Arabic at work: Week 1

After 1506 hours of study (so far) I’m finally using Arabic rather than studying it. On one hand, it is extraordinarily gratifying that all the time spent studying is being put to positive use. On the other, it reminds me of how far I have to go.

At the window, Arabic is invaluable. A quarter of people I talk to don’t speak English على الإطلاق, and most are more comfortable with my Arabic than their English. Yet using Arabic professionally is different than studying, as the focus shifts from learning everything within reach to learning few things very well. The best example is some of the set phrases repeatedly used throughout the day:

رقم ستة و ستين إلى شباك إحدة عشرة لو سمحت

Or my personal favorite: لازم أن تتكلمي بصوت عالي جداً لو سمحتِ من الصعب أن أسمع صوتك

Even if I say them wrong, these phrases are no longer separate words to compose every time. They’ve merged into a single thought that comes out as fast as my tongue can get through ع’s and ح’s. Hopefully, I will be able to expand this chunking to other parts of the language, but only time will tell if I become better at the language as a whole or just some lines of questions and answers.