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It is on my list of languages I want to learn! Because I think it will be the second most spoken language in Europe. But as others already wrote: the dialects a

It is on my list of languages I want to learn! Because I think it will be the second most spoken language in Europe. But as others already wrote: the dialects are very strong and different.. So, not sure which one to learn :) Any advise? Or maybe prediction which will win the "language" war in Europe?

bshimmin 8y ago
I would love an answer to this too - Arabic always sounds beautiful to me and I would love to learn at least a little bit. It seems like learning both MSA and a dialect (perhaps Egyptian) might be the way to go, at least from what I can infer from this thread, the article, and conversations I've had with people in the past, but it's probably not as simple as that. It would perhaps be an easier question to answer if there were a specific region you were interested in living in / communicating with people in (but at least in my case, my only goal is "learn some Arabic because it sounds lovely", not "move to Syria and be able to communicate with people there").
- EliRivers 8y ago
  Arabic always sounds beautiful to me When I was speaking it, which was a long time ago and I remember almost nothing, I sounded like a footballer clearing his throat :)
  - eudora 8y ago
    Arabic sounds lovely https://youtu.be/WEwgafTDrOU https://youtu.be/WEwgafTDrOU
avar 8y ago
> I think it will be the second most spoken language in Europe Arabic has 4-12 million speakers in Europe depending on how you count. If we take the most generous estimation (12 million) which compares 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants to native speakers it's at best the 13th most spoken language in Europe[2]. Why do you think it'll displace all the languages that are currently ahead of it? 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe#Immigrant_communities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe#Immigrant_... 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe#List_of_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe#List_of_la...
- User23 8y ago
  Parent is extrapolating from the trend.
  - avar 8y ago
    Such an extrapolation doesn't make sense. You could also assume that all of New York would be speaking Italian by now given historical immigration rates. Foreign languages only tend to have staying power until the 2nd or 3rd generation. All these immigrants are going to public schools in their respective countries where the official language is spoken, it's expected that they speak it at their jobs etc.
Mediterraneo10 8y ago
You are overestimating the numbers of Arabic speakers migrating to Europe. (Even during the big wave of 2015, a considerable portion of those migrants were Dari or Pashto speakers.) And even within Europe’s Arab-migration enclaves, the second and third generations usually lose touch with the Arabic language and only know the local language; something the first-generation parents often bemoan.

bshimmin 8y ago

I would love an answer to this too - Arabic always sounds beautiful to me and I would love to learn at least a little bit. It seems like learning both MSA and a dialect (perhaps Egyptian) might be the way to go, at least from what I can infer from this thread, the article, and conversations I've had with people in the past, but it's probably not as simple as that. It would perhaps be an easier question to answer if there were a specific region you were interested in living in / communicating with people in (but at least in my case, my only goal is "learn some Arabic because it sounds lovely", not "move to Syria and be able to communicate with people there").

EliRivers 8y ago
Arabic always sounds beautiful to me When I was speaking it, which was a long time ago and I remember almost nothing, I sounded like a footballer clearing his throat :)
- eudora 8y ago
  Arabic sounds lovely https://youtu.be/WEwgafTDrOU https://youtu.be/WEwgafTDrOU

avar 8y ago

> I think it will be the second most spoken language in Europe Arabic has 4-12 million speakers in Europe depending on how you count. If we take the most generous estimation (12 million) which compares 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants to native speakers it's at best the 13th most spoken language in Europe[2]. Why do you think it'll displace all the languages that are currently ahead of it? 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe#Immigrant_communities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe#Immigrant_... 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe#List_of_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe#List_of_la...

User23 8y ago
Parent is extrapolating from the trend.
- avar 8y ago
  Such an extrapolation doesn't make sense. You could also assume that all of New York would be speaking Italian by now given historical immigration rates. Foreign languages only tend to have staying power until the 2nd or 3rd generation. All these immigrants are going to public schools in their respective countries where the official language is spoken, it's expected that they speak it at their jobs etc.

Mediterraneo10 8y ago

You are overestimating the numbers of Arabic speakers migrating to Europe. (Even during the big wave of 2015, a considerable portion of those migrants were Dari or Pashto speakers.) And even within Europe’s Arab-migration enclaves, the second and third generations usually lose touch with the Arabic language and only know the local language; something the first-generation parents often bemoan.