ARABIC ranks sixth in the world's league
table of languages, with an estimated 186 million native speakers. As the
language of the
Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, it is also widely used throughout the Muslim world. It
belongs to the Semitic group of languages which also includes Hebrew and Amharic, the main
language of Ethiopia.
There are many Arabic dialects. Classical Arabic the language of the Qur'an
was originally the dialect of Mecca in what is now Saudi Arabia. An adapted form of this,
known as Modern Standard Arabic, is used in
books, newspapers, on television and radio, in the mosques, and in conversation between
educated Arabs from different countries (for example at international conferences).
Local dialects vary, and a
Moroccan might have difficulty understanding an Iraqi, even though they speak the same
Arabic personal names
The components of names - abu, ibn, etc. How they are used and what they mean.
This lists the words that respectable dictionaries leave out. Not for anyone who is easily
to write your name in Arabic
A French site showing 167 first names written in the Arabic
script. Includes some English names.
Names of Arabic origin
Mainly refers to place names in Spain, Portugal and the Americas.
The idea of maintaining linguistic standards, through an Arab equivalent of
the French Academy, has been around since the 19th century.
Report by ArabicNews.
of the world
(Number of native speakers)
Is Arabic difficult?
YES - and no. Learning
Arabic certainly takes time and practice, but there are
not many irregularities in the grammar. It's much less complicated than Latin, and
probably simpler than German, too.
If you speak a European language, the root system of Arabic is an unfamiliar concept.
Arabic words are constructed from three-letter "roots" which convey a basic
idea. For example, k-t-b conveys the idea of writing. Addition of other letters
before, between and after the root letters produces many associated words: not only
"write" but also "book", "office", "library", and
may cause problems at first. In most European languages there are many words which
resemble those in English. Arabic has very few, but it becomes easier once you have
memorised a few roots.
Arabic has many regional dialects, and if you want to
master one of these the only really effective way is to spend a few years in the place of
your choice. For general purposes such as reading or listening to radio - it's best
to concentrate on Modern Standard Arabic (numerous courses and textbooks are available).
This would also be useful if you're interested in Islam, though you would need some
additional religious vocabulary.
There are 28 consonants
and three vowels a,
i, u which
can be short or long. Some of the sounds are unique to Arabic and difficult for foreigners
to pronounce exactly, though you should be able to make yourself understood.
The normal word order of a sentence
is verb/subject/object. The function of nouns in a sentence can also be distinguished by
case-endings (marks above the last letter of a word) but these are usually found only in
the Qur'an or school textbooks.
add the suffix
aat to form the plural but masculine nouns generally have a
"broken" plural which involves changing vowels in the middle of the word: kitaab
("book"); kutub ("books").
Arabic has very few irregular verbs
and does not use "is" or "are" at all in the present tense: "the
king good" means "the king is good". Subtle alterations in the basic
meaning of a verb are made by adding to the root. These changes follow regular rules,
giving ten possible "verb forms" (though in practice only three or four exist
for most verbs. The root k-s-r produces:
form I kasara, "he broke"
form II kassara, "he smashed to bits"
form VII inkasara, "it was broken up"
Sometimes these must be used with care: qAtala
means "he fought" but qatala means "he killed".
Arabic words in English
You may think you don't speak Arabic
but there are more words of Arabic origin in English
than you might expect ...
See: W Montgomery Watt: The
Influence of Medieval Islam on Europe (Edinburgh University Press, 1982)
Arabic speakers: click here to add more words to the list
or view other readers' suggestions
More proverbs are welcome.
Click here to add to the lists.
Joseph Hanki. Paperback, 1998
(from Amazon, USA)