online survey:

Is it really so hard to learn Arabic?

   It is hard. I speak Arabic because it is my native language. But I do not read and write it, which is another challenge in itself. I came to the US when I was 7. So that was the time when I would have started reading and writing it. There are quite a few different dialects. And for all those dialects there is a formal Arabic spoken in the media, by politicians, clergymen etc. It is the same dialect in the Koran. Which is a very formal type of Arabic. Since I grew up speaking the "street" language in the dialect of my parents homeland, the formal Arabic is difficult for me to understand. 

Not only that, there are lots of letters and sounds that do not exist in the English language. Most Arabic speakers who have been speaking it since birth develop a different set of muscles or facial features to accommodate some of the sounds in our language. Its a cultural thing throughout many languages.

However, like any language it is learn-able. Be patient. Do not give up. May I suggest you study abroad? I learned how to speak English through total immersion. My sister went to Spain for a year and is is now fluent in Spanish. So she has three languages under her belt. So I know you can do it. Do not be discouraged. Learn as much as you can. And yes it is a hard language to learn, but I can assure you like anything else in life, it will be a great accomplishment for you.

Nothings difficult if youre motivated. I think if you study regularly, perhaps 30 miniutes per day, 3 times a week, you will achieve a high proficiency in 1.5-2 years.

Source(s):

Experience. 

 yes!!!!! its so hard I have been learning words here and there for about 3 yrs now.. and i just bought pimsler to teach me and still when i listen to ppl speak arabic or i speak it to them its like we dont understand each other i get discourged all the time but i keep practicing... if you really want to learn never quit you will get it one day:)

 every language is difficult to learn, except if u are really want to have the skill. like me, I've learned Arabic since i was a kid.and till now still can't understand the word. so, if u want it, practice always make perfect....believe me, it's hard, Love is the most important thing . If you love it you will learn it easily . Go for it . 

 Well, I'm a native English speaker. I lived in Qatar for 18 months, and studied Arabic there for about a year. A reliable source says that the hardest languages for English speakers to learn are Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic, in that order. I've had dealings with all 4, and I agree. But I had simple conversations in Arabic after only about a year, and I'm not very gifted at languages. So don't get discouraged. For me, the hard part of learning Arabic is that some sounds in Semitic languages like Arabic and Hebrew are completely different from Indo-European languages like English. And singular and plural are often very different; in English you usually just add an S to the end of a word to make the plural. Oh yeah, and usually the script doesn't include vowels, only consonants. For instance, words to do with writing contain the 4 consonants m, k t and b, so the words for office, writing and book, and many others, all look similar. Learning to read and write Arabic is surprisingly easy. The alphabet has only about as many letters as ours. I learned it in about a month. Of course, the quickest way to learn the language is to live there, like I did. I worked with people who could speak English in Qatar, but even so I learned a little Arabic reasonably quickly. I've dealt with kids who go on 1-year overseas student exchanges, where they're totally immersed in the language. All of them come back after a year almost fluent, including the kids who go to Japan and Finland, which both have very difficult languages. So work at it. Good luck. Marsalaam, saddiq.

     Hard. See ever their writing?

  Arabic is somewhat difficult, however if you study and really want to learn it, it's not that hard. Any language that does not use the same alphabet as us is going to be harder to learn, simply because you need to get used to it. I've been taking Arabic for two semesters and i can have decent conversations with people. they aren't in depth intellectual conversations, but it is possible to speak with people. If you are taking it at a college i would recommend having a good relationship with the teacher, doing your homework and studying. Usually at a college there are native Arabic speakers in the class to get an easy A, but try to make friends with them or go to Arab/Greek restaurants, mosques, or Halal stores to talk to people. Arabic isn't all that bad. Good Luck!

  It is not that difficult to understand it & speak it. Writing can be very difficult. Many Arabs (including me) cannot write good Arabic. Reading comes second in difficulty. But as I said, to understand and to speak is easy. I have a British friend who has learned it in only 2 years. If you live between Arabs, you will learn it easy because you will be practicing it. Hearing people conversate in Arabic is very helpfull. Books and tapes can teach you, but it'll take you longet to learn.

Not to discourage you BUT to learn Arabic fully (writing, reading & speaking) will take you more than 6 years to learn. I am 27 years old and was born an Arab. Have been taught Arabic since I was born and still did not excell it & most probably will not. Do you know those who excell Arabic are few? And once they do excel the language they are considered as professors :)

 I think arabic is very hard to learn...some words easy to pronounce but others are really hard and sometimes you have to roll the r's. Below is a website my sister uses to help improve her arabic skills like grammer..its free. Good Luck habibty :)