Learn Arabic (Modern Standard): لماذا تتعلم لغة جديدة الآن؟

It is actually made of two parts! The prefix لـ means "for", and ماذا means "what" (used with verbs). So لماذا literally translates to "for what", which is how Arabic says "why".

Does the verb تتعلم mean "you learn" or "she learns"?

It depends on context! In Arabic, the present tense prefix تـ (ta-) is used for both "you" (masculine singular) and "she". Here, because it is a direct question, we understand it means "you". If you were asking a female, you would add a suffix and say تتعلمين.

Why is there no word for "are" in this sentence?

Arabic doesn't use the verb "to be" (am, is, are) in the present tense. The single verb تتعلم covers both "you learn" and "you are learning". The word الآن (now) at the end of the sentence naturally highlights that this is an ongoing action happening right now.

Why does the adjective جديدة (new) come after لغة (language)?

In Arabic, adjectives always come right after the noun they describe. Also, because لغة is a feminine noun ending in a taa marbuta (the letter ة), the adjective must match it and also end in a taa marbuta, making it جديدة instead of the masculine جديد.

What is the wavy line above the letter alif in الآن?