photo credit: Doctor Yuri

Do you have any idea how many different languages and dialects there are in the world? Well, if you don’t, you sure picked one of the more fascinating ones by wanting to teach yourself Arabic. But before you jump headfirst into this language, there are a few things you need to know. This article is going to fill you in on some of what you have ahead of you. Hopefully, after reading this, you’ll be prepared.

It’s Not as Simple as “ABC” or “123″

For starters, and this is probably the most important thing for you to realize, unlike many languages like German, French and Spanish, the Arabic Alphabet is not like our standard English, or Latin alphabet. The symbols are quite different and quite complex. For somebody who has been reading nothing but English their whole life, this can be quite a culture shock. This is why American born Jewish children are taught Hebrew at such a young age. The Herbrew alphabet, also made of symbols quite different from the Latin, is not easy to grasp as you get older. One mark can totally change the meaning of a word and how it’s pronounced.

Another thing you need to know is that the Arabic alphabet is used for quite a few languages in Asia and Africa, including Arabic itself. Actually, next to the Latin alphabet, it is the second most used alphabet in the world today. Not many people know this. If you’re looking to read the holy book of Islam, then this alphabet is the one you’re going to want to learn because that’s what it’s written in. And trust me…it’s not light reading.

Don’t Let the Tricky Reading Get You

Another thing about Arabic like Hebrew, is that it is written from right to left just like the Hebrew alphabet. So if you grew up in a Hebrew home, you might have a bit of an advantage when learning Arabic, as opposed to somebody growing up in an English speaking house. Then you’ve really got your work cut out for you. However, as with Hebrew, some of the vowels are optional symbols. This can make reading a bit tricky at times.

If you check out the product reviews on this website, you’ll find recommendations for the best ebooks, audios, and softwares for learning to speak and read Arabic. Whatever you preference, I think you’ll find them all quite helpful.

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