Should Christians learn Arabic?

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Zerg

Zerg

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Arabic is the language of peace, therefore our children should be learning Arabic. There exists MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) meaning that just as English is a standard in the West, Arabic is the standard lingua franca of the East.

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Arabic a language of peace? There are is no good or evil in a language. A language is always neutral. The associations you have with a particular language are the only thing that makes a language good or evil. I don’t have any association of peace with Arabic.

The reason your children could learn Arabic is because Arabic is the fifth most spoken language in the world. That would be a good reason.
 
It’s not the language that is peaceful, it’s how it is used. If you live in the eastern World Arabic may be essential. In the west, not so much.

The way the question is worded seems to be trolling…
 
I’m busy studying Esperanto. It was created to be a universal language. It’s fairly easy to learn.
 
Mayita30 said:
NO !
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Why not?

You don’t give much of a clue, so I can only speculate that perhaps you feel learning Arabic will lead a Catholic from the truth of our faith to Islam?

If that’s your contention, it would be like saying they should not learn Chinese because they might become Communists, should not learn Swedish because the might become Socialists, or shouldn’t learn German because they might become Lutherans!
 
Casilda said:
Time better spent learning Latin. The language of the Church.
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Unless one happens to live or work in the Middle East where Arabic is the (or a) everyday language and Latin not so much.

I am shocked that anyone would say no, as if the fact that it is one of the world’s major languages does not in and of itself make it worth learning.

Without the ability to communicate there is no chance for understanding or peace, and learning a foreign language is part of that.
 
Zerg said:
Arabic is the language of peace, therefore our children should be learning Arabic. There exists MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) meaning that just as English is a standard in the West, Arabic is the standard lingua franca of the East.

Join the debate?
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I would like to learn Arabic.

Sadly, I am not that good in learning languages,…unless it’s programming languages.
 
Sarcelle said:
I would like to learn Arabic.

Sadly, I am not that good in learning languages,…unless it’s programming languages.
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Immersion (where possible) in a language is a help.

I learned French as a youngster, and regular exposure (even if I didn’t understand every word) to French films, tv and radio helped a.great deal.
 
Zerg said:
Arabic is the language of peace, therefore our children should be learning Arabic. There exists MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) meaning that just as English is a standard in the West, Arabic is the standard lingua franca of the East.

Join the debate?
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In the first place language is neither of peace or war. Language is neutral.
Second, why would anyone outside the Middle East want to learn Arabic. Totally useless.
 
Why not, if one finds that interesting. I’m too busy trying to keep up my english and french beside my mother tongue. And trying to learn some more german. I really like esperanto too!
 
thistle said:
In the first place language is neither of peace or war. Language is neutral.
Second, why would anyone outside the Middle East want to learn Arabic. Totally useless.
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So it’s useless for anyone who doesn’t live in a place of try to communicate with people who do? How on earth do you imagine trade, international diplomacy and the spread of knowledge from one culture to another happens without people learning each other’s languages?

Have you ever seen JFK’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech? Do you know whoever wrote that for him stuffed up the grammar - should.have been ‘ich bin Berliner’? What he said actually translates to ‘I am a jam donut’. Seriously.

We need multilingual and multicultural people in this world, now more than ever, if only to debunk the common conception that westerners are dangerously ignorant of the rest of.the world. A situation that gaffes like Kennedy’s and comments like yours do nothing to dispel.
 
I already made 1 post regarding this.

My answer is NO!

To go into detail would likely lead to my being banned from this site. I already have 2 infractions regarding my thoughts.:eek:🤷:D:D
 
I’ve always believed that everybody should make an attempt to learn a second language.

So Arabic would be a good choice, however I think many learners might find the writing to be difficult at first. So having some sort of tutor could help.

I’m currently learning Spanish and hopefully Esperanto after that.
 
LilyM said:
So it’s useless for anyone who doesn’t live in a place of try to communicate with people who do? How on earth do you imagine trade, international diplomacy and the spread of knowledge from one culture to another happens without people learning each other’s languages?

Have you ever seen JFK’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech? Do you know whoever wrote that for him stuffed up the grammar - should.have been ‘ich bin Berliner’? What he said actually translates to ‘I am a jam donut’. Seriously.

We need multilingual and multicultural people in this world, now more than ever, if only to debunk the common conception that westerners are dangerously ignorant of the rest of.the world. A situation that gaffes like Kennedy’s and comments like yours do nothing to dispel.
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JFK’s speech writer knew what he was doing.
There is a misconception that Kennedy made a risible error by saying Ich bin ein Berliner. By using the indefinite article “ein,” he supposedly changed the meaning of the sentence from “I am a citizen of Berlin” to “I am a jelly doughnut.”
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The indefinite article is omitted in German when speaking of an individual’s profession or residence. But it is still necessary when speaking in a figurative sense. Since the President was not literally from Berlin but only declaring his solidarity with its citizens, “Ich bin ein Berliner” was not only correct, but the only way to express what he wanted to say.
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thistle said:
In the first place language is neither of peace or war. Language is neutral. Yes
Second, why would anyone outside the Middle East want to learn Arabic. Totally useless.🤷There are countless reasons that taking ANY second language is NOT useless. The obvious detractor in your comment is that there is a great need in the public and private sector for people to know a second language, especially Arabic. But perhaps more important, life long learning, just for the sake of learning and not necessarily the utilitarian gains from learning can provide great personal satisfaction, and aid in keeping the mind sharp.
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A language isn’t good or evil, violent or peaceful.

I really don’t have much interest in learning Arabic; my calendar is filled with Latin (got that one down, it’s not hard), Hebrew, and Greek.
 
I think for Arab Christians it’s kind of necessary. Or anyone who travels or does business in the Middle East.
 
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