[Myrddin]

It doesn't help that the language is written right to left, always in script and containing letters with initial, medial and finial forms. Comprehensively written Arabic has all the vowel marks included. Colloquial printed Arabic as used in newspapers omits the vowel marks. As in English, a practiced reader can discern the correct meaning even with omissions. "If u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb". A new learner has to contend with learning the syntax and semantics of the spoken language AND a new written script. That's a big wall to climb. Arabic also adds the complexity of being different depending on the gender of the person addressed and implementing this variant by inflection within a word. Asking a female if she understands Arabic is (phonetically) intee tarfee Aribee. Directed to a male it becomes, intave tarfee Aribee. The "r" is always "rolled or flapped".

I find Mandarin Chinese to be much easier to handle than Arabic. At least for the spoken language. The pictographs are a huge learning curve by themselves, but actually independent of the spoken language. The written form is understood by Mandarin and Cantonese speakers, yet their spoken language is vastly different.

[I still care]

Sounds like you speak several languages. I’ve never been able to learn anything but English, which has always sort of bothered me.

[gogogodzilla]

The whole lack of vowels as well as the right-to-left writing is also found in Hebrew as well.

And it is a real pain in the butt for newcomers to learn without vowels. Which is why I gave it up and learned Korean.

Which has it’s own problems (like frequently dropping the subject in sentences, so you don’t know who their talking/writing about).