Languages you know..

[AlGhaliboon]

Originally Posted by BOILER

Know your enemy

ايه ومش بس هيك، استفد منها بساحة القتال.ا
مين كان عمبيعطيون أوامر متضاربة بحرب تموز؟

[Xena]

Originally Posted by AlGhaliboon

Quite close, actually. Many of the words are actually almost the same.

day = yom
I = ani (of Southern Lebanese اني fame )
we = anachnu
four = arba'
five = khamesh
eight = shemoneh (of Kiryat Shemoneh fame )
100 = me'ah

The alphabet is fun to learn and read, I actually love it, and although at first it looks difficult to memorize all those letters it is actually very easy, it took me a few days to master it. The "7araket" are a bit difficult and complicated and they are not very widely used in daily use by them, just like in Arabic people don't use them extensively unless it is necessary to distinguish between two meanings, so if you are practicing reading without those, then it becomes difficult especially if you don't know the meaning of the words so you can't guess from the context how it is pronounced...

thank you for the info!! i'm actually seriously considering leaning it! do you speak it fluently? and how long will it take someone to have a good level in hebrew?

yes true i was told that they're very similar.. i like the ani :p..
we shouldn't also forget the Shalom alekhem (Assalamu alaikum) and alekhem hashalom (wa 3alaykom essalam) they're quite similar!!

[Osiris]

Originally Posted by Xena

hihihi Genki desu! anta wa?

I am still a newbie! :p
But as far as my Japanese, Genki desu means: fine! see !! :p

Originally Posted by AlGhaliboon

Quite close, actually. Many of the words are actually almost the same.

day = yom
I = ani (of Southern Lebanese اني fame )
we = anachnu
four = arba'
five = khamesh
eight = shemoneh (of Kiryat Shemoneh fame )
100 = me'ah

The alphabet is fun to learn and read, I actually love it, and although at first it looks difficult to memorize all those letters which look so much alike and very difficult to distinguish from each other, it is actually very easy, it took me a few days to master it. The "7araket" are a bit difficult and complicated and they are not very widely used in daily use by them, just like in Arabic people don't use them extensively unless it is necessary to distinguish between two meanings, so if you are practicing reading without those, then it becomes difficult especially if you don't know the meaning of the words so you can't guess from the context how it is pronounced...

Any website for learning Hebrew ?

[AlGhaliboon]

Originally Posted by Osiris

Any website for learning Hebrew ?

Hm not sure, there english-hebrew/ hebrew-english dictionary but for that you need to know the alphabet at least, i got some stuff from "masader muttali3a" (haha) .

For vocab , there is this basic site which might be of help :

http://www.dictionary.co.il/index.php

and this kids' site for alphabet, i guess:

http://www.akhlah.com/aleph_bet/aleph-bet.php

but if you will study it, study the block letters and leave the script for later otherwise you will get very confused .

Dictionaries:

http://milon.morfix.co.il/Default.aspx

Arabic - Hebrew :
http://www.arabdictionary.huji.ac.il/

[AlGhaliboon]

Originally Posted by Xena

thank you for the info!! i'm actually seriously considering leaning it! do you speak it fluently? and how long will it take someone to have a good level in hebrew?

yes true i was told that they're very similar.. i like the ani :p..
we shouldn't also forget the Shalom alekhem (Assalamu alaikum) and alekhem hashalom (wa 3alaykom essalam) they're quite similar!!

I don't actually speak it fluently, in fact i do not speak it at all (in terms of speaking it in real life, I mean) since i have no one to speak it with :D but i CAN say the sentences out loud , just that it is difficult to carry on a conversation by yourself. :-P
i am learning by myself, which is difficult because I have few material, and mostly it is written material not pronounciation or anything..
My brother was fluent in the language, though. He spoke perfect Hebrew. :)

It depends on how much time you put into it, but i would say if you know arabic then it will be much easier to acquire vocabulary... as I said , learning the alphabet and the basics took me a few days only, and now I can read just about any piece and with resort to dictionary understand almost all of it (and at the same time learn new words ) , so I am past the stage of extreme reliance on books (not that I ever relied on a book ) . But if you learn it the way i am doing then you will have much more problem with sentence structures and grammar (which I do). Understanding is easy but formulating sentences yourself would be more difficult... Probably a few months will be enough to have a good level of Hebrew.

There are actually variations in pronounciations even for "israelis", depending on their background. for example they have the ع sound, which is ע but because they are mostly Europeans they can't pronounce it 100% right...

the icing on the cake is when they say kheeezb-aaaaaalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
הזבאללה

[CPL]

AlGhaliboun they teach Hebrew in AUB for sure, I knew someone studying it as part of her archaeology curriculum. And maybe also USJ I'm not sure about this one.

[AlGhaliboon]

Originally Posted by CPL

AlGhaliboun they teach Hebrew in AUB for sure, I knew someone studying it as part of her archaeology curriculum. And maybe also USJ I'm not sure about this one.

I know. It's Biblical Hebrew not Modern Hebrew, and I don't have money for it.
I think they might've had it also in jem3a Lbneniye, Lebanese University.. not sure if they still do.

[Xena]

Originally Posted by AlGhaliboon

I don't actually speak it fluently, in fact i do not speak it at all (in terms of speaking it in real life, I mean) since i have no one to speak it with :D but i CAN say the sentences out loud , just that it is difficult to carry on a conversation by yourself. :-P
i am learning by myself, which is difficult because I have few material, and mostly it is written material not pronounciation or anything..
My brother was fluent in the language, though. He spoke perfect Hebrew. :)

It depends on how much time you put into it, but i would say if you know arabic then it will be much easier to acquire vocabulary... as I said , learning the alphabet and the basics took me a few days only, and now I can read just about any piece and with resort to dictionary understand almost all of it (and at the same time learn new words ) , so I am past the stage of extreme reliance on books (not that I ever relied on a book ) . But if you learn it the way i am doing then you will have much more problem with sentence structures and grammar (which I do). Understanding is easy but formulating sentences yourself would be more difficult... Probably a few months will be enough to have a good level of Hebrew.

There are actually variations in pronounciations even for "israelis", depending on their background. for example they have the ع sound, which is ע but because they are mostly Europeans they can't pronounce it 100% right...

the icing on the cake is when they say kheeezb-aaaaaalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
הזבאללה

yes exactly a language should be practiced!!
i personnaly found a way to practise japanese through japanese forums and pen pals (or msn pals )...bass it sure is difficult to have a "pal" to practise hebrew with unless this pal is a massadir moutali3a

wow bass few months? walla i'm motivated now!!.. bass i think i'll take it very slowly since i have other languages on the waiting list now :p
bass khalas i'll sure learn it! that's a promise!!

hahahah yes khizballaah makes me laugh!!!

Originally Posted by Osiris

I am still a newbie! :p
But as far as my Japanese, Genki desu means: fine! see !! :p

heheh bravo bravo!! genki=healthy w desu = verbe être.
literally it means : ogenki desu ka = kif sa7tak? genki desu : sa7te mni7a

[AlGhaliboon]

Originally Posted by Xena

yes exactly a language should be practiced!!
i personnaly found a way to practise japanese through japanese forums and pen pals (or msn pals )...bass it sure is difficult to have a "pal" to practise hebrew with unless this pal is a massadir moutali3a

wow bass few months? walla i'm motivated now!!.. bass i think i'll take it very slowly since i have other languages on the waiting list now :p
bass khalas i'll sure learn it! that's a promise!!

hahahah yes khizballaah makes me laugh!!!

Yeah... I am fluent in German also, but not many speak it here, and I don't have much time nor enough motivation to go on a number of forums to continue practicing my German . I am sure i can recall it at any time, though, with some practice.
And as for masader muttali3a, hear hear!!

[Stella]

Originally Posted by AlGhaliboon

Yeah... I am fluent in German also, but not many speak it here, and I don't have much time nor enough motivation to go on a number of forums to continue practicing my German . I am sure i can recall it at any time, though, with some practice.

Since many of us speak German here why not having a German language sub forum? Or at least a thread for German? In fact its a great idea /have been around long ago/ to teach and practise languages here on the forum. It would be a great value added.

Is there a big difference between the modern and biblical hebrew? Biblical hebrew may be similar to aramaic? Am also interested in it, but waiting list is also long:D Now arabic and spanish, then aramaic and turkish, and then farsi and hebrew:D