Arabic Language

Arabic is a language spoken by more than 400 million people, mostly in the Middle East and North Africa. It is the official language of more than 20 countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Morocco, and Sudan. Arabic is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is also the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, which means it is read or recited by more than a billion Muslims around the world.

Arabic began on the Arabian Peninsula about 1,500 years ago. After Islam started in the seventh century, the language spread quickly across a huge area. Within 100 years, Arabic was used from Spain in the west to parts of Central Asia in the east. That is farther than the distance from New York to Tokyo.

Arabic is written from right to left. That is the opposite of English, Spanish, and most European languages. The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters. Most letters change shape depending on where they sit in a word. A letter at the start of a word looks different from the same letter in the middle or at the end. Arabic also does not usually write short vowels. Readers add the vowel sounds in their head as they read.

There is not just one kind of Arabic. The form used in books, news, and schools is called Modern Standard Arabic, and it is mostly the same everywhere. But the spoken Arabic of daily life changes from country to country. Egyptian Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, and Iraqi Arabic can sound so different that speakers from far apart sometimes have trouble understanding each other. Linguists still argue about whether these forms should count as different dialects or different languages.

Arabic has shaped many other languages. During the Middle Ages, Arabic-speaking scholars led the world in math, science, and medicine. They saved many ancient Greek books by translating them into Arabic. European scholars later translated those books from Arabic into Latin. Along the way, hundreds of Arabic words slipped into other languages. Words like algebra, alcohol, sofa, magazine, giraffe, and zero all started as Arabic words.

Arabic calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, is one of the most respected art forms in the Muslim world. Because some Islamic traditions discouraged drawing people or animals in religious art, artists turned words themselves into art. You can see flowing Arabic letters carved into mosques, painted on walls, and woven into rugs. The letters are meant to be read, but they are also meant to be admired.