What is an Arabic Linguist?

It seems a silly question, but in the tiny town in New York where I was raised, I was received with blank stares when I announced my ambition to travel to Lebanon and become and Arabic linguist.  So for those who may have just embarked on their linguistic journey, here it goes:

The Princeton definition of "linguist" is a person who speaks more than one language.  The almighty (and never wrong) Wikipedia says that "linguistics" is the scientific study of a natural language.  It seems simple enough.  So, then, you've learned a few key phrases in a foreign language, you must be a linguist!  Well, kind of.  Part of learning a language, I mean really learning a language, means delving into the culture of the people who speak that language.  It is impossible to gain a real understanding of a language without understanding the people who use it.  So a linguist must also be someone who studies foreign language and culture.

So, wanna be a linguist?

The hard part about being a linguist is having to constantly put forth the effort to maintain your language (or languages!).  It can get boring reading the same BBC articles and listening to the same Al Jazeera news anchors.  I think this is why a lot of linguists get tired of their job and allow their language skills to suffer.  So, for any Arabic linguists, new or old, and for a little self-motivation, this blog is focused around learning and maintaining Arabic language skills.  But I promise you this: It definitely won't be focused around BBC and Al Jazeera!  Ok, there might be something that's just too awesome to ignore once in a while from one of those guys, but there will be tons of other resources for you to discover!

And like I said, this blog is also to motivate myself to keep advancing in the language, so if you've got any advice or awesome resources to share, pass them on!  I'll be sure to put them up here for all to see and give credit where credit is due!