Learn why you should learn Arabic
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| Hi! |
| Welcome to Introduction to Arabic. |
| My name is Alisha and I'm joined by... |
| Hi everyone. |
| I'm Yafa! |
| In this series, you'll learn everything you need to know to get started learning Arabic. |
| That's right! |
| And we're here to help guide you through your journey. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn the reasons why you should start learning a new language, why you should study Arabic in particular, and how to get started. |
| Why learn a new language? |
| There are countless reasons, but perhaps the biggest one of all, is that it could actually change your life! Learning a new language unlocks new pathways that are off limits to you now. |
| There are certain things that you simply cannot do without having the technical or cultural skills that come from learning a new language. |
| Like working or living in another country! |
| Knowing another language provides you with greater job opportunities. You have the freedom to move to another country halfway around the world and be able to earn a living, or even better yet, build a career from it – instead of just being stuck in one place. |
| Language allows you to visit or live in places that you may never even have considered going, simply because that wasn't a possibility for you. Knowing another language simply gives you more options to choose from. |
| And learning a new language also helps you to be more open-minded and see the world from a new perspective. |
| Language and culture go hand in hand. The world is a big place, and by broadening your understanding of other cultures, it allows you to be more empathetic and understanding of the many different ways that people live their lives. With language, you're able to see and experience more, which helps you to grow as a person. |
| Learning a new language also improves your memory. |
| Several studies have consistently shown that those who study another language have improved memory as opposed to those who didn't learn another language. Learning another language also keeps your brain healthy by significantly delaying the onset of Alzheimer's and dementia. This difference can be as much as 4 to 5 more years of quality life! |
| And those are just some of the reasons you should learn another language. The list just goes on and on. |
| Now you know the benefits of studying another language, but why should you learn Arabic in particular? |
| Why learn Arabic? |
| The Arab World is well known as a ceaseless supply of oil. It's rich in resources, with enormous oil and natural gas reserves. In fact, 7 of the top 20 countries that produce the most oil come are Arab nations. |
| Not to mention that Arabic is spoken in more than 20 countries with roughly 300 million native speakers worldwide. This makes Arabic one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Knowing Arabic opens up many business and career opportunities. |
| The region’s instability has not affected its tourism industry, which is considered the fastest growing sector in the region, with Egypt, UAE, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan leading the way. Surely you've heard of the ancient Pyramids of Giza, or the Burj Khalifa. Well, these are both famous attractions in the Arab World, where Arabic is the official language. |
| The majority of the Arabian population can't speak English, so if you're planning on making a few friends in any Arab country, being able to speak Arabic is an absolute must. |
| Another sector that is growing steadily in the Arab World is telecommunications. Within less than a decade, many local companies have managed to successfully compete internationally as global players. |
| Islam is the most widespread religion in the Arab World, and it serves as a framework through which many Arabs see the world. Through your study of Arabic, you will pick up knowledge of Islamic traditions and beliefs that will introduce you to a new religion, or to gain insight into the second largest religion in the world. |
| So clearly, there are many, many reasons why you should learn Arabic! |
| Okay then, we've talked about the reasons you should learn Arabic, but how should they get started, Yafa? |
| How to get started. |
| Well it's as simple as learning your first word in Arabic and building up from there! |
| The fact that will surprise you, is that you already know some Arabic! |
| الكحول، ليمون، سكر. |
| Many English words have been acquired directly from Arabic or else indirectly by passing from Arabic into other languages and then into English. So you must have said some Arabic words before. |
| Let's teach you something that is very useful. |
| All Arabic vocabulary is made up of root consonants that you can easily memorize. |
| Can you explain this further, Yafa? |
| Sure, Alisha. |
| For example, there are loads of words derived from the 3 letters ك ت ب, which are equivalent to the English letters: K, T, and B, and they're all connected in some way to ‘writing’. The verb كتب which means "he wrote", كاتب , which means "writer", كتاب, which means "book" and so on. |
| To better understand this point, we shall compare it to English. In English, we have many words derived from the same 3 letters. For example, run, runner and running are all derived from the 3 letters R U N and the three words are related to each other. It's the same thing in Arabic. |
| You see the similarity in all those words, don't you? All of those words come from the same 3 letters so even if you only memorized the 3 letters K, T, and B, you could in many cases take a really good guess at the meaning of a word since you know it has something to do with books and writing. |
| Exactly, that makes things much easier to learn. |
| Well, you will learn more about Arabic writing in episode 4 so stay tuned! Now, try saying your first word in Arabic! Listen and repeat after Yafa. |
| شكرًا |
| Now your turn! |
| شكرًا |
| Try it again! |
| شكرًا |
| Well done. You just learned how to say "Thank you" in Arabic! |
| We've covered a lot of things already, so why don't we wrap up the first lesson and recap on what we've learned. |
| In this lesson, you learned the benefits of studying Arabic. |
| The Arab World has a colorful history, with many things for you to see and learn. |
| And to say "thank you" in Arabic, it's... |
| شكرًا |
| In the next lesson, we're going to demystify Arabic pronunciation by taking a look at the sounds of Arabic, so be sure to watch the next video. |
| See you in the next lesson. Bye! |
| Bye! |
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