Arabic language is one of the most important and widely spoken languages in today’s world. It is spoken by over 450 million people all over the world. It is the official language of 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa. It is also the official language of literature, news, and official events in all Arab countries. The Arabic language is known for its beauty, charm, poetry, and is the language of the Holy Quran which is the sacred book of the Islamic religion. However, little is known about its history and origins. Whenever Arabic is brought to a conversation it is always about how unique it is and how beautiful but the subject of its origins and development is rather under-discussed.
In this article, we examine and explore briefly where this magnificent language comes from. Its origins. The phases it went through. The alphabet and its relation to the languages of the surrounding areas, And How old is Arabic language
How old is the Arabic alphabet?
Arabic alphabet was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, The oldest alphabet in the world. It’s not certain how many years ago did that happen but some scholars believe it is about 1600 years old. The Alphabet then changed and today it looks almost nothing like the Phoenician alphabet but if you examine it carefully you can see the resemblance.
When was the Arabic language created?
The Arabic language is a natural language it was not created rather developed. It developed naturally from its Semitic ancestor language. The exact date is not known however this is believed to have been 1600 years ago.
The oldest inscription of the Arabic language, known as the Nammara inscription, was found in Syria and mentions a struggle of an ancient Arab king. The king is Imru al-Qays ibn Amr who lived around 328 AD. The language written on the inscription was in Nabataean Arabic, an ancient form of Arabic.
Arabic language history
As a member of the Semitic family Arabic is a Semitic language. These languages originated from an ancient language that used to be spoken a long time ago. Proto Semitic. No one knows what Proto-Semitic sounded like, what were the rules or even their origins. Semitic languages include Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, Phoenician, Aramaic, and Assyrian. All these languages have many things in common including the language system alphabet and vocabulary.
Development of The Arabic Language
Back in the day when prophet Muhammed was alive, Arabic was written without any markings or dots. When ore people converted to Islam after his death, scholars feared Arabic would be lost or altered. This is why Arabic scholar and linguist Abu Al-Aswad Al-Du’ali came up with a system to mark the alphabet using dots to facilitate the whole system. He is also credited for establishing nahw, the grammar system of the Arabic language.
Another scholar called Al-Khalil bin Ahmed developed another system to mark the way each word will be pronounced according to its position in the sentence. The four basic marks were fatiha, damma, kasra,sukoon and tanween. The Arabic language then spread to all the Regions in which Islam entered and became the official language of science and literature. A lot of scientific discoveries and science books were written in Arabic and later were translated by Europeans to be studied.
How many words are in the Arabic language?
Arabic language has approximately 12.3 million languages. This is a gigantic number if compared to other languages. English has around 600,000 and French around 150,000. Arabic is known to have many words for the same meaning while other languages are known for the opposite.
What is the Arabic language?
Arabic is a Semitic language that originated and is native to the Arabian peninsula. The Arabian peninsula or Arabia is a region in Asia where nomadic people lived with their sheep as tribes. The word Arabic comes from Arab. In the old Assyrian language, The word Arab means nomadic. The Assyrians must have named these tribes nomadic given their primitive lifestyle. The Arabic language has quite a rich history that goes back to the fourth century AD. It has many unique and exclusive features that exist in other languages and no other Semitic language.
Arabic is the official language of which country?
Arabic is the official language in twenty-two countries. All are located in the Middle East and Africa. These countries are Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Arabic written language
The written language is the standard form of Arabic. The official Arabic which all Arabs understand and agree upon. It is the form of Arabic in which the Quran is written. Sometimes there are books written in the regional dialects but they are very few and usually considered unofficial, You can learn to write Arabic during Arabic Dictation Rules Course
Facts about the Arabic language
- Arabic is a Semitic language
- Arabic is spoken by 450 million people
- Arabic has over 12.3 million words
- Arabic is almost 1600 years old
- Arabic is the language of the Holy Quran
- Arabic is spoken in 22 different countries
- It has 28 letters in the Alphabet
Unique features of Arabic Language
- Arabic is the only language that has the “daad” sound
- Most Words in the Arabic language start with a consonant letter
- The Arabic alphabet has 3 vowels only
Arabic Language courses
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How to learn the Arabic language to understand the Quran?
First learn the alphabet, and then learn how to read and write. Then start reading small texts. If you understand them, move to small surahs in the quran. It will help if you read it in your own language first and learn the hard words. Then it becomes easier with time.
how long does it takes to learn the Arabic language
Learning Arabic basics can be easily done in several sessions. Around one to three months you should be able to read small words.
How to learn the Arabic language easily?
- Sign up for an Arabic language class taught by a native Arabic teacher
- Watch the news and watch Listen to documentaries
- Read childrens’ books
- Listen to audiobooks
- Join a local community
- Practice speaking Arabic with a friend.
