What actually drives me to decide that I want to raise my baby bilingual? I wasn't exposed too much about the importance of bilingualism years ago. Only after I started having kid did I find out on my own about teaching children to be able to speak in more than one language. The answer for my previous question is: I am truly in love with Arabic Language since the first day I learned about it 14 years ago.
I admit that all my Arabic language teachers (from secondary school till matriculation) are the best and among the most awesome teachers. Perhaps my love for Arabic Language makes me see them in that way. I was impressed everytime I saw them having conversations in Arabic. I wanna be like them, I will be like them, that was what I kept saying to myself.
If you learn Arabic Language, I bet you will feel the same way as I did. Because the beautiful nature of the language itself will always leave you in an awe, especially when you learn about the balaghah (rhetoric) part. Arabic language isn't a difficult language, instead it's a very strong language. That's what my lecturer once said and I couldn't agree more. It is such a precise and systematic language.
Orientalists have their own way of learning this powerful language. They need to know Arabic. Why? Because they are studying about alQuran & hadith. They are looking for flaws in that two elements of Islam in order to attack Islam. What about us? Do we care enough to be good in this language for the sake of understanding the religion better? It's not the matter of we are good in it or not. It's the matter of whether we do really want to learn and understand it.
I myself is not very good in Arabic. I am still learning. Learning together with my daughter. If there's anybody requesting me to teach them advanced Arabic grammar, I am really sorry I don't have much knowledge about it. My target for now is at least to understand this language as well as to be able to speak fluently in it, at least with my daughter. :)
And as I have stated before in my previous entry, since forever I have been adoring non Arab kids that can speak in Arabic. Having conversations in Arabic makes them look more attractive. I admit we are living in a society where parents feel proud if their children are good in English, and people are usually impressed to see toddlers speaking in that language. I beg to differ, I want my kids to be good in Arabic as much as they are good in another language. I want my kids to feel more attached to Islam when they have the language stored in their hearts and minds.
It is sad somehow, to think that people feel that Arabic language is only for those who are in the field of Islamic studies. It's not their faults anyway, maybe todays' way of life doesn't make them feel that the urge to learn Arabic language is supposed to be stronger and than the urge of learning other languages. That's why I wanna be among the pioneers that raise a society (beginning from my own family) that regards Arabic Language as a language with paramount benefits. InshaAllah.
Learn lots of languages, it's good.
Read a lot in various languages, it's awesome.
Speak in many languages, you will look attractive.
Be bilingual, be intellectual.
P.s.: I know I have lots of friends who have learnt Arabic but it's almost gone from themselves day by day because it is not used in their daily lives. Well, having the basic of this language is actually a bonus to you. It's time to relive it in yourself, and it's time to learn it again together with your kids. How? InshaAllah I will share more about it later.
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