Why you should consider learning Arabic?

Are you wondering why you should Learn Arabic?

These days, you shouldn’t ask why you should learn Arabic, but why shouldn’t you? When you consider the state of the world today, and the rich cultural history of the Middle East, it’s easy to see why learning the language is important.

First off, Arabic ranks as the fifth most common language on earth. More than twenty countries use it as their official language, and over three hundred million people speak it as their primary language. While most of these people are in the Middle East, groups of them are spread across the globe; the US has a sizeable Arabic-speaking population. The United Nations, Arab League, Organization of Islamic Conference, and the African Union all use it. As the Koran, the Muslim holy book was first written in Arabic, knowing it can help you in understanding the original text.

Learn the Arabic language; it will sharpen your wisdom

Omar

Is there any incentive for learning Arabic?

In terms of a monetary incentive; there’s a big demand for Arabic-speaking people in the West right now, and a low supply. Thus, by learning Arabic, you increase your chances of finding a job in such areas as: journalism, industry, education, banking, translating, intelligence, and so on. Currently only about one percent of the staff of the FBI know any Arabic. As far as the US government is concerned, they’ve deemed Arabic to be of strategic importance!

Then there’s trade. Many nations where Arabic is spoken are experiencing an economic boom. When you consider the state of the economy in the US and other nations, learning Arabic to allow you to interact with fast-growing nations makes sense. Oil is not the only product that comes to us from the Middle East. Things as varied as coffee, cotton, lemons and limes, and jasmine (to name only a few) come from there.

When you look back over history, you can see that Arabic-speaking people have made major contributions to our civilization. The term “Dark Ages” is no longer used to describe the Middle Ages. The reason being, although Europe was in a state of intellectual stagnation, the Arab world was reaching its pinnacle. Subjects such as literature and mathematics, navigation and architecture, and others were influenced by Arabic researchers. Add to that, the Arabic world has its own art, music, food, and culture. To truly appreciate all that the Arab life has to offer, knowing Arabic is critical. Plus, the language has influenced other languages. Words like algebra, azimuth, henna, macramé, and mattress, come to us from Arabic, as does the concept of zero. The ancient Romans had no way of representing it!

Finally, there’s no secret that, these days, we live in troubling times. Arabs and Israelis fight, Westerners and Arabs fight, and so on. By learning Arabic, you open a door to promoting cross-cultural understanding. If all you know of the Arabic culture is what you see on the news or movies and television, you can end up with a very slanted view. Too often, news is always bad news, and movies are full of terrorist stereotypes. On the flip side, they may see us as godless pornographers without culture or manners, intent on ruling the world. None of these images are true, but these are the exact sorts of things that lead to fighting. Once you know Arabic, and can communicate well with it, such things become much less likely.