Dune is by far my favorite fiction series of all time. I re-read the first book at least once a year (and bought the Folio Society's amazing edition awhile back). The religious thinking that underlies parts of it is pretty amazing. Random question, related to that: do you have an English version of the Qu'ran that you'd recommend? I've read some of A. J. Arberry's translation, which I've heard is stylistically good but not the best in terms of accuracy. Learning Quranic Arabic is on my to-do list, but I've got another language (which I've only just started) to finish first.
quran.com is a good place to start because it has multiple translations you can consult and a literal translation if you hover over the Arabic words. I want to note that a lot of the punctuation symbols you'll see in the Quran are only relevant if you want to work on tajweed, the "proper" way to read the Quran out loud. Since the tajweed notation basically turns the Quran into a sort of musical sheet (for lack of a better term) it's better if you save that until you're on good footing with the language, if you want to learn it.
Ok, that's perfect. Having a mouse-over definition can really help. Thanks, I'll bookmark it for when I get there. Pronunciation-wise, as long as I have the basic letters down, that'll be good for now. As you say, that could be an interesting addition, though!
I can only imagine that's even more difficult than regular old Arabic. Godspeed my son! You're a sucker for punishment.Learning Quranic Arabic is on my to-do list
I don't think it will be. Modern Standard Arabic is based in large part on the text of the Qu'ran, and is basically the literary and more "official" language (e.g. of newscasts and the like), and my differ a fair amount from what you hear on a streetcorner. Fluent speaking is by far the hardest part of learning a language, and that's not something I'm trying to do. Being able to recognize, say, a verb form is much easier than having to remember it on your own and then use it properly. Two other factors help. The main thing is that I'm not on a deadline. If it takes me 3 years to learn what a college student would learn in a semester, so what? The other is that the more time you spend learning language, the more you learn to take languages on their own terms, and you stop fighting them. It makes things a lot easier.
A good point! Much easier to develop receptive skills than productive ones, especially reading. It also seems like people retain those skills for much longer - I know a lot of people who studied French in school years ago and couldn't get beyond "je m'appelle" but can still understand some written bits.Fluent speaking is by far the hardest part of learning a language, and that's not something I'm trying to do. Being able to recognize, say, a verb form is much easier than having to remember it on your own and then use it properly.
Exactly. Right now direct communication isn't my goal, so I can take the easier route. This has an added benefit of allowing me to learn on my own schedule, and not be subject to when a class (or even just another person) may be able to meet.