languages...?

[umm_maryam]

Assalamu Aleikum Wa Rahmetullahi Wa Barakatuh

Dear sisters

I`m curious about something. How many languages do you speak and wich is your favorit one? How is the language background according your country of origin / your country you stay in?

My mother tongue is german. I speak high german and swiss dialect. I love the english language because the possibilies of communication worldwide. In my little country their are four official languages, it is german, french, italian and retoromanian. Beside my mothertongue i understand a little italian and french. Very little. I`ve learned some arabic too, but forget most of it during lack of practice.

How about you? Which one?

[bluesky]

AOA sis,

my mother tongue is a dialect of Urdu, plus English, I also know a little Arabic and Spanish too. (Learnt a little Spanish at school). The strange thing is, i think for my children, English is more their mother tongue and I have tried hard to make sure that their Arabic is better than mine (as yet ;D ). So in total I would say, that to some degree I can speak 4 languages. Note, I do say to 'some' degree :-\ . I would love to learn more and become fluent in the languages (especially Arabic and Spanish), that I already know.

[ramina]

I speak English as my native tongue, Wollof and Arabic. I'd like to have more fluency in the latter two languages but I know enough of them to say I can speak them. :D

[Halimah]

Asalamu alaikum,

I speak English, and very little Spanish. I took Spanish for several years in school, but forgot a lot of it because I don't use it. Right now I am trying to learn Arabic. I love learning new languages, but it is so hard when there is no one else to talk to except in English!

[Humayraa]

wa 'alaykunna as Salaam wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu ya akhaawaat,

Well I speak English (both the Trini and British versions). I don't consider myself fluent in any other language. I did French and Spanish in secondary school and was good at them, but I forgot almost everything due to not using them. I'm managing some French now because of where I live, Alhamdulillaah.

Dh on the other hand speaks 8 languages. They are: Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, English, French, Creole (which btw is a completely different language from French), Portugese and Spanish (though his Spanish skills are minimal compared to all the others).

I have a fascination with Dutch and would like to learn that, inshaaAllaah. Perhaps sis Nadine can help me out with the German, inshaaAllaah. I know one of the lower German dialects is very close to Dutch, masha'Allaah. I'm trying with Yoruba and 'Arabic, but getting nowhere very fast, lol. I think I'm too old for this, but hey ho, I'll continue to try inshaaAllaah. Fi amanillaah.

Humayraa

[Umm Ibrahim]

Assalaamu alaikum

I am fluent in English (duh, obviously since I am English :lol: ) and French. I should be fluent in German but since I have barely spoken any German in over 10 years I have forgotten way, way too much. I know some Arabic but need to practise more insha'Allah.

Nicola x

[ummi2mybabies]

aoa sis my mother tongue is english ,
but we used to speak french fluently when we were younger but my grandma died so we didnt speak anymore. i am fluent in spanish reading writing speaking. i am good in spekaing and understanding arabic egyptian dialect and when i say egyptian dialect when you talk to someone from the gulf no offense sisters im like what what say again looooool to understand them . egyptian dialect is slang. also i can understand dh when he is speaking urdu to back home or to his friends but i cant speak as of yet only couple of words

[DiamondLady Mema-Eemah]

I only speak one.....and that is English......unless you count "slangish piglatin" that my siblings and I used to use on a regular growing up because our parents did not know what we were saying :-\.
Now my youngest son & I are always talking it :mrgreen:......and my husband is in the dark :wink:.

But I always wanted to learn Spanish & Arabic.....InshaAllah one day.


Naimah (eemah1) [kitty]

[Umm Yehiya]

I'm a native English speaker. Masha'allah, I can speak broken colloquial Egyptian Arabic - I can understand much more than I can speak of that, but only if people aren't talking too fast. When I listen to a conversation between 2 people (usually my husband & MIL, lately), I have a BASIC idea of what's going on. They usually have to fill in the interesting details in English though, if I ask. I've been at this level for a couple years, now. I would like to progess, but I think unless I live abroad I don't see this happening any time soon - but Allahu alim.

I used to speak French very well masha'allah, and was able to read & write it, as well. But I stopped practicing it altogether once I met my husband and started learning Arabic. It's crazy how my French is almost gone, now! I used to have friends in France that neither my husband nor I wanted me to associate with any more after I became muslim, which is why it disappeared through lack of practice....

I studied Italian for 1 year while living there in 1998/99, masha'allah. By the end of that time, I could have simple conversations, but now my Italian is TOTALLY gone, because when I went back to the States, I never used it again.

I also had an intensive crash course in Mongolian while I was in Mongolia w/ the Peace Corps for 4 months in 2001, masha'allah. I had reasons to be VERY determined to learn Mongolian (I was expecting to be living there for 2 years in the middle of nowhere, but I ended up staying 4 months), so I was dogged in my study and practice of it. At the end of 4 months, giving my utmost effort, I could hold simple conversations/chats, and have a BASIC idea of what was going on. Now, however, it's also completely gone from me; I think the only place in the world Mongolian is spoken is in Mongolia. I only remember how to count to 3. ::) Heh heh. So useful. :mrgreen:


I studied French for 6 1/2 years - 4 1/2 of those in school, the rest on my own & through friends. This & Italian, I picked up relatively easily, masha'allah. When I started learning Arabic (I've started out w/ books & classes several times, and then sort of....gave up several times, istaghfirallah...not GAVE UP gave up - just...let it go for the time being, several times), I was so frustrated with myself that it was so hard for me. Me, for whom learning languages had previously been relatively easy & fun. But Arabic was a struggle. Mongolian was a different story; it was also very difficult, but because it was basically "speak it or starve" (not literally, but I needed to be able to get by on my own), I was so determined that it came - sort of. And I had not much to do at the time, so I studied for hours a day. That's all changed now.

Anyway. That's my little tangent. :mrgreen: I'm good at tangents. LOL


p.s. wait, i just checked, and i only remember how to count to 2 in Mongolian. :-\

[Humayraa]

Sis Umm Yehiya, you said (and forgive me, I don't know how to highlight quotes):

"I used to speak French very well masha'allah, and was able to read & write it, as well. But I stopped practicing it altogether...It's crazy how my French is almost gone, now!"

That was me with both French and Spanish. It's amazing that with languages if you don't use them you lose them. I didn't realize that my French was gone until I tried to use it. I'm slowly picking up again, but the older we get, the harder it is and the longer it takes. (((sigh)))

[Umm Ibrahim]

Assalaamu alaikum

Mongolian... verrrry useful! ;D You can only remember up to two?? That's not good is it?! I can count up to ten in 9 languages and up to 5 in 2 more and I can say hello in, Allah knows, how many lanaguages! Not exactly useful either though hey?! ;D

Nicola x

[muslimamom]

AOA,
My mother tounge is English and second fluent language is Spanish, Mashallah. Took it in school since 7 grade, all through High School and college and lived in AZ for 12 years. I was able to get my Spanish speaking friends to speak with me in Spanish. That helps so.. much when you are in situations where you can use it. Simply studying it, I found did not contribute to but half the battle. You learn to read and write it but for me it was minimal speaking until I was in the Spanish speaking environment to put my skills to use, Mashallah. I totally feel that is why Mormon missionaries come back from their foreign country missions totally fluent in another language because they were put in the situation where they had to learn the language to do what they do.

[Humayraa]

I agree with you sis muslimamom. Learning a language theoretically and practically are 2 different things. Of course the theory is useful and it helps, but being in a situation where you actually use the language helps you to retain it, and it helps me to make more sense out of the language.

[Umm Yehiya]

Of course. That is why I can sort of speak some Arabic now; studying didn't do it for me - I picked it up from my husband & his family. :)

[mexy1]

Salaamu Alaikum
It is interesting to know that most of us speak more than one language Mashallah. I know both english and spanish and learned a little bit of French when I was in school I still try to practice it with my husband but he is not very helpful he says I need to concentrate on learning arabic. ishaAllah one day :wink:

[Ummi_to_Siraj]

AsalaamuAlaikum,

I of course speak English fluently, and I took alot of Spanish in high school and I guess it just stuck with me. I don't speak it as well as I used to, but I understand a good amount. I used to know it so well that when I was really tired I would sometimes accidently switch back and forth between languages when I spoke, lol.

Jehada

[Leihalaa]

[slm] ,

My mother tongue is English at one time i spoke japanese but when my great grandma died we stop using it , I can still get by but it takes time for me to respond ;D . right now i'm studying arabic when my dh speaks in syrian dilect i can pick out most of what he is saying so like most men that don't want someone listening in on them so he changes dilects :-\ . Arabic is very challenging but inshallah before i'm a old women i'll be able to read the Quran and have a conversation without someone having to translate for me.

[Oum Anas]

Assalamu aleikum

My mother tongue is Swedish, my father is Arabic-speaking (mostly fusha, after living in Sweden for several years, plus he's a teacher in Arabic).

I didn't learn much more than reading, writing and some basic grammar in Arabic, though (a few days of "home-language" at school, where we learnt the same year after year, weekend madrasah and the little my father could instill in us in his free time. He would mostly switch when we answered him in Swedish). Only when I got married did I really learn. Hubby just said, that's it!, no more French, it's Arabic from now on. I didn't say a word for a week, LOL :oops: . But it was there somewhere in the back head, so it didn't take long before I said simple sentences and then it just started rolling :-\ 8)

I've studied English, French, German, Latin with "world languages" (sort of an introduction to Linguistics and comparative studying of languages and their history) and of course Swedish and minimal amounts of Arabic.

I translate to and from Swedish and English. Only general texts, but I'm studying legal and medical texts so that I'll be able to get Translator certification in a year or so, inshaa Allah. Maybe I'll be able to add a few languages in the future too, inshaa Allah. It would probably be Arabic first, because I feel that's the strongest of my other languages, since it's my family's first language.

My children speak only Arabic, alhamdu lillah, and they are often praised for their good command of classical Arabic. They only know a little English and Swedish, but I'm working on it :D I've given them a good base in Arabic, which is important and feel that I can give them my other languages now. But, it isn't easy after eight years of only Arabic :?

I keep French and German from disappearing completely, through interaction with friends who speak them and translators' fora on-line.

[nanny]

salam,my mother tongue is malayalam,(india)then tamil and english.all 3 i no fluently to read and write.Alhamdulillah.then a little bit of Arabic.
studying self.la hawla laquwwata ill-billah

[mommyof4under5]

salam sisters

my mother tongue is english, but i understand arabic and also the yemeni dialect of arabic and can read and write it a little. im still practicing. ive picked up some french and spanish from some of my muslimah friends here in michigan but am not fluent in them. i spoke some japanese too like leihalaa bc my grandma(mom's mom) was from japan, but then she died so we dont speak it anymore. inshaAllah soon i will have to learn latin for medical school :mrgreen: and i would also love to learn gujurati(india).

[umm_maryam]

Masha ALLAH, sis mommyof4under3 and sis Oum Anas, I`m realy impressed by your language knowledge. Mabruk.

[Teresa]

I can only speak English. I took Spanish for six years in school but I've forgotten most everything. I can count, know a few colors, and say a few simple phrases. Nothing that would do me much good, though. Amy and I want to keep Isaiah's heritage close to him so she's enrolled him in a Spanish class this summer (it's a one week course for preschoolers). She remembers more Spanish than I do.

My sister was fluent in German and could converse in French also. I just didn't use what I had and now it's gone. I'd like to learn some new languages but not sure which ones. I'm interested in Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese.

[Lallipathi]

Salaams sis..

Me..well English is my first language.... i am very fluent in speaking Urdu..(not reading).. Therefore I can communicate with folks from India who speak Hindi....

My children UNFORTUNATELY know English as a first language.. they used to speak Urdu, but its totally gone now.. The 2 older ones are very conversant in Spanish, which they have done for quite a few years due to school..other than that nada..

My hubby is fluent in Sindhi (another language of Pakistan), his Urdu is atrocious... whereas he still can speak his high school German.. He is passable in conversational Arabic(do not know which dialect)..


I regret my kids not learning at least their native tongue.. We are in the States on our own, I grew up in the UK in an extended family environment, hence my knowing Urdu..

Lallipathi

[Lian]

Asalam Alaikum sisters,

My Mother tongue is Arabic,i read and write and speak it fluently,i also learned English in Schools and from some relatives and i consider my self fluent in italhamdullah,i know some Hebrew not a lot just some words that will get me to where i want, you know how the saying goes"To know your enemy's weakness you need to know their language" .
Mashallah i was so impressed to how many sisters know more than one language that's so beautiful,you don't have to worry if you ever get lost in this world!!!!
My grandma used to always say to me Never to forget the Arabic language and never forget to teach it to my kids she said that Arabic is the language the messenger Mohammad (ASW)spoke and the Language of the Holy Quran and The language we will all be speaking in Heaven inshallah...
Wasalam Alaikum

[amirah85]

weel,italian is my mothertongue,after that I m fluent in english,and Im picking up some algerian dialect.I'm studing arabic as well,I can read but i still have a long way to go!

[umm_maryam]

My grandma used to always say to me Never to forget the Arabic language and never forget to teach it to my kids she said that Arabic is the language the messenger Mohammad (ASW)spoke and the Language of the Holy Quran and The language we will all be speaking in Heaven inshallah...



Masha ALLAH, your grandma is a very wise woman. She is so right. Inch ALLAH we all will meet in Heaven. May ALLAH reunite us there. Ameen.

[Samar]

I speak English and understand/read spanish better than speaking since I've been out of practice. DH speaks Urdu, Majpuri (sp?) (Bihari but he refuses to speak it) and English. I understand his urdu but I can't speak it well.

[Oum Anas]

My grandma used to always say to me Never to forget the Arabic language and never forget to teach it to my kids she said that Arabic is the language the messenger Mohammad (ASW)spoke and the Language of the Holy Quran and The language we will all be speaking in Heaven inshallah...


Assalamu aleikum

Well... they say it's the language of Paradise because it takes an eternity to learn it :D ;D

On a more serious note:

Question:
I would like to know what the language of the people of Paradise is. Is it Arabic?.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

There is no mention in the Qur’aan or in the saheeh Sunnah – as far as we know – of which language is spoken by the people of Paradise. What is narrated concerning that is a hadeeth which is not soundly narrated from our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and some other reports (athaar).

To read the full fatwa, click here, (http://islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=83262&ln=eng) inshaa Allah.

[faces2paint]

I speak English and I understand Urdu enough that I should be speaking it, but I'm usually too shy because of not always knowing past/present/future tense or gender in the grammar. But I'm working on it. I can get by pretty well if I'm talking to someone who doesn't speak english. I took 2 yrs of spanish in school and thought I knew it pretty well until I had learned urdu, then I kept mixing in urdu where should have been spanish! [smilie=alright.gif] what a cute emoticon!!!

[Umm Ahmad]

WOW [smilie=11281mashallah.gif] [smilie=11281mashallah.gif] this is like SO interesting !!!
Some sisters actually know 5 LANGUAGES !!!! AMAZING !!!! [smilie=16icon_eek.gif]

I'm alhamdulillah fluent in English, Arabic and Urdu and know how to read and write hindi aswell.........THATS IT !!!

Man, but i'd LOVE to learn german and Italian.....it has ALWAYS been my dream to learn languages and i want the SAME for my son.......the more languages you teach 'em the more their brain develops.

Unfortunately there is absolutely NO WAY to learn any new languages around here [smilie=122529icon_sad.gif]

[UmmRuwaidah]

[smilie=111281salams.gif]
English is my native language and I am studying Arabic (fusha) and one day I hope to learn Egyptian Arabic in sha Allah. Ok All of you flulent arabic speakers how bout a pharse a day or something to help all of us who are struggling to learn [smilie=23icon_mrgreen.gif]

[SHAIKHA]

Assalamu'alaikum ya Ukht,

Well, English is our First Language in school. However, at home we speak Malay language, and Malay being very similiar to Indonesian language - I can speak that too (not their local dialects).

My father, brother and my hb speaks Arabic - so I do understand, but still am struggling to speak !! I can read the Quran and write well, Alhamdullillah.

Let see... other than that, if counting to 10 is included.. I can do that in Mandarin, Tamil & Hindi.. , also I can "Hello" and "Goodbyes" in many languages !! LOL !!!

All said, I voted "2" (English & Malay) and a half for Arabic... haha !!

jazakAllah khair...

[aishamommy]

[smilie=111281salams.gif]

My primary language is English but I am fluent in spanish. My grandmother was born and raised in Puerto Rico so my mom spoke to us in English/spanish( when our friends were around) but I used to go stay with my grandmother who spoke only spanish. My daughter only speaks english but my step son I am can talk to him in spanish and he will answer me back in english

Aishah

[miss helouah]

[smilie=111281salams.gif]

I voted 3.. I'm fluent in Faroese, Danish and English, Alhamdulillah.. Then i understand and read Swedish and Norwegian, as it's a mixture of Faroese and Danish, kind of [smilie=12biggrin.gif] I can read most german and some French. At the moment I'm trying to learn myself Arabic, i found a great website, which is free to use, will post the link in a min, InshaAllah... I used to understand Icelandic, but since i haven't heard the language for about 7 years, most of it has gone, but i can still read some of it

[dinah]

I was born and raised american but didnt actually understand English till I was 14 years old. IM 3/4 german as well as swedish. English is not really the official lang, in USA as we got a huge mixtures of languages here. I had gone to all german school in USA when I was a kid. in my teenage years I studied and social with all jews and even graduated with all jews. We got along fine even tho I was not jewish. Now IM living in a city that was one time all germans here in Iowa. IM not far from the Amish ppl. I had been exposed to alot of languages all my life as I had lived in 22 different homes with various neighborhoods and gone to 11 different schools in America.

[muslimah85]

my mother toungr is urdu, but i speak english fluently, and a little of arabic tooo

[Mariam_AM]

bismillah ar-rahman ar-raheem

salaam alekoum wa rahmatualla wa baraktu

well i am fluent in English (it's my mother tongue) and also Arabic (through classes alhamdellah), i know both al-foS-Ha Arabic and the khaleeji (gulf) dialect :) alhamdellah :)

ma'asalamah wa fee aman allah

Mariam x :).

[Iman]

as salaamu `alaykum...

I speak English and Malay. I understand Urdu quite a bit - no one can keep secrets around me :P My Urdu vocabulary is not bad but my grammar is terrible so I don't speak it much. I am still learning Arabic - my progress is quite pitiful!

[OomHaleemah]

`Assalamu `Alaykum Ukhti,

I speak four languages ; first one is Arabic, then English, then Urdu
and also Hebrew bc/ I grew up in the Gaza strip, they had Hebrew at the school & the Jewish people only spoke in Hebrew or English & would never answer in Arabic but I am so out of practice w. Hebrew now I doubt I could carry on a conversation [smilie=1827icon_redface.gif]