Comments on: But how do YOU say it? https://gingerbeirut.com/but-how-do-you-say-it/ An outsider's commentary on Lebanese culture and society. Rules not included. Mon, 04 Nov 2013 11:02:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.7.1 By: Danielle https://gingerbeirut.com/but-how-do-you-say-it/comment-page-1/#comment-8026 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:56:53 +0000 https://gingerbeirut.com/?p=1254#comment-8026 This is why I very much admire non-native speakers who are trying to learn Arabic. I mean, why would you do that to yourself? haha.. Talk about a headache!

]]> By: ian alexander https://gingerbeirut.com/but-how-do-you-say-it/comment-page-1/#comment-7650 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:14:16 +0000 https://gingerbeirut.com/?p=1254#comment-7650 please dont talk about learning difficult lingos, i just get more jealous.

]]> By: Fadi https://gingerbeirut.com/but-how-do-you-say-it/comment-page-1/#comment-7593 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:44:02 +0000 https://gingerbeirut.com/?p=1254#comment-7593 I guess standard Arabic fills in the role of “language soutenu” (that’s french, don’t know the exact word for it in english) for all spoken versions of Arabic, for lack of a better alternative.
I personally appreciate it much more when a speech is given in Lebanese than in Arabic, as I relate to it much more, so I guess I have to disagree with Ferguson’s view, even though I might be the only one out there.

As for your learning the language, you have a tough job ahead of you. I don’t know how we do it, but somehow we manage to understand Arabic, Lebanese, and also differentiate (if not also understand) all sorts of foreign arabic dialects. I would imagine Egyptian would sound like an entirely new language to you, while it’s certainly comprehensible for most Lebanese. Good luck..

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