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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: frankw1900 who wrote (96720)	4/28/2003 7:03:48 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Respond to of 281500

> The problem is hearing, that is, distinguishing the new sounds from those they already know. Yes that is a problem also. When I tried to learn Chinese, there were too many sounds which even uttered one after the other, I could not distinguish a difference. However, that is not the only problem. When I speak (well try to speak) Arabic, I am well aware of my mistakes in reproducing the sounds, but still cannot do them. For example, there is a "H" sound which really comes from your guts and strongly involves using your diaphragm. I've been unable to reproduce it. There is also another sound which is most similar the sound of apostrophe in O'clock but much deeper (whatever you have after you say O but before C). I can sort of do it but it is not easy. I suspect that if I were to live in an Arabic country and practiced these for a few years, then I'd be ok but still not so good. Regardless of the language, most people tend to never lose their accent if they pick up the language after 15. Arabic is extra difficult because small variations in the word can make big differences. For example there is little (but distinguishable) difference between "magh-reb" and "magh-rab" as pronounced by an Arab. But one is the place of sunset but the other is the time of sunset. Arabic is not a "random" or lawless language. But variations between various conjugations can be very subtle and make big differences. Then there is the matter of street versus literary language. Perhaps I overstated it when I said it is like Greek and Latin. I think it is more like say Ebonics and Cockney. If you speak literary Arabic in the streets you'd be laughed at. The cultural difficulties do not end there. Arabs are very proud of their language. Through out their history, they have respected an eloquent orator above all else. Kings have been willing to let convicts go on a rant insulting them for hours, if the rant has been well orated and linguistically elegant. The language is very flowery and full of similes, connotations, and cultural references. These are very difficult for an outsider to pick up in a limited time. A very simple example is how Osama refers to Saudi Arabia. He neither uses the term "Saudi Arabia" which is a relatively recent name, nor does he use its historical name of "Hijaz". Instead bin Laden refers to it as "Haramein". Which is dual form of "Haram" (In Arabic a name has singular, dual i.e. two of, and plural forms. They can also be feminized). So he is simply referring to two Harams. A Haram in English has been known as Harem (yes where you'd keep all your wives) but it also indicates the place that must be respected and is off limit. The two harems in this case are the prophet's mosques in Mecca and Medina. So in one word, Haramein, not only is Osama refusing to acknowledge the authority of House of Saud, he is also reminding everyone that the honor of the prophet is at stake here and they should defend it like they defend their wives. Anyone who wants to have any hope of stirring the Arab public opinions, had better learn all these little innuendos and learn to pronounce them right. So I don't think I am exaggerating at all. Can you learn it? Well nothing is impossible if you really put your heart into it. But my money is that a non-Arab will rarely if ever be able to pull it off. Sun Tzu