plus, I needed interactive practice (which my individual, self-teaching style could not give me) with native speakers. Plus, I needed an impulse, a more or less formal schedule (but very flexible) to make me stick to the tasks (I am by nature a rather lazy person).

Quick Facts: Arabic

The Arabic language is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. Arabic is spoken throughout the Arab world and is widely studied and known throughout the Islamic world with around 270 million speakers. Classical Arabic has been a literary language since at least the 6th century and is the liturgical language of Islam. Because of its liturgical role, Arabic has lent many words to other Islamic languages, akin to the role Latin has in Western languages.

During the Middle Ages Arabic was used widely in science, mathematics and philosophy, with the result that many European languages have borrowed numerous words from it. In common with other European languages, many English words are derived from Arabic, among them every-day vocabulary like 'sugar', 'cotton' and 'alcohol'.