About Arabic
Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world with over 300 million native speakers around the globe. Not only does the language hold great significance in the Muslim faith, but it is also growing in the economic world. While the language is considered to be one of the trickiest languages to learn for Westerners, the benefits far outweigh the challenges that one might face when learning Arabic. With Arabic’s growing importance and religious roots people are finding knowledge of the language to be a useful skill that will positively affect their personal and professional lives. Here are a few facts that you might not know about the Arabic language:
- Arabic is a Semitic language along with Hebrew and Aramaic.
- It is one of the official languages of the United Nations.
- The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters and is written from right to left. In order to learn the language, students will first learn the alphabet.
- Arabic has official language status in 27 states, which is the third most after English and French.
- Arabic is one of the oldest languages in the world with the earliest inscriptions dating back to AD 512-568.
- Classical Arabic is the language of the Quran, which is the holy book of the Muslim faith.
- There are two main dialects of the Arabic language: Modern Arabic and Classical Arabic.
- Within five main regions in Africa and Western Asia there are a number of spoken varieties with some of them being mutually unintelligible.