How Learning Arabic can improve your English

When I first met my principal Arabic lecturer at SOAS University, I asked him if there was anything I should read in preparation for my Arabic degree. Initially, I was somewhat puzzled by his suggestion. The book he mentioned wasn’t about Arabic at all. “Rediscover Grammar” by David Crystal had nothing to do with the Middle East. 

Nevertheless, as a fresh-faced, eager undergraduate-to-be, I wanted to tick every box possible before starting my degree and so I ordered it. I didn’t have to read further than the first sentence to understand why it was relevant to my Arabic course. 

“Grammar is the business of taking a language to pieces, to see how it works.” 

I was about to embark on serious study of a modern foreign language. Of course, it would be advantageous to know more about how languages work, how we use words to convey meaning. Come to think of it, I’ve spoken English all my life, but have I ever thought about how English works?

This recalled what was then a recent memory; my A-level English lessons. “You need to be more specific,” said my English teacher, “don’t simply call it a word. Is it a noun, adjective or verb?” 

I was learning on the job at A-level, memorising grammatical terminology so I could reel it out in my exam paper. Little did I know that this knowledge would be invaluable when studying Arabic. 

I would later delve into Arabic’s rich tradition of grammar. Arabic has a very thorough approach to grammatical analysis. By many accounts, this was set in motion by Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) who commissioned one of his students, Abu al-Aswad ad-Duali, to codify the language of the Qur’an so as to preserve its meaning.

The beauty of the Arabic tradition of grammatical analysis is that it has a down-to-earth quality. Many Arabic grammatical terms are refreshingly straightforward as compared to the highbrow nature of English grammar. The word for noun in Arabic is اسم ism which simply means “name.” The word for verb is فعل fi’l which translates as “action.” The word for sentence جملة jumla also mean group or totality. In short, Arabic grammar does what is says on the tin. An almost comical example of this is the term clause of attendant circumstance which, in Arabic, would simply be referred to as حال haal meaning “circumstance.”

Anyhow, studying Arabic grammar often prompts us to take our native language apart and reflect on the words that we use everyday. There is currently a degree of controversy surrounding the teaching of traditional English grammar. Many look down on it as a outdated and rigid practice that fosters prejudice and does not necessarily enhance one’s practical usage of language. I do not completely reject these arguments. 

That said, I believe that a knowledge of grammar is a great privilege. It makes us secure in our speech and gives us the ability to think critically about what we are actually being told or, just as important, not being told. In short, studying grammar is building a really useful and practical life skill. Whether you are taking apart a tricky exam question, trying to get your point across in a job interview or aiming to write in a particular style, grammar is your friend. In any case, knowing Arabic grammar would have been seriously useful to me when I was taking my English A-level!