Arabic is a beautiful language that dates
back to the sixth century. It is a
Central Semitic language which is closely related to Hebrew, Aramaic, Ugaritic
and Phoenician. As many as 420 million
people around the world speak Arabic while most are concentrated in the Arab
world. It is the official language in 27
countries and one of six official languages of the United Nations. More than 1.6
billion Muslims speak Arabic in their daily religious worship.
It has influenced numerous languages around
the world including Urdu, Persian, Hindi, Malay, Swahili, Punjabi, Kurdish,
Turkish, Indonesian, Pashto and many more.
Through Arabic, culture was transmitted in Europe with science,
mathematics and philosophy. Consequently
many European languages have borrowed Arabic words. Arabic words can also be found in Latin and Greek.
Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese also were
influenced by Arabic because of the closeness between Christian European and
Muslim Arab civilizations during 800 years of Arabic culture and language in
the Iberian Peninsula. Arabic has also
borrowed words from Persian, Greek and Syriac languages.
Those new to the language learn what is
called Modern Standard Arabic. Classical
Arabic is found in the Holy Quran the religious book of the Muslims. Many a traveler, proud of what they’ve
learned of the language are greeted with frustration when they arrive in one of
the 27 countries where Arabic is the official language and they hear something
different than what they’ve learned.
Puzzled by the difference, is it back to the drawing board to learn a
totally new form of Arabic?
The short answer is no. Modern Standard Arabic is the found around
the world in print publications and is understood by many Arabic speakers but
in many different countries they have spoken differences. Egyptian Arabic is spoken by 54 million
people. It is a colloquial language
confined to the borders of one of Africa’s largest countries. It descended from Arabic when the language
arrived in the seventh century and was influenced by the Coptics of pre Islamic
Egypt. It is one of the most widely
spoken and studied varieties of Arabic. Egyptian
Arabic is basically a spoken language though it can also be found in the
culture in the form of poems, plays, and songs.
It has no official status and is not recognized as a language.
But that’s not the only difference in
Egyptian Arabic. Even within the country
there are different dialects of Egyptian Arabic. Saidi Arabic is spoken in the northern part
of the country. It is widely spoken by
19 million people. The Arabic you speak
identifies where you are from in the country.
There is Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic and there is also Eastern
Egyptian Bedawi Arabic. The differences
between the dialects include some reductions of long vowels in open and
unstressed syllables, the modal meaning of the imperfect and the integration of
the participle. You may need an
advanced English grammar degree to understand that but basically it means that
words and phrases adapt to the culture and lifestyle of the people over time.
The dialects don’t end there. Travel to the
Eastern Mediterranean coastal strip that includes Syria, Greece, Albania and
Turkey you’ll hear Levantine Arabic considered one of the five major varieties
of Arabic. It is spoken only (no written
form) and is a part of Eastern Arabic that includes Mesopotamian Arabic and
peninsula Arabic. In that area written
Arabic and official documents use Modern Standard Arabic. Levantine Arabic is distinguished by its
stress pattern which closely resembles Classic Arabic. The differences are also distinguished by
whether you come from an urban area, rural or nomadic population.
Travel to Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain, Qatar, Iran, Oman or the United Arab Emirates and you will hear Gulf
Arabic. It is spoken by 3.6 million
people. This dialect differs in
vocabulary, grammar and accent. Gulf
Arabic is distinct from Saudi Arabic.
Most Saudis speak Hejazi Arabic, Najdi Arabic or Bareqi Arabic. Neither are an official language.
Travel to northern Africa to Algeria,
Morocco, Tunisia or Malta and you will hear Maghrebi Arabic spoken. It is a colloquial language called Derija or
Darija by the natives. Written
communication is done in Modern Standard Arabic or French depending upon the
country. Maghrebi Arabic can also be
heard on TV dramas. Its vocabulary is
mostly Arabic with some Berber, French, Spanish and even Italian words thrown
in, the language of the historical occupiers of the region.
Well if you’re now totally confused and
think the Arabic you’ve learned is useless, think again. While certain areas have specific dialects
they all know Modern Standard Arabic.
Learn what you can and then mix in with the locals where you can learn
even more. One of the best classrooms
for learning a language is right among the people.
As salaam alaikum!
