I learned a few hilarious things today. Since Arabic is a Semetic language, obviously there are a few words that sound like English words and are totally nowhere near the English meanings. This ain't Spanish folks, you can't just guess that the word for information is "informacion" and wind up nailing it. Because in Arabic, you'd be totally wrong, and the word for information is "maloumat."
It has taken me three years and put gray hairs on my head (literally) to just start seeing patterns in the most basic of words. To put it another way, Arabic is ranked the third hardest language for English-speaking Americans to learn by the U.S. government, outranked only by Chinese and Korean. This jibberish ain't easy.
But today I will share with you the few linguistic crossovers that make this language worth learning. When swear words mean things.
English -> Arabic
What the fuck- I got the job
Goddammit- I filled out the application
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There are taxi drivers in Amman that are probably amazed with the amount of employment American students are locking down these days.
Arabic -> English
Kuntu- I was
fuqut- only, that's it
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These two (especially the last one) brought me hours of entertainment in Beginning Arabic I & II.
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