[Omani Devil]

Salam all, just joined these forums yesterday, a friend game me a link to check out some clips and I realised that these forums had an Arabian football board which was active so I signed up straightaway . Anyways, I'm 17 years old and I'm from Oman, born and brought up in Muscat.

I support Man United and the Omani National Team (still hurting over the Gulf Cup Final) :broken:

Occasionaly watch some Real Madrid game, but not really a fan.

Anyways, will try and post around here whenever I can and get to know some of you guys :thmbup:

 

[Natalya]

Salaam Omani, nice to see a new face around here! But you really have to sort out the Man Utd supporting! Turn from the dark side and support the Villa!

 

[Paris]

Your from Oman and only 17?

Do you guys speak a lot of English in the Arabian Nations? Every Arab I've come across in this baord has a good grasp on English.

Nat, have you ever felt that we in England are very lazy to learn a second language?

 

[Omani Devil]

Yep, well the school which I go to is English and I am doing my A-Levels so I guess my grasp has to be good

 

[Carles]

first ssalam 3alayka Oman Devil and welcome to XT! :jester: :thmbup:
Paris,all the Arab countries in the Gulf speak English fluently it's their second language (after Arabic of course).
Morocco,Algeria,Tunisia and some North African countries speak French(their 2nd language) and English is a secondary language there
but now,there's a sligh change,English is taugh at high school,there's some private school to learn english like Amideast or ALC,and more and more people know its importance to communicate with other people coming from any country all over the world and also if they want to study abroad
lazy??i don't think so but a to learn a new language is always an advantage and it'll help you sooner or later!

 

[Natalya]

Yep Paris, we English are terrible when it comes to learning second languages. I keep saying that I'm going to learn Arabic, but never seem to be able to sit down and actually make myself do so. But Inshallah I will be going to Lebanon in the summer to do an intensive course at the AUB.

As for English in the Arab countries, Egypt, Oman, Iraq and places all speak good English because of the colonial past when Britian had such influence in their countries. Lebanon, and the maghreb generally have French as their second language.

 

[AT19]

Omani Devil Gawak!!! Welcome mate!

Natalya you are right in a way. Our second language is English due to the colonial past. Jordan, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt were all under the English. While the French colonised Syria, Lebanon and some parts of N. Africa. While the Italians colonised Lybia. I am not sure about Gulf countries though. But when you come to countries colonised by the English, rarely do you find people fluent in English. Unless their schools had a strong program in English. While in the case of the French colonised countries it seems everyone is fluent in French. All Lebanese speak it(better than the Arabic, infact their Arabic has become French ), all Morocans, all Algerians and most of Tunisians speak it.

 

[Natalya]

Depends what part of Morocco you go to. If you go to the north like I did, then Spanish is taught in schools not French, as Spain has more influence up there than France did (and indeed still has two towns that are "Spanish", Ceuta and Melilla).

The Gulf countries most likely get taught English because of their close business links with America. Afterall English is the global language and the language of business).

When I went to Egypt most people seem to speak English, even those who weren't "highly" educated. But I guess it depends on the country. The English presence in Egypt was much longer than say in Jordan or Palestine.

As for Lebanon, I hear they say "Merci Allah" instead of "Al-hamdulilah" which is pretty disturbing!

 

[Nerazzurri4life]

As for Lebanon, I hear they say "Merci Allah" instead of "Al-hamdulilah" which is pretty disturbing!

Welcome to XT, Omani Devil.

 

[HiJazzey]

Welcome to XT Omani Devil

Re. English, you'd be surprised how few Saudis speak English. You get tought basic English as part of the curriculum at secondary school. But it is REALLY basic. The average Saudi coming out of school can barely string a sentence together eg. "mii gou hotel. Haaw mach?" . The minority of Saudis how can speak English, are the ones who've gone to private school, or studied abroad, and even then the level of fluency varies. That's why there are so few of us here

 

[Assassin]

Welcome Omani to the boards.

Hijazzy, I have noticed that most Saudi's who speak fluent English are from jeddah! Why is that?

 

[HiJazzey]

I'm not sure it is the case. I would've thought that it would be the eastern province.

 

[Natalya]

I've only come across the Saudis who study here and of course their English is great. The brother of one of the girls I know is over here to learn English but his English is pretty good too - albeit with a heavy Arab accent.

Why we are on this subject, why can't Arabs pronounce the letter "p"? It always turns into a "b" so you get Balastine, Harry Botter and Baddington Station.

 

[Carles]

not all Arabs can't pronounce the letter "P",i think it's the Arabs living in the gulf who pronounce it that way.
In North Africa we don't have this problem,we pronounce the "P" as it is

 

[Natalya]

I think Iraqis too as my ex used to throw me when he put on his heavy Iraqi accent and I didn't understand a word.

 

[Paris]

As for Lebanon, I hear they say "Merci Allah" instead of "Al-hamdulilah" which is pretty disturbing!

:howler: :howler: :howler: , thats a new one.

Wish you all the best for the summer Natalya.

 

[Natalya]

Thanks Paris. But I have to earn the money to afford it first. But Inshallah as I have to learn Arabic if I want to do my Phd!

 

[Paris]

Thanks Paris. But I have to earn the money to afford it first. But Inshallah as I have to learn Arabic if I want to do my Phd!

Now thats interesting. What do you wish to do your Phd in?

 

[Natalya]

I'm not sure yet, but around gnostic trends in Shi'ism but I've not narrowed it down yet (and I'll probably have to learn Farsi as well!)

 

[Carles]

i wish you all the best luck for your studies Natalya!