Arabic

Can I just say, I'm a fan? I love learning this language because it's a science. Some of the best scholars of the time worked to make a language that made sense and had distinctive patterns because they were working to standardize a language in which the word of God could be read without any misunderstandings. And it was obviously a labor of love. There are some eccentricities, but overall, it is so well organized that it makes English look like a terrible mess. Just think, you take the word for book=kitab, with three consonants KTB. If you switch around the vowels you get katib=writer or katab=to write or kutab=a school to learn "the book" ie the Quran. You add an M and make maktab=desk or office. Add a short a to the end of that you get maktaba=library. And it goes on. There is a root for every word or concept. And all you have to do is take that root and tweak it a bit and you've got a whole list of words that all stem from the same idea. And that's just one example of how impressively organized Arabic is.

It's a kick in the face, a lot of times, to realize how much I have left to learn. But I certainly consider it a privilege.