Arabic is one of the world's most widely-spoken languages, as well as an important language in religion, art, poetry and literature. Arabic is the written language of more than 200 million people, but spoken Arabic varies more than it does for most other languages. For example, Arabic-speaking Moroccans might not be able to converse easily with Arabic-speaking people from other countries when they are speaking in their own unique dialects.
Fortunately, all Arabic-speaking people can read and understand Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)! This is the form of Arabic that is spoken in formal situations and contexts, such as public speaking, television and radio news, and some forms of entertainment. Most people who are just starting out prefer to study MSA first, and then later decide to focus on a dialect depending on their own needs and preferences.
Arabic is written with its own alphabet.The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters, and it is written from right to left. The shape and structure of the letters make it natural to write Arabic in this direction.
One of our objectives is to give our students a working knowledge of the Arabic script to make life easier with daily tasks in the markets and shops, and to help make your way around Morocco with ease.
Arabic writing is easily learned, and Arabic grammar is simpler and more logical than many Western languages. The great challenge in learning Arabic lies in its wealth of words. The rich use of verbs and nouns in Arabic has reached a level of accuracy which few Western languages can match. Thus, the challenge is also one of the most beautiful and enriching benefits of learning Arabic.
Arabic is one of the world's largest languages, as well as an important language to religion and literature. Arabic is the writing language of more than 200 million people, but spoken Arabic varies more than it does for most other languages, and Arabic-speaking Moroccans might not be able to talk easily with Arabic-speaking.Arabic is written with its own alphabet and yes, it is an alphabet, just like the Latin alphabet is one which is called Arabic alphabet. Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters, and is written from right to the left. The shape and structure of the letters, make it natural to write Arabic in this direction.
Arabic is difficult to learn, and later to remember, but not because of reasons that spring most people to mind. Arabic writing is easily learned, and Arabic grammar is simpler and more logical than many Western languages.
But the great challenge with Arabic, is the wealth of words. The use of verbs and nouns in Arabic has reached a level of accuracy which few Western languages can match.
The Importance of Arabic
We should not underestimate the significance of the Arabic language. It is the native mother tongue of more than 250 million Arabs, the majority to be found between Morocco in the west and Iraq in the east. The classical Arabic language (Fus'ha) is seen by all Muslims as sacred (amounting to one seventh of the world's population).
People around the world revere Arabic as the language of the Holy Qur'an. The Holy Qur'an has preserved Arabic in its purest form in the eyes of Muslims.
Arabic has changed little over the centuries. The Holy Qur'an therefore continues to be an essential cohesive influence on the language. Consequently, a well-educated Arab is quite capable of reading Arabic written a thousand or more years ago.
It was due to the spread of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries that the language gained its importance. This was in part due to its religious importance but also because it was the language of the civil service of the Islamic Caliphate. It was at this time that Arabic came into contact with European languages which it helped to enrich.
Arabic and the Modern World
Arabic has had to develop over the last century to incorporate new words and idioms such as new technological terms. Translation of European works of literature in particular accelerated the process. This has created a battle between the purists who object to the absorption of foreign words into the language and the modernists who have been more than willing to break with certain age-old traditions. For example a journalistic method of writing has developed to report news stories, which is often influenced by Western media styles. The purists have concentrated on forming new words in Arabic forms to cover the modern vocabulary. For example, the word "haatif" has been adopted for telephone, although the Western version "talfuun" is still in usage.
Other changes include the loss of many old fashioned terms, above all those relating to Beduin life. This was a result of the rapid decline in Bedouin numbers and the onset of a more urban sedentary society.
The World's Most Widely Spoken Languages
According to George Weber’s article “The World’s 10 Most Influential Languages” in Language Today (Vol. 2, Dec 1997):
(number of native speakers in parentheses)
1. Mandarin Chinese (1.2 billion)
2. English (330 million)
3. Spanish (300 million)
4. Hindi/Urdu (250 million)
5. Arabic (200 million)
6. Bengali (185 million)
7. Portuguese (160 million)
1. Chinese (Mandarin) 1,075 million
2. English 514 million.
3. Hindustani 496 million.
4. Spanish 425 million.
5. Russian 275 million.
6. Arabic 256 million.
7. Bengali 215 million.
8. Portuguese 194 million.
9. Malay-Indonesian 176 million.
10. French 129 million.
The following is a list of these languages in terms of the number of countries where each is spoken. The number that follows is the total number of countries that use that language (from Weber, 1997):
1. English (115)
2. French (35)
3. Arabic (24)
4. Spanish (20)
5. Russian (16)
6. German (9)
7. Mandarin (5)
8. Portuguese (5)
9. Hindi/Urdu (2)
10. Bengali (1)
11. Japanese (1)
