I learnt to speak Afrikaans and Zulu in South Africa and a sprinkling of Sesotho in Lesotho. I can speak a "sort of " Portuguese from years in Angola but my greatest challenge is Arabic! There is such an enormous gap between speaking Arabic and writing it that I am wondering whether I shall ever get beyond pidgin arabic and the real thing. Arabic can be learnt from a dictionary or a teacher but is mainly colloquial speech. Outside the swimming pool the other day I saw a sign in what I call "Arabic Tourist" i.e. Ahlan Wasalahn, which means (roughly), greetings to you or welcome. This is the spoken form of Arabic, aimed at tourists etc. and it is incredibly useful for communication. This is how most of we foreigners learn arabic phrases. However, go into a shop and write down your address/a request/explanation, in this strange form and many Egyptians have little knowledge of what you are writing down! They, of course read Arabic as it is meant to be read.And that, dear friends is where things become complicated.
As I spend more time in Cairo, my rough Arabic grows and I am able to communicate more each day. I shall never write that beautiful script that seems to flow in waterfall-like beauty. But I'm sure my 50 word vocabulary will expand. The written part I'll have to file away just like the guyswho speak Chinese but have no idea what those little criss-crosses mean.