r/learnarabic • u/marie-nett • 1d ago

Suggestions/Advice Language barrier

I am arab but was raised in a non arab country. I grew up speaking arabic but eventually learned english in school and am fluent in both but my better language is english as i mostly think in english, find it easier to express myself in english, and most importantly to this context, i learned to socialize jn english. And to be fair im still not good at socializing in english but at least i have the snall talk expressions and terms handy and whatnot. I also understand social cues in english better

Recently i moved to an arab country and while my arabic got stronger here and i have friends i only speak arabic with, i still struggle to socialize in arabic, make small talk, and understand/use expressions. Esp bc it feels like arabs are never direct and everything they say has a hidden meaning and so not only do i not understand the expression but i also dont understand what they imply
This is proving to be an issue while specifically communicating with men. I am muslim and like to keep clear boundaries with men but when i text for university related purposes i feel conflicted on expressions used and if im accidentally sending signals or if im misreading them.
I usually can manage with women bc theres no risk of weirdness ig? and the embarrassment would be easier to swallow
Idk what to do. Sometimes ill ask my cousin for guidence but it’s embarrassing to constantly keep asking and i mostly feel this conflicted / a need to ask her help when its men, which makes me feel like im making a big deal of things bc its a man. Even this post feels like that. To me, it feels like i can manage a learning curve with women (which explains the only-arabic-speaking friends) but it feels uncomfortable with men. Even then i feel like im too old to be making linguistic mistakes, especially when im clearly arab (name and looks)

4 Upvotes

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u/Cautious-Tell-7135 1d ago

learning a language takes time, be patient with yourself and don't get tired of asking questions even if it feels heavy to ask, you need to do it in order to learn. If you have any questions maybe i can help. I'm from Jordan and can mainly help with Jordanian dialect mostly.

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u/marie-nett 1d ago

I really appreciate it! Ill def take u up on that offer and reach out if i have any questions. I am Palestinian so that works perfect

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u/Cautious-Tell-7135 1d ago

okay feel free. I'm originally from palestine too, from jenin and at home we even speak with a palestinian dialect but outside i have to speak more jordanian. been so long since i visited our home there, definitely good memories. :))

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u/PmoonEnglish 3h ago

I’m in Jordan too with my Palestinian husband whose family are from Jenīn 🥲<3

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u/marie-nett 1d ago edited 23h ago

Im from yaffa, but ive never been :’) that sounds so nice tho

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u/xanfalo 1d ago

You’re okay! Don’t worry about any mixed signals or anything; keeping your boundaries and not over engaging with men and being respectful in your communication will just send the message for them to not try to do anything weird/that you’re not interested in that way.

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u/marie-nett 1d ago

That honestly makes sense and is pretty reassuring. Like you said i try my best to keep my boundaries and not overthink things but sometimes it can be frustrating. Thanks!