The Arabic Language

[ArabianLuffy]

Questions:

1) To Muslims: How important is Arabic to you if you don't know it that much?
2) To Muslims and non-Muslims: What do you think of Arabic language?
3) To Muslims and non-Muslims: Do you think that translating the Quran to English and other languages will do the Quran justice? I mean, does the message get to the others? Do they understand the meaning of the message as it should be like in Arabic? Or the message will be misunderstood?
4) To everyone: I believe that because of the differences of two cultures whatever the two languages are, the translation method might not get the message to the receiver right. I believe it takes for a person to read and understand two literature of two languages. What do you think?
5) To everyone: Think of it as an interesting, exciting and funny experience. Take a picture of a handwritten Arabic word, phrase or sentence of yours. Check on Google any phrase or sentence and see for yourself how it feels to write something in Arabic, how good is your handwritten Arabic and take a picture of it. Don't be shy!
6) Any famous Arabic song(s) you know or like sometimes? Something you listen to from time to time?

 

[Avani]

A script which often forgoes vowels and makes it very easy to fabricate words to something else by adding a dot or missing it?

I tried learning Urdu and thus Persian script which I think is very similar ( or rather the same)- dropped it after a week.... >_> Still think of learning it some day- but that's about it.

 

[Tauren Chieftain]

1.non important
2. Nothing
3. No idea
6. Dont know any song.

Thank you Lord Putin for protecting Orthodoxy.

 

[Sirius Black]

1. Just a language in which Quran is written. We have to just know how to read it. Not necessarily know its meaning as there are translations in every language.
2. Don't really think about it at all. Its important for people who speak it..
3. Nope it doesn't. I'll give you an example.
A Verse of Quran which is translated on some english websites as "O Prophet! Pray for forgiveness So, that Allah forgives your former and letterer sins."
that translation implies that prophet sinned and he was asked to pray for his own forgiveness. But the real translation of it is "O Prophet! pray for forgiveness So, that Allah forgives the sins of those who came before you and those who'll come after you."
Now you see how wrong the translation from one language to other can be. Just some grammar differences and the whole meaning of the verse was changed. Which is then used by some people as a proof that prophet was a sinner since it says in the Quran, but the real translation implies nothing like that....
4. Agreed
5. N/A
6. Yalla by Inna has a little arabic in it and I hear to that alot

 

[Hammock]

A language used by people of Arabian peninsula mostly ? and the sheikhs of islam ??

 

[HENI]

I have no clue. I'm learning Hebrew and even I don't understand their alphabet.

 

[ArabianLuffy]

A language used by people of Arabian peninsula mostly ? and the sheikhs of islam ??

22 countries that speak Arabic: In no specific order:

01. Kuwait
02. Bahrain
03. Qatar
04. Emirate
05. Oman
06. Yemen
07. Iraq
08. Syria
09. Lebanon
10. Jordan
11. Palestine
12. Egypt
13. Sudan
14. Algeria
15. Tunisia
16. Morocco
17. Lybia
18. Mauritania
19. Comoros
20. Djibouti
21. Somalia
22. Saudi Arabia

 

[Narushima]

It is often argued by Islamic apologists that a translation of the Koran entails a semantic loss but I have a hard time imagining how that could be true.

The Koran is a conceptually simple text created for an audience of Bedouins in the 14th century and it reads that way, too. If something like Kant’s Critique can be translated from the German with a very high degree of semantic fidelity, it seems absurd that the Koran by comparison cannot. It’s like saying that there can be more semantic loss from translating an arithmetic system than something like tensor calculus.

Now what can easily be lost through translation are aesthetic qualities of poetical language, and this is likely given that the Koran was intended as a rhetorical recitation with poetical structure. However this has nothing to do with the meaning (semantics) of language and so the matter of learning classical Arabic to ‘understand’ the Koran becomes really a matter of becoming receptive to the emotional content of rhetoric.

Of course, that's nothing surprising as Islam as a whole is one giant appeal to the emotions rather than any meaningful argument.

As for me personally, I have no interest in Arabic language, culture or literature and have no intention of learning any Semitic language much less Arabic.

 

[YowYan]

The alphabet looks interesting but I'm not a fan of It's vocal pronounciations. I don't like the sound of middle-eastern languages overall. It sounds like we Dutch Call; 'snauwerig'. But Than again; foreigners find the Dutch language harsh.

 

[Legendary Saiyan]

It may have been complicating, but by the time I learned the letters and the rules of connecting it, all the way to even knowing most of the grammar rules, it's not that hard. I just like how they all relate on one root word. Like how the root word Fataha meaning "He opened" leads to words like Miftaahun (Key) and even Al-Faatiha (The opening). I personally find it amazing.

 

[Hammock]

22 countries that speak Arabic: In no specific order:

01. Kuwait
02. Bahrain
03. Qatar
04. Emirate
05. Oman
06. Yemen
07. Iraq
08. Syria
09. Lebanon
10. Jordan
11. Palestine
12. Egypt
13. Sudan
14. Algeria
15. Tunisia
16. Morocco
17. Lybia
18. Mauritania
19. Comoros
20. Djibouti
21. Somalia
22. Saudi Arabia

thats basically the Arabian peninsula. With some africa and asia added on top as sprinkles :bouncy: