مَسْعى root: س-ع-ي / noun / plural: مَساعٍ / definition: pursuit, endeavour It’s been over a year since my last update about my language learning journey, where I wrote about all the uncertainties surrounding my return to the formal study of Arabic. And the reason I haven’t given any updates until now is that myContinue reading “Academic Pursuits”
Category Archives: my language journey
Certainties and Uncertainties
يَقين root: ي-ق-ن / noun / definition: certainty There’s a number of certainties in my life—one of them being that I must resume studying Arabic formally after this year-long hiatus that I decided to take.
Something Along These Lines…
فَنّ root: ف-ن-ن / noun / plural: فُنون / definition: art In much more succinct terms than those which appeared in its title, my dissertation explored specific expressions of the concept of “homeland” (الوَطَن) in Arabic poetry.
The Textbook Safety Net?
سَلامة root: س-ل-م / verbal noun of form I / meaning: safety, security Not long after I had paraded across the stage at my graduation, a shiny, new Arabic textbook was delivered to my door and I felt an engulfing sense of relief—ahh, structure.
Is Motivation Enough?
دافِع root: د-ف-ع / active participle of form I / plural: دَوافِع / definition: incentive, motive I think it’s now been over eight months since my last Arabic lesson at university, which feels very odd to think about. It’s almost felt like I’ve just been on a long summer break this whole time, with thatContinue reading “Is Motivation Enough?”
The Dialect Dilemma
مُعْضِلة root: ع-ض-ل / noun / plural: مُعضلات or مَعاضِل / definition: dilemma Imagine studying a language for years in a classroom. You can give presentations and write essays in that language (with moderate reliance on the dictionary), and you can read newspaper articles and understand the news (with, realistically, slightly more reliance on saidContinue reading “The Dialect Dilemma”
The Hardest Advice to Give… And Take
نَصيحة root: ن-ص-ح / noun / plural: نَصائِح / definition: (piece of) advice The hardest advice to give is probably the one that you have to give yourself—which is why I have (…reluctantly) forced myself to write this out and confront the truth eyes-to-screen.
Far From Fluency
طَلاقة root: ط-ل-ق / noun / definition: fluency Having hiked over formidable dunes of vocabulary and marched on through harsh storms of grammatical rules, I think, finally—right there, in front of me—I see… fluency?
How Should I Begin?
بِداية root: ب-د-ء / noun / plural: بدايات / definition: beginning, start Starting is always the most difficult part, really: whether writing a blog or learning a language. Thankfully, the days of using flashcards to learn the Arabic alphabet (and practising pronouncing ع and ح until my throat ached) are tucked away around five-years-deep inContinue reading “How Should I Begin?”
