Fernando: Language

I HAD the chance to participate in the Arabic Emergent Reading and Culture Awareness (AERCA) seminar last week organized by the Department of Education (DepEd) Cordillera Regional office in line with the Madrasah Education Program (MEP).

The seminar-workshop focused on learning the Arabic language primarily so that school administrators and teachers can have closer coordination with the Arabic Learning and Islamic Education (Alive) teachers and implementers in the region.

Learning a new language, especially Arabic, is difficult yet I was all excited during the length of the seminar knowing that learning Arabic opens me more to the rich and colorful background of Arabic speakers, particularly our Muslim brothers and sisters.

Language speaks a lot of things on the speakers and their background. There are some Filipinos who can speak Spanish because we were once a colony of Spain. We speak English because we were once occupied by the United States but we cannot make Spanish or English as our national language because they do not embody the general identity of Filipinos so we had to declare Filipino as the national language.

Majority of those who speak Arabic are Muslims and even in the language one can see a sense of strictness in their way of life because our facilitator/speaker informed us that they are not openly allowed to translate Arabic words to another language when teaching. Arabic is also encouraged for all Muslims to learn for the sake of understanding Qur-an, the counterpart of Bible for Christians.

Qur-an, I believe, is not allowed to have translation so Muslims are somewhat required to learn it. This is also the reason why the ALIVE program was adopted by DepEd so that young Muslims cannot get away with their customs and religious practices even when residing in other regions.

Language is a unifying force among speakers. We had an out-of-town vacation one time and it was relieving to hear some people speaking our native dialect knowing that we are strangers in the area. It removed some feeling ok awkwardness on my part to speak with them. I presume this is also the same case with people who meet for the first time. Those who speak the same language or dialect usually develop instant connection.

This happens because speaking the same language can mean the speakers share the same or similar culture. Also, people can express themselves better when using their native language. This should add to the level of confidence of the speakers. We understand that a limited command of a language can put someone into an awkward position when trying to communicate. So rather than being placed in this position, they would just prefer to keep quiet.

Learning a new language is fun and fulfilling because it extend the learner’s horizon. There will surely be a lot of learning that will take place. We will surely meet more people. We will understand more phenomena.

A learner of any language needs to develop a strong command on the alphabets. We spent the whole first day familiarizing the Arabic alphabets because we do not only memorize the letters but must also know how they are pronounced. It was difficult because Arabic alphabets do not have a direct English translation.

Linguists came up with some translations although there are some differences on them so we really needed to learn it with little reference from English. The pronunciation also was new to me because there are some alphabet that sounds very strange. The problem even if we familiarized the whole 28 Arabic alphabets is the challenge of memorizing them and not forget them especially after the seminar.

An online article said that the average duration of learning a new language is one year. That is if one takes the learning seriously. For instance, learning Spanish can take less than a year, like 6 to 9 months, because it is not too complicated. The difficulty level of Arabic is higher than Spanish or Portuguese. The same article says that the difficulty level is similar to Chinese or Mandarin.

A learner is encouraged to set a goal so that he/she would not lose focus. There will surely be a lot of disappointments. The challenge is also greater because it is difficult to find other speakers in our area who can teach us. The first steps are the hardest part because it will really test the dedication of the learner. If easily discouraged, the goal should surely fail.

Language removes the barriers among individuals. It is very challenging because like a person trying to find his/her way in the dark, we are entering a new territory and it takes time for us to adopt. The fulfilling part is that we are opening ourselves to new learnings. We will have personal growth and development. It means we care for humanity.

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