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Tyrion
12-11-2010, 01:05 AM
Okay, so I'm kinda tired of having my threads closed for no reason, so I figured I should just stick to really innocent topics like this, for a while. So here goes... What languages would you guys like to learn before you die, and why? (Also, what languages do you already know?)

Heres my list of language I'd like to learn:

1.) Arabic - Because it's just a really awesome language with tons of depth, and also because it's tied so closely to Islam. I would absolutely love to understand the Qur'an in it's original Arabic as well. I'm currently in my first year of studying the language, and I'm loving it. I'm mostly just interested in formal Arabic, and I don't have that much of an inclination to learn Dialectical... Maybe one day though, if I end up going to an Arabic speaking country.

2.) Farsi/Dari - This is the language of my parents, and while I have a very basic knowledge of the language (enough to have simple conversations with family) I wouldn't consider myself totally literate. What I do know is very informal, and my reading/writing isn't very strong. It might be difficult to learn this formally though, since most classes here only focus on Iranian Farsi, which is essentially the same language, but I find the accent too weird. I'll probably just ask my parents to review it with me whenever we have some free time.

3.) Japanese - I've already taken one semesters worth of classes in Japanese, and I find the language and culture really interesting. Also, growing up I was really into Japanese video games, cartoons/anime and books/comics... (Still kinda am I guess ) I would love to go to Japan one day, so I might continue studying the language by myself.

4.) English - I'm a native English speaker, since I was kinda born and raised here in America, but I want to improve my knowledge of the language even further. I don't have much confidence in my writing ability, and while I have a decent vocabulary, It's nowhere near where I would like it to be. Hopefully I can just improve naturally with some practice writing and tons of reading.

5.) Spanish - I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, but I don't remember any of it since I wasn't really interested in it at the time... I kinda wish I took it more seriously, since it seems like a really useful language to learn. It's not too high on my list, but I'd definitely like to take a few more classes in it in the future if I have the chance... Or maybe I'll just get a few books and teach myself... After 3 years, I'm sure I'll pick it up somewhat quickly...


Looking forward to your responses. Lets hope this thread survives longer than my last two... :p
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CosmicPathos
12-11-2010, 01:33 AM
1- Arabic, language of Quran and also one of the most expressive Semitic languages,
2- Urdu ( I already know this but need to perfect it, it is also expressive and depressive)
3- Punjabi ( I already know this but need to master it and attain greater appreciation, a pretty spiritual language)
4- Farsi, beautiful Indo-European language with a long history of poetry
5- Chinese, pretty interesting
6- Sanskrit, ancient yet intriguing
7- Pashto, pretty interesting as well
8- Turkish, also a deep history of poetry and expression

the language I DONT want to learn is Finnish :S what a lang ... tokko kokko
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Tyrion
12-11-2010, 01:36 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by mad_scientist
1- Arabic, language of Quran and also one of the most expressive Semitic languages,
2- Urdu ( I already know this but need to perfect it, it is also expressive and depressive)
3- Punjabi ( I already know this but need to master it and attain greater appreciation, a pretty spiritual language)
4- Farsi, beautiful Indo-European language with a long history of poetry
5- Chinese, pretty interesting
6- Sanskrit, ancient yet intriguing
7- Pashto, pretty interesting as well
8- Turkish, also a deep history of poetry and expression
Ohh, I totally forgot about Pashto... Haha, it's also one of the two languages of Afghanistan, so I'd definitely be interested in learning it as well. :D I'm pretty sure my grandpa speaks it fluently, and I think my dad knows it fairly well. However, Pashto is probably the language I'm least interested in. :p
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Maryan0
12-11-2010, 01:38 AM
I would like to learn:
Arabic- because it's the language of the Quran. I can read and write it but I can barely understand it.
Somali- because it's a shame I can barely speak my mother tongue.
Swahili- Just because.
Italian- 1)because I was born in Italy and 2)my parents speak it when they're trying to hide stuff from us:p.
French- better job prospects in the country I currently live in. Currently taking it in uni.
Salam
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GuestFellow
12-11-2010, 01:42 AM
Salaam,

I can speak Urdu very well but I want to learn how to write it too. I want to learn Arabic because I want to understand the Qur'an. I want to learn one more language but not sure which one.
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Woodrow
12-11-2010, 02:03 AM
I speak a few languages well enough to carry on a conversation. But I love the study of linguistics and would like to learn as many as I can.

I would like to master Qur'anic Arabic, to gain a better understanding of the Qur'an I do speak fairly good Darija Arabic but it has enough differences from the Qur'anic Arabic I am not always certain if I am understanding things properly.

Also want to learn Lakotah as most of the people I now know speak it.

Would love to relearn one of my birth languages Lietuva (Lithuanian) I spoke it until I was 5 years old and then was forbidden to speak it and forgot most of the little I knew.
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Ramadhan
12-11-2010, 02:12 AM
Arabic, for obvious reason.
and one of those romance languages, either spanish or french.

format_quote Originally Posted by mad_scientist
the language I DONT want to learn is Finnish :S what a lang ... tokko kokko
Isn't finnish unrelated to any other european languages, apart from possibly hungarian, which is almost as useless?
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Tyrion
12-11-2010, 02:24 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by naidamar
Isn't finnish unrelated to any other european languages, apart from possibly hungarian, which is almost as useless?
format_quote Originally Posted by mad_scientist
the language I DONT want to learn is Finnish :S what a lang ... tokko kokko
Aww, what's with all the language hate? I'm sure you guys don't mean it, but remember... This is an internet forum, and I'm sure we've got some Finnish or Hungarian members here that wouldn't appreciate your comments at all. :p

Also, aren't all languages technically from God? I'm pretty sure that means we should respect them all. :p Every language has it's history, and it's own kind of beauty... Even the ones that sound odd to our ears. IMO anyway.
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CosmicPathos
12-11-2010, 02:29 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Tyrion
Aww, what's with all the language hate? I'm sure you guys don't mean it, but remember... This is an internet forum, and I'm sure we've got some Finnish or Hungarian members here that wouldn't appreciate your comments at all. :p

Also, aren't all languages technically from God? I'm pretty sure that means we should respect them all. :p Every language has it's history, and it's own kind of beauty... Even the ones that sound odd to our ears. IMO anyway.
i am not hating it, I am just saying it is as if it doesnt exist in my dictionary
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Tyrion
12-11-2010, 02:33 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by mad_scientist
i am not hating it, I am just saying it is as if it doesnt exist in my dictionary
Just checking, since I vaguely remember a member here that's from Finland, and I would hate for her (or him?) to be offended because of my thread. :p
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S.Belle
12-11-2010, 02:43 AM
Arabic for obvious reasons
I know a weeee bit of Japanese but I would also like to learn the characters
Sign language bc it would be very interesting to learn.
Even though I took it for like 2 yrs in school I would like to learn more French.
Languages that I already know would be English and Spanish.
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Ramadhan
12-11-2010, 02:57 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Tyrion
Aww, what's with all the language hate? I'm sure you guys don't mean it, but remember... This is an internet forum, and I'm sure we've got some Finnish or Hungarian members here that wouldn't appreciate your comments at all.
I hope I didn't come across as hating finnish, which I do not.

I just find that finnish (and hungarians) as the quirks among european languages. I realize now "useless" was the wrong word.
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Tyrion
12-11-2010, 03:21 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Mila
I know a weeee bit of Japanese but I would also like to learn the characters
The characters (especially Kanji) are super fun to write. :p My favorite Kanji character was the character for water: 水, also written out as すい (sui)... I wish I remembered more, but it's been about a year since I last studied this stuff... I'll pick it up again soon though, after I'm all done with finals... 
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Ansariyah
12-11-2010, 03:21 AM
I speak several languages.

These are the languages I'd love to learn:

Hebrew: It just interests me.

Japanese: I studied wit japanese people. I think they have such a beautiful culture, would love speak this language.

Korean: I have korean Friends. Their language is like music to my ears. The way they express the words they say I find cute.:D

Hindi: There are so many muslims from India, I would love to speak their language fluently.

Indonasian: why? They have like the highest Muslim population in the world need I say more?

Turkish: So I can chat with my fellow Muslims in turkey, when I went there on holiday I really wished I could understand their language.

Russian: I think this language sounds so secretive to me, so would love unveil it.

Chechen: Would love to understand the culture of our chechnian muslims in chechniya, best to do that would be through their language.

Bosnian: My cousin is married to a Bosnian so it would be nice to understand his language.
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Hayaa
12-11-2010, 03:47 AM
:sl: nice thread..

Can speak/read/write Urdu fluently
Arabic; can read/write but want to learn it in depth in the near future
Japanese; very pretty language I'm familiar with
Chinese; 'cause China will probably be a world power in the future so it's a good language to learn
French; a fancy and flowy language
Sign language
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'Abd Al-Maajid
12-11-2010, 04:03 AM
Arabic. So that I can understand Quran well and more importantly when I offer my prayers.
Urdu. Because it is my ______ tongue. Sounds silly, I know.
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~Raindrop~
12-11-2010, 05:37 AM
Can speak Hindko/Urdu/Quranic Arabic/bits and bobs of gujarati/bengali


would love to learn:
1)Arabic- the modern one, can understand some dialects a lot better now than when I first started off but would be nice to speak it too
2)Farsi- such a cool language and so I can understand the 7awaashi written in my text books!
3)Italian- self explanatory =D
4)French- fell in love with the way it sounds whilst in Paris.
5)Pukhto...maaaaaybe

one language i can NEVER get the hang of is Punjabi...I can understand some types, but when it comes to speaking I mix them all up with a bit of Hinko thrown in for good measure and make no sense whatsoever. :phew
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Danah
12-11-2010, 10:14 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Tyrion

3.) Japanese - I've already taken one semesters worth of classes in Japanese, and I find the language and culture really interesting. Also, growing up I was really into Japanese video games, cartoons/anime and books/comics... (Still kinda am I guess ) I would love to go to Japan one day, so I might continue studying the language by myself.
1. Same here with Japanese, and for the same reasons except that I don't like video games. I already started learning some basics like Hiragana but because I got busy with some other things I stopped learning.

2. I also would like to learn some basics in Urdu one day because I have many friends who speak Urdu. Also there are many similarities between Urdu and Arabic

3. French: Many people speak it and I think its the second language after English spoken in the world if I am not mistaken.

4. Aramaic: It just amazed me to see so many similarities between this language and Arabic, they are both Semitic languages at the end. I wonder if this language is still spoken. I heard there are some Syrian Christians who still speak that language. Its amazing to speak the same language that prophet Jesus peace be upon him spoke!

5. Hebrew: I would like to know some basics since its also another Semitic language

Alhumdulilah Arabic is my first language so I should not worry about it.

format_quote Originally Posted by Yanoorah
Korean: I have korean Friends. Their language is like music to my ears. The way they express the words they say I find cute.:D
lol, I know what you mean...yeah they language sounds cute and they way they speak it is also cute. At first I thought its only kids & teenage girls who speak it that way, but I realized that all of them express their words the same way ^_^
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Ramadhan
12-11-2010, 10:58 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Danah
lol, I know what you mean...yeah they language sounds cute and they way they speak it is also cute. At first I thought its only kids & teenage girls who speak it that way, but I realized that all of them express their words the same way ^_^

Did you notice that with japanese, the ladies normally speak very softly, while the men quite roughly.
I learnt and memorised Hiragana and Katakana, but I lost my patience when memorising kanji :)
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Danah
12-11-2010, 12:04 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by naidamar
Did you notice that with japanese, the ladies normally speak very softly, while the men quite roughly.
Yeah that's true somehow!

I learnt and memorised Hiragana and Katakana, but I lost my patience when memorising kanji :)
I don't think that I will be able to memorize Kanji one day!! It's too hard to master it! You will find some Japanese who cant read or write Kanji!!
I started in Hiragana and it seemed very easy and fun but I didn't make it to Katakana because I got busy. I think Katakana is as easy as Hiragana.
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Woodrow
12-11-2010, 03:27 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Danah


4. Aramaic: It just amazed me to see so many similarities between this language and Arabic, they are both Semitic languages at the end. I wonder if this language is still spoken. I heard there are some Syrian Christians who still speak that language. Its amazing to speak the same language that prophet Jesus peace be upon him spoke!
I forgot to put that in my list. It is a fascinating language.

The Syrian Aramaic is actually a dialect called Peshetta. It is a Christianized version redesigned to agree with the Greek Orthodox Bible. It is also spoken to a lesser degree by the Copts in Egypt and the Sabeeans (Mandeeans) in Iraq/Iran/Turkey. The neat thing is it can be written with the Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic and Phoenician Alphabets or even a combination of them. If a person masters Aramaic they can easily read and understand Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew and ancient Phoenician.
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Tyrion
12-11-2010, 08:47 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Danah
I don't think that I will be able to memorize Kanji one day!! It's too hard to master it! You will find some Japanese who cant read or write Kanji!!
I started in Hiragana and it seemed very easy and fun but I didn't make it to Katakana because I got busy. I think Katakana is as easy as Hiragana.
Hiragana and Katakana are pretty easy, and you could learn them in about a day or so if you really wanted to... Kanji on the other hand... That takes a while to master. :p I think in order to be considered totally proficient in Japanese, you have to have memorized around 1800-2000 Kanji... At my peak, I was only up to a little over 100.. :p Still, they're really really fun to write, they just take a lot of time to memorize.
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Danah
12-12-2010, 01:11 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Woodrow
If a person masters Aramaic they can easily read and understand Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew and ancient Phoenician.
Actually I sometimes can understand some few words of Hebrew and Aramaic when I heard someone speak them. Many words looks like Arabic words with slight changes.

format_quote Originally Posted by Tyrion
Hiragana and Katakana are pretty easy, and you could learn them in about a day or so if you really wanted to... Kanji on the other hand... That takes a while to master. :p I think in order to be considered totally proficient in Japanese, you have to have memorized around 1800-2000 Kanji... At my peak, I was only up to a little over 100.. :p Still, they're really really fun to write, they just take a lot of time to memorize.
Yes, Hiragana was fun to learn and I finished it quickly. I don't know why they don't have alphapet for Kanji, why it has to be special characters that even some of the native speakers can't understand. I heard that there is 3000 Kanji characters in the whole language I dunno if thats true or not. Do you know of any good sites to learn Japanese from?
I was a member in a Japanese forum long time ago but people there were not that nice so I left it!
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al-Ansari
12-12-2010, 07:03 PM
as salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

ARABIC/ARAMAIC/HEBREW/SPANISH/FRENCH/SWAHILI

Insha'Allaah
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أحمد
12-12-2010, 07:30 PM
:sl:

Arabic - One can never really know enough Arabic; there's always much to learn :Alhumdill
Chinese (Mandarin) - Only know a word or two, and would like to learn a little more :inshallah
Farsi - Interesting language- can read and understand very little.
Mathematics - Technically its a language of precision, maybe under such criteria it counts as a language of its own (as stated by Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Kwarizmi, and other early mathematicians).

And a few other languages.

:wa:
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'Abd Al-Maajid
12-12-2010, 07:37 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by أحمد
Mathematics - Technically its a language of precision, maybe under such criteria it counts as a language of its own (as stated by Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Kwarizmi, and other early mathematicians).
That's interesting.
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Tyrion
12-12-2010, 08:11 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Danah
Yes, Hiragana was fun to learn and I finished it quickly. I don't know why they don't have alphapet for Kanji, why it has to be special characters that even some of the native speakers can't understand. I heard that there is 3000 Kanji characters in the whole language I dunno if thats true or not. Do you know of any good sites to learn Japanese from?
I was a member in a Japanese forum long time ago but people there were not that nice so I left it!
According to Wikipedia, there are thousands and thousands of Kanji, but only about 2000-3000 are used regularly in Japanese. I'm just glad Japanese also has Hiragana and Katakana, unlike Chinese which relies entirely on Kanji characters. :p

Personally, I don't think web sites are a great way to learn a language, so I don't know too many sites that would help you with Japanese. I learn better by using books and taking classes, and so I would recommend taking a course at a community college if you have the time. Usually classes are cheap, and they tend to be flexible with times. Youtube videos could be helpful for basics though... And you should watch lots of Japanese programs/shows/cartoons to get used to hearing the language, and its proper pronunciation. I know a lot of people that picked up at least the basic sounds and phrases by just watching Anime... Although I wouldn't recommend watching that much. :p (But if you do, Death Note is a good one :D It's one of the few animes I've watched and enjoyed, although I haven't seen all the episodes... I have read all the books though, which are even better :p)
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Rabi Mansur
12-12-2010, 08:27 PM
:sl:

1. Japanese. I lived in Japan for a couple of years and had to speak it every day. I can still carry on a basic conversation but I am rarely around anyone who speaks Japanese so I have lost most of my abilities. At one time I knew about 600-700 or so Kanji but without repetition it starts to leave you. I would like to get better at it someday and go back to Japan. I also studied a little bit of Chinese. Very little.

2. Arabic. Of course this one is obvious. It is really tough for an English speaker to pick it up in my view. I can basically read it (though I don't understand much) and have been through Pimsleur's Eastern Arabic Basic Conversation and the CDs by Jane Wightwick. I just wish I had a friend who spoke Arabic so that I could practice and learn it right.

3. I studied koine Greek and a little bit of Hebrew years ago. I can still read most of the New Testament in the original Greek and can read some biblical Hebrew but I don't always know what it means.

4. Spanish. I can almost carry on a decent conversation in Spanish. I just need to spend more time studying it. I hear it a lot at work and on TV so it kind of starts to come naturally after awhile. I just need to spend the time to get better at it.

5. If I had the time I would someday also like to study Latin and Sanskrit. But I don't know if I will ever have the time. Since repetition is so critical to picking up a language, it seems that you have to pick and choose which languages you are going to devote your time to in order to become somewhat proficient.

:wa:
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جوري
12-12-2010, 08:36 PM
al7mdlillah I speak Arabic but I wouldn't mind learning Hebrew and Aramaic if I had the time.

He who leans the language of a people has safeguarded himself against their cunning -- hadith which I can't reference at the moment!
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Re.TiReD
12-12-2010, 09:05 PM
AssalamuAlaykum

Bangali.

Wassalam
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Danah
12-12-2010, 09:33 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Tyrion
According to Wikipedia, there are thousands and thousands of Kanji, but only about 2000-3000 are used regularly in Japanese. I'm just glad Japanese also has Hiragana and Katakana, unlike Chinese which relies entirely on Kanji characters. :p

Personally, I don't think web sites are a great way to learn a language, so I don't know too many sites that would help you with Japanese. I learn better by using books and taking classes, and so I would recommend taking a course at a community college if you have the time. Usually classes are cheap, and they tend to be flexible with times. Youtube videos could be helpful for basics though... And you should watch lots of Japanese programs/shows/cartoons to get used to hearing the language, and its proper pronunciation. I know a lot of people that picked up at least the basic sounds and phrases by just watching Anime... Although I wouldn't recommend watching that much. :p (But if you do, Death Note is a good one :D It's one of the few animes I've watched and enjoyed, although I haven't seen all the episodes... I have read all the books though, which are even better :p)
I am already familier with the language and can recognize it easily. I can recognize some words from any conversation I watch without looking at the translation but still I need a lot to master the language. I will try Youtube videos though if I have time. Its hard to me to attend classes to my busy schedule. Today happened to be the day I went to the nearby bookstore and looked for Japanese books but didn't find any. Maybe I should go to another bookstore. Anyways, I watched some shows from NHK world about basics in Japanese and they are good to learn both the language and the culture.

I have never watched Death Note before but heard of it from some friends. Even though I watched many other Anime like One Piece...etc I don't want this thread to turn to an Anime thread becuz I can go forever talking about them!!
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Dagless
12-12-2010, 09:36 PM
Arabic - Purely religious reasons.
Japanese - Films/anime/games etc. The culture seems very interesting and would be easier to comprehend by knowing the language.

(list excludes languages I know or know parts of - I'd like to know them better too.)
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Musaafirah
12-12-2010, 09:48 PM
Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Persian and Mandarin...(The last 4 for randomness' sake)
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sister herb
12-13-2010, 06:36 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Tyrion
Just checking, since I vaguely remember a member here that's from Finland, and I would hate for her (or him?) to be offended because of my thread. :p
Hmmm.... Finnish is my language...

:hiding:
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Tyrion
12-13-2010, 06:43 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by sister harb
Hmmm.... Finnish is my language...

:hiding:
Haha, I think you were the one I vaguely remembered. :p
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sister herb
12-13-2010, 07:02 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Tyrion
Haha, I think you were the one I vaguely remembered. :p
Hyvää päivänjatkoa.

I need to go to job... actually I am teacher who teach to immigrants... Finnish language.

:D
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__follower
12-13-2010, 02:31 PM
i want to learn Arabic .
i really want to know what im always reading while praying , i wan to know all the things written in the quran
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أحمد
12-13-2010, 08:19 PM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by __follower
i want to learn Arabic .
i really want to know what im always reading while praying , i wan to know all the things written in the quran
There's an Arabic eBook collection, in the download link, in my signature (below). You may find it useful :inshallah

:wa:
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serena77
12-13-2010, 11:22 PM
in order -
arabic
russian ( took a few years of it... you don't use it you lose it )
gaelic
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fahim kamran
12-13-2010, 11:24 PM
i would like to learn french and arabic i love the language
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أحمد
12-14-2010, 12:37 AM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by serena77
you don't use it you lose it )
Quite true with all languages. Very much as the Arabic term, "describes" human beings as "forgetful creatures".

:wa:
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tw009
12-15-2010, 12:25 AM
Arabic- as mentioned above, I want to know what Im reciting! makes me so curious
Urdu- can speak it, but have a hard time reading and cant write at all : (
Italian- took 2 courses in high school, really enjoyed it, would love to learn more.
Persian- I love the way it sounds!
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Thucydides1987
12-15-2010, 12:28 AM
European language: German

Middle Eastern language: Farsi

Asian language: Mandarin
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ya.azad
12-15-2010, 12:36 AM
I currently speak English, Hebrew and French fluently.
I am semi-fluent in Aramaic (written, clearly as it is not even close to widely spoken)
I can understand and functionally speak Spanish and Portugese
I have a functional basis in both Arabic and (Iranian)Farsi
I would like to become fluent in Arabic (all dialects), Farsi, Urdu, German, Finnish, Armenian and Turkish.
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Muslim Woman
12-15-2010, 01:04 AM
:sl:

know Bangla and little bit of English .

Want to learn Arabic.
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sister herb
12-15-2010, 07:26 AM
Arabic - for reading Quran by arabic (I just should continue my studies with it)
English - to improve my skills with it, maybe become translator later (just a dream)
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