17 myths about Arabic and the truths

 Summary of "17 Myths about Arabic and the Truths":


The essay "17 Myths about Arabic and the Truths" aims to debunk common misconceptions surrounding the Arabic language, making it seem less daunting and more accessible to potential learners. The introduction highlights the historical prestige of Arabic, particularly in poetry, while acknowledging how misleading perceptions and flawed teaching methodologies often create unnecessary barriers for non-natives.

The core of the essay systematically addresses seventeen prevalent myths about Arabic, providing clear and concise counter-arguments ("Truths"). These myths cover various aspects of the language, including its vocabulary size, the feasibility of Romanization, the relationship between spoken and written forms, the mutual intelligibility of dialects, its global utility, the necessity of learning it in the Arab world, the supposed decline of classical Arabic, the sufficiency of Quranic Arabic for general learning, its compatibility with modern science, the time required for learning, the impact of low readership, the influence of its sacred status on modernization, the age of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the possibility of navigating the Arab world without Arabic, the effectiveness of passive immersion, and the complexity of its plural system and diacritics.

Throughout the essay, I emphasize the importance of focusing on "Shared Arabic" as a core foundation for learners, criticizes ineffective teaching methods, and highlights the richness and adaptability of the language. The essay concludes by demystifying seemingly complex features like plurals and diacritics, offering a more manageable perspective for those interested in learning Arabic. Ultimately, the essay serves as an encouraging and informative guide, aiming to dispel unfounded fears and promote a more realistic and accessible understanding of the Arabic language.

Full essay here  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1arQygSY5jzknZqeF48gt5watsRSZSmIr/view?usp=drive_link
Full essay here

A new book - Arabic religious expressions

 A new book in the process of making. In the Arab-Islamic world, common and daily life expressions related to faith and honesty have a unique position in the people's minds and hearts. It's hard to explain this piece of language complexity, intimacy and spontaneity. The book should be completed in the near future but no specific plan for publishing yet.

When Arabic poems become popular culture.

 A good chapter from my new book about Arabic proverbs. It includes Arabic common verses translated to English with cultural interpretation. Happy new year 2022 with hopes for peace in Syria and everywhere.

Hussein

 

Free Download the book below:

Arabic common verses translate to English

Learn Arabic update 2020

As an update to my lifetime project/mission "Introducing Arabic in a fun, easy and effective way", here is a summery update to my strategy that's been developed throughout three decades of teaching Arabic to non-natives both online and offline. It is generally based on a few principles:


1. Offering the most common version of the language so one would enjoy the contemporary culture all over the Arab world. A narrow isolated approach especially prematurely on only local spoken or only written Arabic is not recommended unless it is a special study or research for non-commutative purposes.


2. Establishing a strong and deep connection between language and culture so one would become familiar with the people including their values, way of thinking, and communicate smoothly.

3. Learning all possible language skills such as reading, writing, speaking and comprehension so one is ready for any further development and experience whether it is an academic, business or personal.


4. Unlike the situation of most of modern world languages, all types of Arabic old/modern and written/spoken Arabic are deeply interrelated and used due to the traditional powers and sacredness of Arabic, but finding and focusing on the fundamental core (Shared Arabic) resulted from my extensive research is a good start no matter what direction the study may take later. 


5. Online study has proved to be almost as effective as the offline counterpart, and the few technical issues are marginal comparing to the huge advantages such as saving hassles of traveling to the region especially during the struggle to improve the basic skills amidst the confusion and lake of approach with harmony to the unstable situation of the region in which language and culture are not neutralized in the unfortunate conflicts. Coming to the Arab world with minimum language skills plus a good understanding of the linguistic and cultural diversity is invaluably essential to both safety and personal enjoyment. 


6. My teaching curriculum is gradually becoming a collection of books that is/will be available to the public soon probably on Amazon or elsewhere, and few samples of my works are circulated freely online.

7. Arabic is one of the highest language in global demand, but sadly is also one of the highest in students' dropouts due to archaic approaches that do not put in consideration the unique situation of the language and the complicated situation of the region; we must find large scale solutions. About nine years of war here is Syria has caused tragic consequences to my people and me, but I managed to teach, write online and finish some of my books.


Let's talk about your plan and ambition, obstacles and any previous experience.
Greetings
Hussein

my proverbs book.. soon!

Soon, my proverbs book will be ready.. here's a sample shows how it is done and how much of history, culture and heritage it includes. So much has been done during the last 15 yrs, and yet more improvement is still needed.. عينة من كتابي عن الامثال قيد الانجاز. ☺️😉💐هذا الكم من التاريخ والتراث والتنوع الذي يحويه..

Arabic Idioms online!!!

Good things take time.. my book "Arabic Idioms" is finally online ☺💐🤓 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X4VTHJ كتابي المنشور عالنت عن الكنايات العربية بالانكليزي أصبح كامل ومتاح للبيع على موقع أمازون

Arabic Idioms book - full version.. finally!!

The full version of my book "The Arabic Idioms" has to be available on amazon.com very soon. It is the first Arabic-English book, dictionary-like, focusing only on Arabic idioms (i.e. Arabic proverbs are in a separate book coming soon). Another advantage is having the most common idioms in the Arab world plus it includes both spoken & written Arabic idioms. A free sample has been circulated on the net during the last 10 years.