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In the world league table of languages, Arabic ranks sixth with around 186 million people natively speaking it. The Arabic language is used in the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam. Furthermore, it is spoken in Muslim countries worldwide. Along with Hebrew and Amharic (spoken in Ethiopia) the Arabic language is part of the Semitic language group.
You will find the Arabic language has many dialects. Used in the Qur’an, Classical was the original dialect of Mecca in what is currently known as Saudi Arabia. Modern Standard, a modified form of Classical, is mainly used in the media such as TV, radio, magazines and newspapers. Modern Standard is utilized in books, religion and politics too. In addition, you will hear it spoken in conversations among educated Arabs from various countries.
To master the Arabic language of a regional dialect, it will be necessary to spend a few years in the area it is spoken. However for general purposes, as in reading a newspaper or watching TV, Modern Standard is the ideal way to go. If Islam religion is an interest, then you would need to learn Modern Standard along with some extra religious terminology.
Learning the Arabic language will take time, patience and a lot of practice. Fortunately, their grammar does not have too many irregularities. Arabic is far less complex than Latin. You may even find it simpler to learn than German.
In the beginning, learning the vocabulary might cause problems. A majority of European dialects have words which resemble English words. Conversely, you will notice the Arabic language has very few. However, learning gets easier after you memorize several roots.
European language speakers will find the root system of Arabic unfamiliar. In the Arabic language, words are constructed from three-letter roots. These roots represent basic ideas. For instance, the letters k-t-b represents the concept of writing. Adding letters in front, middle and after the root letters will produce words associated with writing, such as write, author, book and library.
The Arabic language has 28 consonants and three vowels. The vowels are “a”, “i” and “u” and are either short or long. Arabic has some unique sounds which can be difficult for foreigners to pronounce correctly. However, with practice you should be able to say them clearly enough to be understood. A sentence is normally composed as verb first, subject next and object last. In a sentence, the function of a noun can be shown by case endings which are marks over the final letter in a word. However, these marks are generally only found in schoolbooks or the Qur’an.
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To make a feminine noun plural, “aat” is added to the suffix. Masculine nouns will have typically a broken plural, which means the vowels will be changed in the middle of the word. The Arabic language does not have many irregular verbs. Furthermore, the words “is” and “are” are never used in present tense. Another interesting point in the Arabic language is adding to the root will make subtle changes in the meanings of verbs.