Over the years, I have had the opportunities to learn two languages through formal classroom study: classical Latin and modern standard Arabic. I started learning Latin in 6th grade and continued throughout middle school and high school because it was the only language offered at my school. Concurrently, during sophomore and junior years of high school, I attempted to learn Pashto, Farsi, and Turkish in order to supplement independent study on greater Middle Eastern history and Islam. I found the Semitic origin and somewhat alien phonetics of Arabic to be too daunting for me and so I was hesitant to learn it, despite its obvious relevance to my interests and academic goals. When I entered college, I started learning Arabic because it was most the relevant language to my interests and suggested by my summer academic advisor. I had initially thought to do it only temporary then switch to Farsi, which I had really wanted to learn. As it turns out, I have ended up majoring in Arabic.
With that in mind, I have found that the most interesting and rewarding part of language learning for me is the syntax and morphological aspects. I always remarked, perhaps too much, to my Latin teacher that it was a large puzzle or logic problem that had to be solved. The same applied to Arabic. Each language, and English for that matter, had completely different grammatical structures. Latin changed suffixes to change the tense, mood, and other grammatical features of verbs and nouns. Arabic, on the other hand, used a system of prefixes, infixes, and suffixes to do the same that made it more difficult, but even more satisfying when I finally figured it out and was able to use. Adding another layer of complexity with Arabic is its system of irregular plurals, in contrast to the highly regular nature of Latin.
Unfortunately, the irregular plurals of Arabic revealed my weakest spot when it comes to language learning: memorization. I have found no other way to learn the plurals of Arabic besides memorization and application. I struggle with memorization, and in absence of many native speakers with whom to practice, I have been unable to fully learn them as much as I wish I could. In future language studies, I hope to be able to identify the tricky areas that require a lot of practice and memorization and to practice these as much as reasonable with my language partner or with other language speakers. In general, practicing on a more frequent basis with the spoken language will probably be the most important feature for my future language learning. Latin is almost entirely a written language and I struggle to remember even the most simple words and sentences despite having read Catullus and Vergil only two years prior.
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