tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636019247752692989.post7176434375792230172..comments2024-02-07T06:43:07.349-05:00Comments on The Arabic Student: Arabic Videos on LangMediaThe Arabic Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616844721436789527noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636019247752692989.post-66711700087648780302010-02-08T12:54:03.882-05:002010-02-08T12:54:03.882-05:00Interesting to note the following in the video:
1...Interesting to note the following in the video:<br /><br />1. When he says several times: <br />"I WENT" he says ROHIT rather than ROHT (with an "i" sound between H and T)<br /><br />One of the hardest things for me in learning Arabic dialects is the correct positioning of VOWELS. <br /><br />It appears that there is almost FREE VARIATION in their use......like you can use almost any vowel anyplace. I know it's not as scattered-brained as that, but it's a bugbear to be sure<br /><br />This is probably due to the fact that in comparison with CONSONANTS, VOWELS are less important in Arabic. <br /><br />This is in contrast with English where the vowels hold primary place<br /> <br />(Is it: pit,put,pat,pet or pot?? It's vital to pronounce these correctly) whereas the consonants take secondary place. <br /><br />This is a general statment of course, but I believe it is generally true and very seldom mentioned by teachers of both English or Arabic.<br /><br />2. Another feature of the colloquial in Arabic which is a little hard to learn correctly: THE USE OF THE PRESENT TENSE FOR THE PAST.<br /><br />Where he says: I WENT to a zoo for the first time and I SAW the sea for the first time. In Arabic he's using the PRESENT CONTINUOUS (isn't he?) using بروح for "I went) and using بشوف for "I saw"<br /><br />He's saying: "The first time I SEE (or I AM SEEING)"..... and "the first time I GO (or I AM GOING)."<br /><br />Again, it's these little but hugely important aspects of language that are so seldom mentioned by teachers.....I guess they don't see them as problems.<br /><br />That's why there's an old adage in language teaching: The worst teacher of a language is a native speaker of that language (except, of course, for the pronunciation).<br /><br />Devilish.Soda-Jerknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636019247752692989.post-22175122451095190182009-09-12T12:23:46.813-04:002009-09-12T12:23:46.813-04:00Hello! Nice blog! :)
You can send people who ask f...Hello! Nice blog! :)<br />You can send people who ask for their names in Arabic my way. I'll be glad to help when I have time.My Name in Arabichttp://www.mynameinarabic.com/noreply@blogger.com