After two months of waiting and memorizing random Kurdish words, last night we officially started formal language lessons. Up until now there are about 10-15 key phrases which we have down. I can successfully greet someone hello and goodbye; order my food and ask for take-out at restaurants; read and write Arabic numbers; ask to go to a few locations in town; and a few other assorted phrases and comments. Having a conversation with anyone is all but impossible, but if I listen hard enough I can pick out words to occasionally discern what they are talking about. Thus far it has been a slow process, but pronunciation and my ear for the language are improving. Reading and writing are still equivalent to hieroglyphics.
As we stepped into the first class last night I had the odd feeling that, for perhaps the first time in my life, I was probably going to be at the very bottom of the class. There are about 10 people in class and everyone but Paige and I either can speak/read/write in Arabic; speak in Kurdish but not read or write; or has at least had previous formal training of some combination of the two. Paige and I are starting tabula rasa, blank slate.
I can now completely empathize with the students in my English class who are clearly out of place and have no business being there. Their skills in the language are well below that of the class average, and it is a struggle for them to keep up. I am now that person in Kurdish class. For the first 30 minutes of class I had absolutely no idea what was transpiring before me; I was listening to the teacher lecture in a mix of Arabic, Kurdish, and English. To make matters more confusing, he wrote notes on the board from right to left and: numbered the lesson in Arabic, wrote some letters in English, some in Kurdish with the Arabic alphabet, and some in Kurdish with the Latin alphabet. Needless to say, it took me a good deal of time to even discern the difference between an Arabic character and a simple comma.
It is a humbling experience to have to entirely learn a new alphabet. It forcibly takes you back to the level of education of a young child. But by this point you have accrued various life experiences and lessons, all of which utilize a familiar alphabet, the lowest common denominator of any language. To learn a new alphabet runs counter to everything you have learned thus far and at least in my mind, there is some resistance to learning a new one. Latin alphabets are common so languages like French, Spanish, Italian, etc. are difficult, but you can at least look at a word and have some semblance of how to pronounce it. Looking at words in Arabic I can’t even pick out one letter. This is definitely going to be a long, drawn out process. It is one in which I will have to overcome numerous instances where I will inevitably want to throw my hands in the air and capitulate to defeat.
However, that is not going to happen. While I have no intention of dedicating numerous hours to learning Kurdish, I will maximize the time that I have available in the classroom. I do not need to be fluent, but if I want to apply for a job I would like to comfortably, and honestly, state that I have a basic familiarity with Kurdish. Preferably, this knowledge will extend to both the Latin and Arabic alphabets.
No comments:
Post a Comment