Language learning

We’re a month into language school now. We've been rather busy trying to fit in all the homework, arabic visits, arabic church services, shopping and normal family life, which is why we haven't put much on this blog for a few weeks. There are a couple of other families at the school with young children, so we console each other regarding the challenges of fitting everything into the week.

The language learning is going well. I’m learning English grammar for the first time. I honest don't ever remember being taught it at school, so even when the teachers tell me in English "it's the genetive construct", I still haven't got a clue what they're talking about.

We started verbs this week, which is fun because we can begin to say useful things, rather than just “where is the …?” However, it does feel like it’s all getting a lot more confusing. There are lots of sounds in Arabic that we don’t have in English, several of which sound very much like you’re about to cough up a large amount of flem. I have the added problem that I can’t roll my r’s, which is quite important in Arabic. I have spend several hours in front of the mirror trying learn how to do it. I now do a very good impression of a formula one car shifting through the gears, but it still doesn’t sound like an “r”. I really want to sound like an Arab, rather than settle for sounding like a foreigner, but I think it's going to take years, and lots of time in front of the mirror!