About Arabic

Recently, it has become clearer than ever that events in the Middle East affect our daily lives and only through the study of Arabic can one gain necessary insight into the cultural, religious, and political forces which motivate the inhabitants of that vital region – insight that our monolingual media seldom provide.

The Middle East is the birthplace of the three monotheistic religions and contains some of the world's greatest archeological and religious sites. It is also the locus of two-thirds of the world's known oil reserves. A good knowledge of Arabic greatly enhances one's ability to work and interact effectively with Arabic-speaking people. The diligent study of Arabic can lead to exciting careers in various fields. These are only a few open to the Arabic speaker: communications (foreign correspondent, reporter, translator), international finance (international banker, international consultant, political risk analyst), industry (manager of government relations for oil company, market analyst for export company), government (foreign service officer, development program officer, intelligence analyst, government relations specialist, translator or interpreter, linguist), law (contractual and corporate consultant), and academia (teaching and research positions). The U.S. government currently considers Arabic a critical language, and many scholarships are available. In 1998 only 5,500 people were studying Arabic at American colleges and universities, and only a small number of those became advanced enough to use the language professionally.

Is Arabic a difficult language? Arabic is not necessarily more difficult to learn, but it requires more of a commitment in terms of time and effort than most languages, primarily because of a phenomenon called multi-glossia, a linguistic expression which refers to the fact that the Arabic language has many forms. To be functional in speaking, reading, and understanding Arabic, it is necessary to learn at least two of these: (1) Modern Standard, or Literary, Arabic (the written language, language of the media, and the language used in formal settings) and (2) one Arabic dialect (the colloquial form used in every day life) spoken in one country or region of the Arab world. In recent times, one's ability to learn both forms of Arabic to professional levels has been greatly enhanced by the publication of innovative learning materials, the presence of the internet, and the availability of quality study abroad programs in the Middle East and North Africa.