Arabic

The Arabic language constitutes a major branch of the Central Semitic languages within the Afroasiatic family and is spoken predominantly across the Arab world. It holds far-reaching significance as both a linguistic and cultural medium and functions as one of the most influential languages globally, with a long history, a rich literary tradition and a wide sphere of influence across regions.

Linguistic Status and Global Importance

Arabic is recognised as an official language in numerous countries, placing it among the most widely adopted official languages in the world after English and French. It is also one of the six official working languages of the United Nations and serves as the liturgical language of Islam, used by more than two billion Muslims for religious practices. With an estimated 380 million speakers, both native and non-native, Arabic ranks high among the world’s most spoken languages and is also one of the most widely used languages on the internet.
Arabic is written using the Arabic alphabet, an abjad script read from right to left. The International Organization for Standardization has assigned codes to 32 different varieties of Arabic, including its formal standard known as Modern Standard Arabic. This variety is derived from Classical Arabic, the language of early literature, religious texts and historical scholarship. Speakers of Arabic typically view Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic as a unified elevated form, often referred to simply as “eloquent Arabic”.
Arabic’s role in the medieval period was particularly significant. During the Middle Ages, it acted as a crucial vehicle for scientific, mathematical and philosophical knowledge. Major treatises in astronomy, algebra, medicine and other fields were produced in Arabic, many of which later influenced European scholarship. This intellectual prominence contributed to the spread of Arabic-based terminology across several languages.

Influence on Other Languages

Over many centuries, Arabic has influenced numerous languages across Europe, Asia and Africa. Its impact is seen prominently in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan and Sicilian due to the long presence of Arabic-speaking populations in southern Iberia during the Al-Andalus period. Maltese, a Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet, is directly descended from an Arabic dialect.
In the Balkans, languages such as Albanian, Greek, Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian have acquired lexical borrowings, mostly through Ottoman Turkish. Across Asia, Arabic has shaped Persian, Turkish, Hindi, Urdu, Kashmiri, Kurdish and Bengali, as well as Malay, Indonesian and Maldivian. African languages such as Hausa, Amharic, Somali, Tigrinya, Tamazight and Swahili contain extensive Arabic-derived vocabulary, reflecting deep historical and cultural interactions.
Conversely, Arabic has also borrowed from other languages. Contact with Aramaic, Persian, Greek and Latin introduced loanwords, particularly nouns. More recent exchanges have added vocabulary from Turkish, English, French and Italian.

Classification and Linguistic Features

Arabic is typically grouped within the Central Semitic languages, although scholars continue to debate the precise structure of Semitic language classification. The transition from Proto-Semitic to Central Semitic involved several grammatical innovations that Arabic preserved. These include:

• Conversion of a stative suffix-conjugated form into a past tense.
• Conversion of a prefix-conjugated form into a present tense.
• Development of new mood distinctions through endings attached to prefix-conjugation forms.
• Elimination of certain older aspectual forms.
• Formation of an internal passive system.

Furthermore, Classical Arabic, modern dialectal varieties and Old Arabic inscriptions share features not attested in other Central Semitic languages. These shared innovations enable the reconstruction of a Proto-Arabic language. Reconstructed features include specific negative particles, passive participles, patterns in demonstratives, feminine endings and vestiges of nunation.
While Classical Arabic did not directly give rise to modern spoken dialects, it is considered a sister language within the broader Arabic language group. Vernacular varieties may preserve features absent in Classical Arabic, demonstrating distinct developmental paths.

Emergence of Old Arabic

In antiquity, the Arabian Peninsula hosted a diversity of Semitic languages. Early Greek geographers used the term “Arab” for populations living in the region, though linguistic conditions varied widely. In the south, Central Semitic languages coexisted alongside languages outside that subgroup. In the northern Hejaz, inscriptions in Dadanitic and Taymanitic reflect local prestige languages.
The north-western frontier yielded inscriptions in several varieties grouped under labels such as Thamudic B, Thamudic D, Safaitic and Hismaic. Safaitic and Hismaic share key features with later Arabic, indicating that they should be considered early forms of Old Arabic. In contrast, some previously labelled Ancient North Arabian languages represent distinct languages rather than early Arabic.
Old Arabic is generally believed to have emerged during the Iron Age as a collection of related dialects that formed the basis of later Arabic varieties. The earliest continuous Arabic text in a Nabataean script dates to the second century CE. Such inscriptions document the gradual emergence of the Arabic script and the linguistic consolidation that preceded the rise of Classical Arabic.

Arabic Language Academies

Several institutions across the Arab world and beyond have been established to regulate, study and preserve the Arabic language. Notable institutions include:

• Supreme Council of the Arabic Language in Algeria
• Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo
• Academy of the Arabic Language in Israel
• Iraqi Academy of Sciences
• Jordan Academy of Arabic
• Academy of the Arabic Language in the former Jamahiriya
• Academy of the Arabic Language in Rabat
• Academy of the Arabic Language in Riyadh
• Academy of the Arabic Language in Mogadishu
• Academy of the Arabic Language in Khartoum
• Arab Academy of Damascus, regarded as the oldest among these institutions
• Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts

These academies typically focus on lexical development, standardisation efforts, research on dialects and preservation of linguistic heritage.

Historical Development and Literary Tradition

Classical Arabic reached its standardised form during the early Islamic period, driven largely by the need to preserve the Qur’anic text. Over time, it also became the medium for vast bodies of poetry, philosophy, theology and science. The language retained many conserved Proto-Semitic features, including its full system of case endings and a rich consonantal inventory, which supported its use in linguistic reconstruction.
The Arabic literary tradition expanded extensively across regions, producing works in poetry, historiography, geography and religious scholarship that shaped intellectual life across the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe.

Modern Usage and Contemporary Significance

Today, Arabic remains central to the cultural and political landscapes of the Middle East and North Africa. It is taught globally, studied academically and used in media, government and education. Business rankings have identified Arabic as one of the most valuable languages for economic engagement, reflecting its importance in global trade, energy markets and diplomacy.
Modern Standard Arabic functions as the formal written and official language, while spoken varieties differ significantly across regions. Despite this diversity, the shared literary and cultural heritage provides strong linguistic cohesion.