Best language for studying interactions between Islam, Judaism & Christianity?

[Postbib Yeshuist]

So, here I am, accepted into the PhD I had hoped for, poised to study the topic provided in my signature, and I've run headlong into the wall of the "second language requirement." By "second" I mean "non-native." I have French pretty much locked down, but now I'm faced with choosing from a list that's probably not perfect (i.e. Arabic would be excellent), but is going to have to do given the fact I have to have this finished by Fall 2011. So, without further ado, here are my choices and my abilities in each language:

Spanish: No study at all, but I live in TX and have picked up a smidgen

German: No study at all, but I can ask for a room with flowing water

Latin: A year in high school and the obvious "this comes from the Latin root" while writing papers.

Greek: One year in seminary 10 years ago

Hebrew: No study at all.

So, considering that my language should be "applicable" to my project, what would you all suggest? Personally, I'd love to reacquaint myself with Latin (I almost went to Latin 2 & 3 in high school, but opted for French instead), but I can see "Hebrew" being more applicable given the Jewish side of things (German tends to be standard, of course, and Spanish has ties to liberation theologies, but I already have one modern language, so a classical language is probably a better compliment).

Edited March 31, 2010 by Postbib Yeshuist

[LateAntique]

Syriac.

[Postbib Yeshuist]

Syriac.

Yeah, unfortunately, it's not offered at the school and I won't be able to pick it up in a year. Kinda sucks, but this was the one weak spot of the PhD program going in.

[LateAntique]

You were accepted into a Ph.D program without any languages besides English? And you have to learn one of the languages in a year? What are the major sources you're going to be using? I suppose that would determine what you need to do, but I don't think a year's worth of anything is going to do you much good. You won't be able to learn Greek or Latin with any sort of proficiency within a year, nor do I see how Latin or Greek would be terribly relevant to your proposed topic. I would try to find a distance course or something and do Arabic and/or Syriac - Syriac especially is vital to understanding early Christian-Muslim relations. You're not going to be able to get much good work done on the Muslim side of things without knowing Arabic.

In fact, you could do Notre Dame's program over the summer and learn Syriac- here's the link:

http://classics.nd.edu/summer-language/courses/#ArabicSummerCourses

Edited April 1, 2010 by LateAntique

[Postbib Yeshuist]

No no. I have French. I have to learn a second. I also took a year of Greek in seminary, so I could technically do that. The course at ND does look nice, but I won't be able to make that. I may just have to do greek so I get the req out of the way and then work on something on the side. My research will be almost entirely 19th-21st century, so perhaps I'll be OK until I've had a few years to get some basic proficiency.

Edited April 2, 2010 by Postbib Yeshuist

[Mathētēs]

Postbib, with your research interests concerning peoples of religious texts, I would think that at the doctoral level it will be imperative to be able to work with the original languages of the texts. Therefore, abilities in biblical Hebrew would be essential for the Hebrew Bible, and Koine Greek for the New Testament. Others may also be necessary or helpful, such as Aramaic or Syriac. Although it is outside my field, I find it difficult to believe that in-depth doctoral scholarship can be accomplished in Islamic studies without knowledge of Arabic.

My suggestion is that you continue in Koine Greek to fulfill a second year: continuing with exegesis courses or an exegesis course and a New Testament book study. According to your previous posts, this would fulfill your requirement, and also provide basic exegetical ability. I also suggest you begin Arabic and Hebrew/Aramaic/Syriac. I do not see how you can competently relate to experts in the individual religions without basic competencies in these. German will probably be necessary or at least helpful. Learning to read theological German could be accomplished over a summer or other intensive term. Best wishes.

[Postbib Yeshuist]

Thanks for the advice. Thats kind of my thinking at this point as well. The requirement of reading proficiency in a second language by Fall 2011 severely limits my options at this point. I fully intend to work towards competency in Arabic or Syriac at some point, but it will have to be on my own. At this point, my primary concern is meeting the requirements (originally, I was under the impression I had until the start of my 3rd year to complete the requirement, so I felt I had more time to prepare).

[socialpsych]

My only comment as a native Hebrew speaker: if you intend to learn Arabic down the road anyway, Hebrew might be a good investment.

[johndiligent]

Given your interests and your time period, I wonder if a modern language would be more useful for your purposes than an ancient language. While it would be charming if every Religion + Culture applicant took several years of Greek, Hebrew, Classical Arabic, Latin, Aramaic, Syriac, etc., I don't think it's altogether realistic that that's what's going to happen. And as LateAntique pointed out, unless you gain proficiency, no matter what you take it'll be useless as a research language.

For that reason, I'd focus your attention on whatever language is MOST relevant to your research interests. Which one are you going to end up reading sources in the most? Are there major studies similar to what you want to do in the U.S. in other countries, in other languages? In German, maybe? Ideally, this is a question to pose to your advisor who will have a much better gauge of the languages you'll need most.

[Postbib Yeshuist]

Thanks Johndiligent. I have indeed posed this question to my soon-to-be-advisor, but I'm still awaiting a response. Hopefully his response will be something that gives me hope for getting this done in a year