As a trilingual individual myself, I have run across all sorts of languages. When I was growing up, my father spoke Chaldean (another dialect of Aramaic) with my siblings and I, and my mother spoke Arabic. I also obviously know English. Now I know what you are thinking, but you are wrong! Aramaic is NOT the same language as Arabic. I don't know any fluent speaking Arabic people that will understand the Aramaic/Chaldean language if someone speaks to them in it. 

Let's take, for example, the phrase: What's your name?

In Arabic it would be: Ma ismuk?

In Chaldean it would be: Mela Shimouhk?

Now do either of those sound similar? Okay, the spelling might low key have a similarity, but trust me, if you know how to properly say both of them, you would know there was a big difference. 

Anyways, for me language has always been a big part of my life. My father made us (my brothers and me) sit down every summer and teach us how to read and write in the Chaldean language. It was pretty awful, considering we were children who didn't have long attention spans and it was the summer. I absolutely hated these classes! However, my father told me that one day I would come and thank him for all those grueling hours of torture, learning, and he was right. The older I get, the more I want to learn, and the better I become. I thank God he never let up on the teaching, because I am so happy to have gotten to learn this language. It made me want to learn so many others. I also have a knack for picking up other languages quickly too! I took French throughout high school, and I was really good at it. When I started college I knew I wanted to continue to do it, and so I am either striving for a minor or a major in French, (depending on how many classes I want to go through) as well as my science degree. 

As I was peacefully in my slumber, I got to experience how much I actually know in French, Arabic, Aramaic, and of course, English. You never actually know how much knowledge you have of a language until you are put to the test, by having to go to that country, or having a conversation with someone from that country. I know from experience that sometimes you blank, and have no idea how to say something that pertains to the conversation, but it's okay! I used to feel really stupid sometimes when I couldn't get my thoughts across, and the person I was having a conversation with looked at me with a funny expression on their face. My advice is that you just have to relax, and let the words come to you, instead of just forcing them out. It starts to become easier, and you learn a lot faster that way. At first you will sound kind of awful, because the way you sound out your words are different then the way another language sounds out theirs, but don't be discouraged. It takes a while to actually sound like you are from that country, so don't be afraid to practice. If people laugh, just say, "at least I'm learning, what are you doing with your life?" 

It will make people: 

1) Become agitated, and they will reply back with a snarky comment, in which case you know you got to them. 

2) Make them actually wonder what they are doing with their life.  

3) They will apologize, and go home and do something productive. 

Trust me, knowing more than one language is beneficial to everyone who's anyone.

So, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about another language you are interested in, just shoot me an email (akhobeir@gmail.com) or comment back. I am more than happy to lend some help and/or information on this topic :) I hope you have a wonderful and productive Tuesday!

Source

Question:

1. What other languages do you know?

2. How difficult was it for you to get accustomed to the language?

3. What are some other languages would you be interested in learning?

~Alhana