View source for Arabic

{{Short description|Semitic language and lingua franca of the Arab world}}
{{About|the general language (macrolanguage)|specific varieties of Arabic and other uses|Arabic (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Amharic|Aramaic}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2016}}
{{expert needed|linguistics|date=August 2022|reason=There seems to be some confusion surrounding the chronology of Arabic's origination, including notably in the paragraph on Qaryat Al-Faw (also discussed on talk). There are major sourcing gaps from "Literary Arabic" onwards}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Arabic
| nativename       = {{lang|ar|اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ}}<br />{{transl|ar|al-ʿarabiyyah}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|ar|ˈʕarabiː||Arabi.ogg}} <br/> {{IPA|ar|al ʕaraˈbijːa||Al arabic.ogg}}
| states           = [[Arab world]] and surrounding regions
| ethnicity        = [[Arabs]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|382.899280|2}} million native speakers of all [[Varieties of Arabic|varieties]]
| date             = 2024
| ref              = <ref name=e27>{{e27|ara}}</ref>
| speakers2        = {{sigfig|332.459000|2}} million [[L2 speakers|L2 users]] of [[Modern Standard Arabic]] (2023)<ref name="arb">{{e27|arb|Arabic, Standard}}</ref>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3             = [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]
| fam4             = [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic]]
| dia1             = [[Central Asian Arabic|Central Asian]]
| dia2             = [[Chadian Arabic|Chadian]]
| dia3             = [[Egyptian Arabic|Egyptian]]
| dia4             = [[Levantine Arabic|Levantine]]
| dia5             = [[Maghrebi Arabic|Maghrebi]]
| dia6             = [[Mesopotamian Arabic|Mesopotamian]]
| dia7             = [[Peninsular Arabic|Peninsular]]
| dia8             = [[Saʽidi Arabic|Saʽidi]]
| dia9             = [[Shirvani Arabic|Shirvani]]
| dia10            = [[Sudanese Arabic|Sudanese]]
| dia11            = [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemeni dialects]]
| stand1           = [[Modern Standard Arabic]]
| script           = [[Arabic alphabet]]
{{Collapsible list|titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title = Other official scripts|
|[[Latin script]] ([[Maltese alphabet]])
}}
| nation           = {{Collapsible list | titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left; | title = [[List of countries and territories where Arabic is an official language|27 states and territories]]|
|[[Algeria]]
|[[Bahrain]]
|[[Chad]]
|[[Comoros]]
|[[Djibouti]]
|[[Egypt]]
|[[Eritrea]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Eritrea |date=2023-04-26 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/eritrea/ |work=The World Factbook |access-date=2023-04-29 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>
|[[Iraq]]
|[[Jordan]]
|[[Kuwait]]
|[[Lebanon]]
|[[Libya]]
|[[Mauritania]]
|[[Morocco]]
|[[Oman]]
|[[State of Palestine|Palestine]]
|[[Qatar]]
|[[Saudi Arabia]]
|[[Somalia]]
|[[Sudan]]
|[[Syria]]
|[[Tunisia]]
|[[United Arab Emirates]]
|[[Yemen]]
|[[Zanzibar]] ([[Tanzania]])
|[[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] (partially recognized state)
||[[Somaliland]] (unrecognized state)
}}
{{Collapsible list | titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left; | title ='''International Organizations'''|
|[[African Union]]
|[[Arab League]]
|[[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]]
|[[United Nations]]
}}
{{Collapsible list | titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left; | title ='''Special status in Constitution'''|
|[[Iran]]{{efn|The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes the Arabic language as the language of Islam, giving it a formal status as the language of religion, and regulates its spreading within the Iranian national curriculum. The constitution declares in Chapter II: (The Official Language, Script, Calendar, and Flag of the Country) in Article 16 "Since the language of the Qur`an and Islamic texts and teachings is Arabic, ..., it must be taught after elementary level, in all classes of secondary school and in all areas of study."<ref name="constituteproject.org">[[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran]]: [https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iran_1989?lang=en ''Iran (Islamic Republic of)'s Constitution of 1979. – Article: 16 Official or national languages''], 1979, retrieved 25 July 2018</ref>}}
|[[Pakistan]]{{efn|The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan states in Article 31 No. 2 that "The State shall endeavour, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language ..."<ref name="pakistanconstitutionlaw.com">[[Constitution of Pakistan]]: [https://pakistanconstitutionlaw.com/article-31-islamic-way-of-life ''Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 – Article: 31 Islamic way of life''], 1973, retrieved 13 June 2018</ref>}}
}}
| minority         = {{collapsible list|
|[[Cyprus]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://languagecharter.eokik.hu/sites/StatesParties/Cyprus.htm|title=Implementation of the Charter in Cyprus|website=Database for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|publisher=Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research|access-date=20 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024143749/http://languagecharter.eokik.hu/sites/StatesParties/Cyprus.htm|archive-date=24 October 2011}}</ref>
|[[Israel]]<ref name="israelbasiclaw">{{cite web|url=https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/activity/Documents/BasicLawsPDF/BasicLawNationState.pdf|title=Basic Law: Israel – The Nation State of the Jewish People|date=2018-07-19|publisher=Knesset|access-date=2021-01-13|archive-date=10 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410191721/http://knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basiclawnationstate.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|[[Mali]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mali |url=https://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/afrique/mali.htm |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca}}</ref>
|[[Niger]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Niger : Loi n° 2001-037 du 31 décembre 2001 fixant les modalités de promotion et de développement des langues nationales|language=fr |url=https://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/afrique/niger-loi-2001-037-LNG.htm |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca}}</ref>
|[[Philippines]]<ref>Constitution of the Philippines, Article XIV, Sec 7: For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English. The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein. Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.</ref>
|[[Senegal]]<ref name=HassaniyaAlphabet>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jo.gouv.sn/spip.php?article4790 |title=Decret n° 2005-980 du 21 octobre 2005 |access-date=2021-12-10 |archive-date=2015-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518092122/http://www.jo.gouv.sn/spip.php?article4790 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|[[South Africa]]<ref name="constitution.1.6">{{cite book|url=https://www.concourt.org.za/images/phocadownload/the_text/english-2013.pdf|title=The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa|publisher=Constitutional Court of South Africa|year=2013|edition=2013 English version|at=ch.&nbsp;1, s.&nbsp;6|access-date=17 April 2020|archive-date=23 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823174423/https://www.concourt.org.za/images/phocadownload/the_text/english-2013.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
| agency           = {{collapsible list
|
*[[Algeria]]: [[Supreme Council of the Arabic language in Algeria]]
*[[Egypt]]: [[Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo]]
*[[Israel]]: [[Academy of the Arabic Language in Israel]]
*[[Iraq]]: [[Iraqi Academy of Sciences]]
*[[Jordan]]: [[Jordan Academy of Arabic]]
*[[Libya]]: Academy of the Arabic Language in Jamahiriya
*[[Morocco]]: Academy of the Arabic Language in Rabat
*[[Saudi Arabia]]: Academy of the Arabic Language in Riyadh
*[[Somalia]]: Academy of the Arabic Language in Mogadishu
*[[Sudan]]: Academy of the Arabic Language in Khartoum
*[[Syria]]: [[Arab Academy of Damascus]] (the oldest)
*[[Tunisia]]: [[Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts|Beit Al-Hikma Foundation]]
}}
| iso1             = ar
| iso2             = ara
| iso3             = ara
| lc1              = arq
| ld1              = [[Algerian Arabic]]
| lc2              = xaa
| ld2              = [[Andalusi Arabic]]
| lc3              = abv
| ld3              = [[Bahrani Arabic]]
| lc4              = avl
| ld4              = [[Bedawi Arabic]]
| lc5              = shu
| ld5              = [[Chadian Arabic]]
| lc6              = acy
| ld6              = [[Cypriot Arabic]]
| lc7              = adf
| ld7              = [[Dhofari Arabic]]
| lc8              = arz
| ld8              = [[Egyptian Arabic]]
| lc9              = acm
| ld9              = [[Gelet Arabic|Gelet Iraqi Arabic]]
| lc10             = afb
| ld10             = [[Gulf Arabic]]
| lc11             = ayh
| ld11             = [[Hadhrami Arabic]]
| lc12             = mey
| ld12             = [[Hassaniya Arabic]]
| lc13             = acw
| ld13             = [[Hejazi Arabic]]
| lc14             = apc
| ld14             = [[Levantine Arabic]]
| lc15             = ayl
| ld15             = [[Libyan Arabic]]
| lc16             = ary
| ld16             = [[Moroccan Arabic]]
| lc17             = ars
| ld17             = [[Najdi Arabic]]
| lc18             = acx
| ld18             = [[Omani Arabic]]
| lc19             = ayp
| ld19             = [[Moslawi Arabic|Qeltu Iraqi Arabic]]
| lc20             = aao
| ld20             = [[Saharan Arabic]]
| lc21             = aec
| ld21             = [[Saʽidi Arabic]]
| lc22             = ayn
| ld22             = [[Sanʽani Arabic]]
| lc23             = ssh
| ld23             = [[Shihhi Arabic]]
| lc24             = sqr
| ld24             = [[Siculo-Arabic]]
| lc25             = arb
| ld25             = [[Standard Arabic]]
| lc26             = apd
| ld26             = [[Sudanese Arabic]]
| lc27             = acq
| ld27             = [[Taʽizzi-Adeni Arabic]]
| lc28             = abh
| ld28             = [[Tajiki Arabic]]
| lc29             = aeb
| ld29             = [[Tunisian Arabic]]
| lc30             = auz
| ld30             = [[Uzbeki Arabic]]
| lingua           = 12-AAC
| image            = Arabic albayancalligraphy.svg
| imagescale       = 0.7
| imagecaption     = '''{{transliteration|ar|al-ʿarabiyyah}}''' in written Arabic ([[Naskh (script)|Naskh script]])
| notice           = IPA
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Afroasiatic]]
| ancestor2        = [[Proto-Semitic]]
| ancestor3        = [[Proto-Arabic]]
| ancestor4        = [[Old Arabic]]
| ancestor5        = [[Pre-classical Arabic]]
| sign             = Signed Arabic [[Arab sign-language family|(different national forms)]]
| glotto           = arab1395
| glottorefname    = Arabic
| map              = Arabic speaking world.svg
| mapcaption       = {{legend|#088A4B|Sole official language, Arabic-speaking majority}}
{{legend|#045FB4|Co-official language, Arabic-speaking majority}}
{{legend|#5599ff|Co-official language, Arabic-speaking minority}}
{{legend|#e6e6e6|Not an official language, Arabic-speaking minority}}
}}

'''Arabic''' ({{langx|ar|label=endonym|اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ|al-ʿarabiyyah}}, {{IPA|ar|al ʕaraˈbijːa|pron|Al arabic.ogg}}, or {{langx|ar|label=none|عَرَبِيّ|ʿarabīy}}, {{IPA|ar|ˈʕarabiː|pron|Arabi.ogg}} {{IPA|ar|ʕaraˈbij|label=or}}) is a [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic language]] of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic language family]] spoken primarily in the [[Arab world]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.academia.edu/18470301|title=Al-Jallad. The earliest stages of Arabic and its linguistic classification (Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics, forthcoming)|access-date=2016-10-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023221343/http://www.academia.edu/18470301/Al-Jallad._The_earliest_stages_of_Arabic_and_its_linguistic_classification_Routledge_Handbook_of_Arabic_Linguistics_forthcoming_|archive-date=23 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] assigns language codes to 32 [[varieties of Arabic]], including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as [[Modern Standard Arabic]],<ref name="www-01.sil.org">{{cite web|title=Documentation for ISO 639 identifier: ara|url=http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=ara|access-date=20 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211429/http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=ara|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> which is derived from [[Classical Arabic]]. This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as {{transliteration|ar|ALA|al-ʿarabiyyatu l-fuṣḥā}} ({{lang|ar|اَلعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kamusella|first=Tomasz|date=2017|title=The Arabic Language: A Latin of Modernity?|url=https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/12443/_Journal_of_Nationalism_Memory_Language_Politics_The_Arabic_Language_A_Latin_of_Modernity.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|journal=Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics|volume=11|issue=2|pages=117–145|access-date=28 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212190454/https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/12443/_Journal_of_Nationalism_Memory_Language_Politics_The_Arabic_Language_A_Latin_of_Modernity.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|archive-date=12 December 2019|url-status=live|doi=10.1515/jnmlp-2017-0006|hdl=10023/12443|s2cid=158624482|doi-access=free |issn = 2570-5857}}</ref> "the eloquent Arabic") or simply ''{{transliteration|ar|al-fuṣḥā}}'' ({{lang|ar|اَلْفُصْحَىٰ}}).

Arabic is the [[List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language|third most widespread official language]] after English and French,<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wright|2001|p=492}}</ref> one of six [[official languages of the United Nations]],<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=http://ask.un.org/faq/14463|title=What are the official languages of the United Nations? - Ask DAG!|website=ask.un.org|language=en|access-date=2019-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205021716/http://ask.un.org/faq/14463|archive-date=5 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Sacred language|liturgical language]] of [[Islam]].<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|last=World|first=I. H.|title=Arabic|url=https://ihworld.com/schools/community-school-languages/arabic/|access-date=2021-07-07|website=IH World|language=en}}</ref> Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the world and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, governments and the media.<ref name="auto2"/> During the [[Middle Ages]], Arabic was a major vehicle of culture and learning, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy. As a result, many European languages have [[loanword|borrowed]] words from it. Arabic influence, mainly in vocabulary, is seen in [[Languages of Europe|European languages]] (mainly [[Arabic language influence on the Spanish language|Spanish]] and to a lesser extent [[Influence of Arabic on other languages#Portuguese|Portuguese]], [[Influence of Arabic on other languages#Catalan|Catalan]], and [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]]) owing to the proximity of Europe and the long-lasting Arabic cultural and linguistic presence, mainly in Southern Iberia, during the [[Al-Andalus]] era. [[Maltese language|Maltese]] is a Semitic language developed from a dialect of Arabic and written in the [[Latin alphabet]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maltese-language|title=Maltese language|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924141837/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maltese-language|archive-date=24 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Balkans|Balkan]] languages, including Albanian, [[Greek language|Greek]], Serbo-Croatian, and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], have also  acquired many words of Arabic origin, mainly through direct contact with [[Ottoman Turkish]].

Arabic has influenced languages across the globe throughout its history, especially languages where Islam is the predominant religion and in countries that were conquered by Muslims. The most markedly influenced languages are [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] ([[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]]),<ref name="Versteegh19972">{{cite book|title=The Arabic Language|last1=Versteegh|first1=Kees|last2=Versteegh|first2=C. H. M.|date=1997|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231111522|language=en|quote=... of the Qufdn; many Arabic loanwords in the indigenous languages, as in Urdu and Indonesian, were introduced mainly through the medium of Persian.}}</ref> [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]], [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Malay language|Malay]] ([[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] and [[Malaysian language|Malaysian]]), [[Maldivian language|Maldivian]], [[Pashto]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], Sicilian, Spanish, Greek, Bulgarian, [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Odia Language|Odia]],<ref name="Raya-1981">{{cite book |author=Bhabani Charan Ray |title=Orissa Under the Mughals: From Akbar to Alivardi : a Fascinating Study of the Socio-economic and Cultural History of Orissa |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgUeAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA213|series=Orissan studies project, 10 |year=1981 |publisher=Punthi Pustak |location=Calcutta |page=213 |chapter=Appendix B Persian, Turkish, Arabic words generally used in Oriya |oclc=461886299}}</ref> [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and African languages such as [[Hausa language|Hausa]], [[Amharic]], [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]], [[Somali language|Somali]], [[Tamazight]], and [[Swahili language|Swahili]]. Conversely, Arabic has borrowed some words (mostly nouns) from other languages, including its [[Sister language|sister-language]] Aramaic, Persian, Greek, and Latin and to a lesser extent and more recently from Turkish, English, French, and Italian.

Arabic is spoken by as many as 380 million speakers, both native and non-native, in the Arab world,<ref name=e27/> making it the [[List of languages by total number of speakers|fifth most spoken language]] in the world,<ref>{{cite web |title=The 10 Most Spoken Languages In The World |last=Lane |first=James |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-10-most-spoken-languages-in-the-world |date=2 June 2021 |website=Babbel |access-date=29 June 2021}}</ref> and the fourth most used language on the internet in terms of users.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Internet: most common languages online 2020|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/262946/share-of-the-most-common-languages-on-the-internet/|access-date=2021-11-26|website=Statista|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Top Ten Internet Languages in The World - Internet Statistics|url=https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm|access-date=2021-11-26|website=www.internetworldstats.com|archive-date=7 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907141114/https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> It also serves as the liturgical language of more than 2 billion [[Muslims]].<ref name="auto1"/> In 2011, ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]'' ranked Arabic the fourth most useful language for business, after English, [[Standard Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]], and French.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-29 |title=Mandarin Chinese Most Useful Business Language After English - Bloomberg Business |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-08-30/mandarin-chinese-most-useful-business-language-after-english-1-#content |access-date=2022-01-02 |website= [[Bloomberg News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329042844/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-08-30/mandarin-chinese-most-useful-business-language-after-english-1-#content |archive-date=29 March 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Arabic is written with the [[Arabic alphabet]], an [[abjad]] script that is written from [[Right-to-left|right to left]].

== Classification ==
{{Further|Classification of Arabic languages}}
Arabic is usually classified as a [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic language]]. Linguists still differ as to the best classification of Semitic language sub-groups.<ref name="Stefan Weninger 2011"/> The Semitic languages changed between [[Proto-Semitic language|Proto-Semitic]] and the emergence of Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include:
# The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation (''jalas-'') into a past tense.
# The conversion of the prefix-conjugated [[preterite]]-tense formation (''yajlis-'') into a present tense.
# The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms (e.g., a present tense formed by doubling the middle root, a [[Perfect (grammar)|perfect]] formed by [[infix]]ing a {{IPA|/t/}} after the first root consonant, probably a jussive formed by a stress shift) in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms (e.g., ''-u'' for indicative, ''-a'' for subjunctive, no ending for jussive, ''-an'' or ''-anna'' for energetic).
# The development of an internal passive.
There are several features which Classical Arabic, the modern Arabic varieties, as well as the [[Safaitic]] and [[Hismaic (Old Arabic)|Hismaic]] inscriptions share which are unattested in any other Central Semitic language variety, including the [[Dadanitic]] and [[Taymanitic]] languages of the [[Hijaz|northern Hejaz]]. These features are evidence of common descent from a [[Proto-language|hypothetical ancestor]], [[Proto-Arabic]].{{sfn|Al-Jallad|2020a|p=8}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Huehnergard |first1=John |title=Arabic in Context: Celebrating 400 Years of Arabic at Leiden University |publisher=Brill |year=2017 |isbn=978-90-04-34304-7 |editor-last=Al-Jallad |editor-first=Ahmad |page=13 |chapter=Arabic in Its Semitic Context |doi=10.1163/9789004343047_002 |oclc=967854618}}</ref> The following features of Proto-Arabic can be reconstructed with confidence:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6X29BwAAQBAJ|title=An Outline of the Grammar of the Safaitic Inscriptions|last=Al-Jallad|first=Ahmad|date=2015|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-28982-6|language=en|access-date=17 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723012810/https://books.google.com/books?id=6X29BwAAQBAJ|archive-date=23 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
# negative particles ''{{IPA|m}}'' * {{IPA|/mā/}}; ''{{IPA|lʾn}}'' *{{IPA|/lā-ʾan/}} to Classical Arabic {{IPA|lan}}
# {{IPA|mafʿūl}} G-passive participle
# [[Preposition and postposition|prepositions]] and adverbs ''{{IPA|f}}'', ''{{IPA|ʿn}}'', ''{{IPA|ʿnd}}'', ''{{IPA|ḥt}}'', ''{{IPA|ʿkdy}}''
# a subjunctive in -''{{IPA|a}}''
# ''{{IPA|t}}''-demonstratives
# leveling of the -''{{IPA|at}}'' [[allomorph]] of the feminine ending
# ''{{IPA|ʾn}}'' [[complementizer]] and subordinator
# the use of ''{{IPA|f}}''- to introduce modal clauses
# independent object pronoun in ''{{IPA|(ʾ)y}}''
# vestiges of ''[[nunation]]''
On the other hand, several Arabic varieties are closer to other Semitic languages and maintain features not found in Classical Arabic, indicating that these varieties cannot have developed from Classical Arabic.{{sfn|Birnstiel|2019|p=368}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Al-Jallad |first=Ahmad |year=2021 |title=Connecting the Lines between Old (Epigraphic) Arabic and the Modern Vernaculars |journal=Languages |language=en |volume=6 |issue=4 |page=1 |doi=10.3390/languages6040173 |issn=2226-471X |doi-access=free}}</ref> Thus, Arabic [[vernacular]]s do not descend from Classical Arabic:{{sfn|Versteegh|2014|p=172}} Classical Arabic is a sister language rather than their direct ancestor.{{sfn|Al-Jallad|2020a|p=8}}

== History ==

=== Old Arabic ===
{{Main|Old Arabic}}
Arabia had a wide variety of Semitic languages in antiquity. The term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the [[Arabian Peninsula]], as perceived by geographers from [[ancient Greece]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jallad |first1=Ahmad |date=2018 |title=The earliest stages of Arabic and its linguistic classification |url=https://www.academia.edu/18470301 |journal=The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Macdonald|first=Michael C. A.|chapter=Arabians, Arabias, and the Greeks_Contact and Perceptions|pages=16–17|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/4593009|title=Literacy and Identity in Pre-Islamic Arabia|isbn=9781003278818|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In the southwest, various [[Central Semitic languages]] both belonging to and outside the [[Old South Arabian|Ancient South Arabian]] family (e.g. Southern Thamudic) were spoken. It is believed that the ancestors of the [[Modern South Arabian languages]] (non-Central Semitic languages) were spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern [[Hejaz]], [[Dadanitic]] and [[Taymanitic]] held some prestige as inscriptional languages. In {{Lang|ar-latn|[[Najd]]|italic=no}} and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested.<ref name="Al-Jallad"/>

In eastern Arabia, inscriptions in a script derived from ASA attest to a language known as [[Hasaitic]]. On the northwestern frontier of Arabia, various languages known to scholars as [[Thamudic B]], Thamudic D, [[Safaitic]], and [[Hismaic]] are attested. The last two share important [[isogloss]]es with later forms of Arabic, leading scholars to theorize that Safaitic and Hismaic are early forms of Arabic and that they should be considered [[Old Arabic]].<ref name="Al-Jallad">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/18470301|chapter=Al-Jallad. The earliest stages of Arabic and its linguistic classification |title=Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics, forthcoming |isbn=9781315147062|access-date=2016-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023221343/http://www.academia.edu/18470301/Al-Jallad._The_earliest_stages_of_Arabic_and_its_linguistic_classification_Routledge_Handbook_of_Arabic_Linguistics_forthcoming_|archive-date=23 October 2017|url-status=live|last1=Al-Jallad|first1=Ahmad}}</ref>

Linguists generally believe that "Old Arabic", a collection of related dialects that constitute the precursor of Arabic, first emerged during the [[Iron Age]].<ref name="Stefan Weninger 2011">Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston, 2011.</ref> Previously, the earliest attestation of Old Arabic was thought to be a single 1st century CE inscription in [[Sabaic|Sabaic script]] at {{Lang|ar-latn|[[Qaryat al-Faw]]|italic=no}}, in southern present-day Saudi Arabia. However, this inscription does not participate in several of the key innovations of the Arabic language group, such as the conversion of Semitic [[mimation]] to [[nunation]] in the singular. It is best reassessed as a separate language on the Central Semitic dialect continuum.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Al-Jallad|first=Ahmad|title=Al-Jallad. 2014. On the genetic background of the Rbbl bn Hfʿm grave inscription at Qaryat al-Fāw|url=https://www.academia.edu/8770005|journal=BSOAS|date=January 2014|volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=445–465 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X14000524|language=en}}</ref>

It was also thought that Old Arabic coexisted alongside—and then gradually displaced—[[epigraphic]] [[Ancient North Arabian]] (ANA), which was theorized to have been the regional tongue for many centuries. ANA, despite its name, was considered a very distinct language, and mutually unintelligible, from "Arabic". Scholars named its variant dialects after the towns where the inscriptions were discovered (Dadanitic, Taymanitic, Hismaic, Safaitic).<ref name="Stefan Weninger 2011" /> However, most arguments for a single ANA language or language family were based on the shape of the definite article, a prefixed h-. It has been argued that the h- is an archaism and not a shared innovation, and thus unsuitable for language classification, rendering the hypothesis of an ANA language family untenable.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Al-Jallad|first=Ahmad|title=Al-Jallad (Draft) Remarks on the classification of the languages of North Arabia in the 2nd edition of The Semitic Languages (eds. J. Huehnergard and N. Pat-El)|url=https://www.academia.edu/38721216|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Safaitic and Hismaic, previously considered ANA, should be considered Old Arabic due to the fact that they participate in the innovations common to all forms of Arabic.<ref name="Al-Jallad" />

The earliest attestation of continuous Arabic text in an [[Nabataean alphabet|ancestor of the modern Arabic script]] are three lines of poetry by a man named Garm(')allāhe found in [[Avdat|En Avdat, Israel]], and dated to around 125 CE.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Al-Jallad|first=Ahmad|title=One wāw to rule them all: the origins and fate of wawation in Arabic and its orthography|url=https://www.academia.edu/33017695|language=en}}</ref> This is followed by the [[Namara inscription]], an epitaph of the {{Lang|ar-latn|[[Lakhmids|Lakhmid]]|italic=no}} king Imru' al-Qays bar 'Amro, dating to 328 CE, found at Namaraa, Syria. From the 4th to the 6th centuries, the Nabataean script evolved into the Arabic script recognizable from the early Islamic era.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nehmé|first=Laila|title=&quot;A glimpse of the development of the Nabataean script into Arabic based on old and new epigraphic material&quot;, in M.C.A. Macdonald (ed), The development of Arabic as a written language (Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 40). Oxford: 47–88.|work=Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies |url=https://www.academia.edu/2106858|date=January 2010|language=en}}</ref> There are inscriptions in an undotted, 17-letter Arabic script dating to the 6th century CE, found at four locations in Syria ([[Zabad inscription|Zabad]], [[Jebel Usays inscription|Jebel Usays]], [[Harran inscription|Harran]], {{Lang|ar-latn|[[Umm el-Jimal]]|italic=no}}). The oldest surviving papyrus in Arabic dates to 643 CE, and it uses dots to produce the modern 28-letter Arabic alphabet. The language of that papyrus and of the Qur'an is referred to by linguists as "Quranic Arabic", as distinct from its codification soon thereafter into "[[Classical Arabic]]".<ref name="Stefan Weninger 2011" />

===Classical Arabic===
{{Main|Classical Arabic}}

In late pre-Islamic times, a transdialectal and transcommunal variety of Arabic emerged in the [[Hejaz]], which continued living its parallel life after literary Arabic had been institutionally standardized in the 2nd and 3rd century of the [[Islamic calendar|Hijra]], most strongly in Judeo-Christian texts, keeping alive ancient features eliminated from the "learned" tradition (Classical Arabic).<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/middle-arabic-EALL_COM_vol3_0213?s.num=0&s.rows=20&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics&s.q=middle+arabic|title=Middle Arabic |publisher= Brill Reference|journal=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics|access-date=2016-07-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815171843/http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/middle-arabic-EALL_COM_vol3_0213?s.num=0&s.rows=20&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics&s.q=middle+arabic|archive-date=15 August 2016|url-status=live|date=2011-05-30|last1=Lentin|first1=Jérôme}}</ref> This variety and both its classicizing and "lay" iterations have been termed Middle Arabic in the past, but they are thought to continue an [[Old Higazi]] register. It is clear that the orthography of the [[Quran]] was not developed for the standardized form of Classical Arabic; rather, it shows the attempt on the part of writers to record an archaic form of Old Higazi.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

In the late 6th century AD, a relatively uniform intertribal "poetic koine" distinct from the [[Vernacular|spoken vernaculars]] developed based on the [[Bedouin]] dialects of [[Najd]], probably in connection with the court of [[Al-Hirah|al-Ḥīra]]. During the first Islamic century, the majority of Arabic poets and Arabic-writing persons spoke Arabic as their mother tongue. Their texts, although mainly preserved in far later manuscripts, contain traces of non-standardized [[Classical Arabic]] elements in morphology and syntax.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

=== Standardization ===
[[Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali]] ({{circa|603}}–689) is credited with standardizing [[Arabic grammar]], or ''an-naḥw'' ({{Lang|ar|النَّحو}} "the way"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Team|first=Almaany|title=ترجمة و معنى نحو بالإنجليزي في قاموس المعاني. قاموس عربي انجليزي مصطلحات صفحة 1|url=https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-en/%D9%86%D8%AD%D9%88/|access-date=2021-05-26|website=www.almaany.com|language=en}}</ref>), and pioneering a system of [[Arabic diacritics|diacritics]] to differentiate consonants ({{Lang|ar|نقط الإعجام}} ''nuqaṭu‿l-i'jām'' "pointing for non-Arabs") and indicate [[Arabic diacritics#Tashkil (marks used as phonetic guides)|vocalization]] ({{Lang|ar|التشكيل}} ''at-tashkīl'').<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leaman|first=Oliver|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=isDgI0-0Ip4C&pg=PA131|title=The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia|date=2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-32639-1|language=en}}</ref> [[Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi]] (718–786) compiled the first Arabic dictionary, [[Kitab al-'Ayn|''Kitāb al-'Ayn'']] ({{Lang|ar|كتاب العين}} "The Book of the Letter [[Ayin|ع]]"), and is credited with establishing the rules of Arabic [[Prosody (linguistics)|prosody]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad {{!}} Arab philologist|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Khalil-ibn-Ahmad|access-date=2021-05-27|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> [[Al-Jahiz]] (776–868) proposed to [[Al-Akhfash al-Akbar]] an overhaul of the grammar of Arabic, but it would not come to pass for two centuries.<ref name="Landmarks in linguistic thought III-1997">{{Citation|title=Ibn Maḍâ' and the refutation of the grammarians|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203444153_chapter_11|work=Landmarks in linguistic thought III|year=1997|pages=140–152|place=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Taylor & Francis|doi=10.4324/9780203444153_chapter_11|isbn=978-0-203-27565-8|access-date=2021-05-28 }}</ref> The standardization of Arabic reached completion around the end of the 8th century. The first comprehensive description of the ''ʿarabiyya'' "Arabic", [[Sibawayh|Sībawayhi's]] ''al''-''Kitāb'', is based first of all upon a corpus of poetic texts, in addition to Qur'an usage and Bedouin informants whom he considered to be reliable speakers of the ''ʿarabiyya''.<ref name="referenceworks.brillonline.com" />

=== Spread ===
Arabic spread with the spread of [[Islam]]. Following the [[early Muslim conquests]], Arabic gained vocabulary from [[Middle Persian]] and [[Turkish language|Turkish]].<ref name="The National-2016" /> In the early [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid period]], many [[Ancient Greek|Classical Greek]] terms entered Arabic through translations carried out at [[Baghdad|Baghdad's]] [[House of Wisdom]].<ref name="The National-2016" />

By the 8th century, knowledge of Classical Arabic had become an essential prerequisite for rising into the higher classes throughout the Islamic world, both for Muslims and non-Muslims. For example, [[Maimonides]], the [[Al-Andalus|Andalusi]] Jewish philosopher, authored works in [[Judeo-Arabic dialects|Judeo-Arabic]]—Arabic written in [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew script]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Stern|first1=Josef|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YR2jDwAAQBAJ|title=Maimonides' "Guide of the Perplexed" in Translation: A History from the Thirteenth Century to the Twentieth|last2=Robinson|first2=James T.|last3=Shemesh|first3=Yonatan|date=2019-08-15|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-45763-5|language=en}}</ref>

=== Development ===
[[Ibn Jinni]] of [[Mosul]], a pioneer in [[phonology]], wrote prolifically in the 10th century on Arabic morphology and phonology in works such as ''[[Kitāb Al-Munṣif]], [[Kitāb Al-Muḥtasab]], and'' {{Interlanguage link|Kitāb Al-Khaṣāʾiṣ|ar|الخصائص (كتاب)|italic=y}}.<ref>Bernards, Monique, "Ibn Jinnī", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Consulted online on 27 May 2021

First published online: 2021

First print edition: 9789004435964, 20210701, 2021–4</ref>

[[Ibn Mada']] of [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordoba]] (1116–1196) realized the overhaul of Arabic grammar first proposed by [[Al-Jahiz]] 200 years prior.<ref name="Landmarks in linguistic thought III-1997" />

The Maghrebi lexicographer [[Ibn Manzur]] compiled ''[[Lisān al-ʿArab]]'' ({{lang|ar|لسان العرب}}, "Tongue of Arabs"), a major reference [[dictionary]] of Arabic, in 1290.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Baalbaki|first=Ramzi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cme7AwAAQBAJ&q=lisan+al+arab+ibn+manzur+1290&pg=PA385|title=The Arabic Lexicographical Tradition: From the 2nd/8th to the 12th/18th Century|date=2014-05-28|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-27401-3|language=en}}</ref>

=== Neo-Arabic ===
[[Charles A. Ferguson|Charles Ferguson]]'s [[koiné language|koine]] theory claims that the modern Arabic dialects collectively descend from a single military koine that sprang up during the Islamic conquests; this view has been challenged in recent times. Ahmad al-Jallad proposes that there were at least two considerably distinct types of Arabic on the eve of the conquests: Northern and Central (Al-Jallad 2009). The modern dialects emerged from a new contact situation produced following the conquests. Instead of the emergence of a single or multiple koines, the dialects contain several sedimentary layers of borrowed and areal features, which they absorbed at different points in their linguistic histories.<ref name="referenceworks.brillonline.com">{{Cite journal|url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/polygenesis-in-the-arabic-dialects-EALL_SIM_000030?s.num=1&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics&s.q=neo-arabic|title=Polygenesis in the Arabic Dialects|publisher= Brill Reference|journal=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics|access-date=2016-07-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815234348/http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/polygenesis-in-the-arabic-dialects-EALL_SIM_000030?s.num=1&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics&s.q=neo-arabic|archive-date=15 August 2016|url-status=live|date=2011-05-30|last1=Al-Jallad|first1=Ahmad}}</ref> According to Veersteegh and Bickerton, colloquial Arabic dialects arose from [[pidgin]]ized Arabic formed from contact between Arabs and conquered peoples. Pidginization and subsequent [[creolization]] among Arabs and [[Arabization|arabized]] peoples could explain relative morphological and phonological simplicity of vernacular Arabic compared to Classical and MSA.{{sfn|Versteegh|2014|p=299}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VM6M1351GWsC&pg=PA198|title=Diathesis in the Semitic Languages: A Comparative Morphological Study|last=Retsö|first=Jan|date=1989|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-08818-4|language=en|access-date=16 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004104045/https://books.google.com/books?id=VM6M1351GWsC&pg=PA198|archive-date=4 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In around the 11th and 12th centuries in [[al-Andalus]], the ''[[zajal]]'' and [[Muwashshah|''muwashah'']] poetry forms developed in the [[Andalusian Arabic|dialectical Arabic of Cordoba]] and the Maghreb.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Ibn Khaldūn|author-link=Ibn Khaldun|title=The Muqaddimah : An Introduction to History|isbn=978-0-691-16628-5|oclc=913459792|publication-date=27 April 2015|date=1967|orig-date=work in the original language written in 1377|publisher=Princeton University Press|translator-last=Rosenthal|translator-first=Franz|translator-link=Franz Rosenthal|editor-last=Dawood|editor-first=N. J.|editor-link=N. J. Dawood}}</ref>

=== Nahda ===
The ''[[Nahda]]'' was a cultural and especially literary renaissance of the 19th century in which writers sought "to fuse Arabic and European forms of expression."<ref name="Gelvin-2020">{{Cite book|last=Gelvin|first=James L.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1122689432|title=The modern Middle East : a history|date=2020|isbn=978-0-19-007406-7|edition=Fifth|location=New York|pages=112|oclc=1122689432}}</ref> According to [[James L. Gelvin]], "''Nahda'' writers attempted to simplify the Arabic language and script so that it might be accessible to a wider audience."<ref name="Gelvin-2020" />

In the wake of the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial revolution]] and European [[hegemony]] and [[colonialism]], pioneering Arabic presses, such as the [[Amiri Press]] established by [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]] (1819), dramatically changed the diffusion and consumption of Arabic [[Arabic literature|literature]] and publications.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.library.yale.edu/neareast/exhibitions/earlyprinting1.html|title=Early Arabic Printing: Movable Type & Lithography|last=Okerson|first=Ann|date=2009|website=Yale University Library|access-date=20 February 2020|archive-date=18 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218151558/http://www.library.yale.edu/neareast/exhibitions/earlyprinting1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Rifa'a al-Tahtawi]] proposed the establishment of [[Madrasat al-Alsun]] in 1836 and led a translation campaign that highlighted the need for a lexical injection in Arabic, to suit concepts of the industrial and post-industrial age (such as ''sayyārah'' {{lang|ar|سَيَّارَة}} 'automobile' or ''bākhirah'' {{lang|ar|باخِرة}} 'steamship').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamzaoui |first=Rached |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/462880236 |title=L'Academie de Langue Arabe du Caire |publisher=Publications de l'Université de Tunis |year=1975 |oclc=462880236 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=الشيال |first=جمال الدين |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1041872985 |title=رفاعة الطهطاوي : زعيم النهضة الفكرية في عصر محمد علي |oclc=1041872985}}</ref>

In response, a number of Arabic academies modeled after the {{Lang|fr|[[Académie française]]}} were established with the aim of developing standardized additions to the Arabic lexicon to suit these transformations,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sawaie|first=Mohammed|date=2011-05-30|title=Language Academies|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/language-academies-EALL_COM_vol2_0082#d10645177e183|journal=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics|language=en|access-date=20 February 2020|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227053137/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/language-academies-EALL_COM_vol2_0082#d10645177e183|url-status=live}}</ref> first in [[Arab Academy of Damascus|Damascus]] (1919), then in [[Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo|Cairo]] (1932), [[Iraqi Academy of Sciences|Baghdad]] (1948), [[Institute for Studies and Research on Arabization|Rabat]] (1960), [[Jordan Academy of Arabic|Amman]] (1977), {{Interlanguage link|Academy of the Arabic Language in Khartum|lt=Khartum|ar|مجمع اللغة العربية بالخرطوم}} (1993), and [[Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts|Tunis]] (1993).<ref name="UNESCO-2019">{{Cite book|last=UNESCO|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PhnLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|title=بناء مجتمعات المعرفة في المنطقة العربية|date=2019-12-31|publisher=UNESCO Publishing|isbn=978-92-3-600090-9|language=ar|access-date=31 March 2021|archive-date=5 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405055054/https://books.google.com/books?id=PhnLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|url-status=live}}</ref> They review language development, monitor new words and approve the inclusion of new words into their published standard dictionaries. They also publish old and historical Arabic manuscripts.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

In 1997, a bureau of Arabization standardization was added to the [[Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization|Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization]] of the [[Arab League]].<ref name="UNESCO-2019" /> These academies and organizations have worked toward the [[Arabization]] of the sciences, [[Neologism|creating terms]] in Arabic to describe new concepts, toward the standardization of these new terms throughout the Arabic-speaking world, and toward the development of Arabic as a [[world language]].<ref name="UNESCO-2019" /> This gave rise to what Western scholars call Modern Standard Arabic. From the 1950s, [[Arabization]] became a postcolonial nationalist policy in countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco,<ref>{{Citation|last=Tilmatine|first=Mohand|title=Arabization and linguistic domination: Berber and Arabic in the North of Africa|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110408362.1|work=Language Empires in Comparative Perspective|year=2015|pages=1–16|place=Berlin, München, Boston|publisher=DE GRUYTER|doi=10.1515/9783110408362.1|isbn=978-3-11-040836-2|s2cid=132791029 |access-date=2021-04-19}}</ref> and Sudan.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Seri-Hersch|first=Iris|date=2020-12-02|title=Arabization and Islamization in the Making of the Sudanese "Postcolonial" State (1946-1964)|journal=Cahiers d'études africaines|issue=240|pages=779–804|doi=10.4000/etudesafricaines.32202|s2cid=229407091|issn=0008-0055|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Classical, Modern Standard and spoken Arabic ==
{{Further|Classical Arabic|Modern Standard Arabic|Varieties of Arabic}}{{See also|List of Arabic dictionaries}}''Arabic'' usually refers to Standard Arabic, which Western linguists divide into [[Classical Arabic]] and Modern Standard Arabic.<ref name="Kamusella">{{Cite journal|last=Kamusella|first=Tomasz Dominik|year=2017|title=The Arabic Language: A Latin of Modernity?|journal=Journal of Nationalism, Memory and Language Politics |publisher=De Gruyter|volume=11 |number=2 |doi=10.1515/jnmlp-2017-0006 |doi-access=free |issn=2570-5857|hdl=10023/12443 |page=117|hdl-access=free}}</ref> It could also refer to any of a variety of regional vernacular [[Varieties of Arabic|Arabic dialects]], which are not necessarily mutually intelligible.[[File:Safaitic script with a figure of a camel on a red sandstone fragment, from es-Safa, currently housed in the British Museum.jpg|250px|thumb|alt=|[[Safaitic]] inscription]]Classical Arabic is the language found in the [[Quran]], used from the period of [[Pre-Islamic Arabia]] to that of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]. Classical Arabic is prescriptive, according to the [[syntactic]] and grammatical norms laid down by classical grammarians (such as [[Sibawayh]]) and the vocabulary defined in classical dictionaries (such as the [[Ibn Manzur#Lisān al-ʿArab|''Lisān al-ʻArab'']]).{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) largely follows the grammatical standards of Classical Arabic and uses much of the same vocabulary. However, it has discarded some grammatical constructions and vocabulary that no longer have any counterpart in the spoken varieties and has adopted certain new constructions and vocabulary from the spoken varieties. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial]] and [[Post-industrial society|post-industrial era]], especially in modern times.<ref name="auto">Abdulkafi Albirini. 2016. ''Modern Arabic Sociolinguistics'' (pp. 34–35).</ref>

Due to its grounding in Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic is removed over a millennium from everyday speech, which is construed as a multitude of dialects of this language. These dialects and Modern Standard Arabic are described by some scholars as not mutually comprehensible. The former are usually acquired in families, while the latter is taught in formal education settings. However, there have been studies reporting some degree of comprehension of stories told in the standard variety among preschool-aged children.<ref name="auto"/>

The relation between Modern Standard Arabic and these dialects is sometimes compared to that of [[Classical Latin]] and [[Vulgar Latin]] vernaculars (which became [[Romance languages]]) in medieval and early modern Europe.<ref name="Kamusella"/>

MSA is the variety used in most current, printed Arabic publications, spoken by some of the Arabic media across North Africa and the Middle East, and understood by most educated Arabic speakers. "Literary Arabic" and "Standard Arabic" ({{lang|ar|فُصْحَى}} ''{{transliteration|ar|fuṣḥá}}'') are less strictly defined terms that may refer to Modern Standard Arabic or Classical Arabic.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Some of the differences between Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are as follows:{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
* Certain grammatical constructions of CA that have no counterpart in any modern vernacular dialect (e.g., the [[energetic mood]]) are almost never used in Modern Standard Arabic.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
* [[Grammatical case|Case]] distinctions are very rare in Arabic vernaculars. As a result, MSA is generally composed without case distinctions in mind, and the proper cases are added after the fact, when necessary. Because most case endings are noted using final short vowels, which are normally left unwritten in the Arabic script, it is unnecessary to determine the proper case of most words. The practical result of this is that MSA, like English and [[Standard Chinese]], is written in a strongly determined word order and alternative orders that were used in CA for emphasis are rare. In addition, because of the lack of case marking in the spoken varieties, most speakers cannot consistently use the correct endings in extemporaneous speech. As a result, spoken MSA tends to drop or regularize the endings except when reading from a prepared text.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
*The numeral system in CA is complex and heavily tied in with the case system. This system is never used in MSA, even in the most formal of circumstances; instead, a greatly simplified system is used, approximating the system of the conservative spoken varieties.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
[[File:Arabic Swadesh list 1-100.webm|thumb|Arabic [[Swadesh list]] (1–100)]]

MSA uses much Classical vocabulary (e.g., ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|dhahaba}}'' 'to go') that is not present in the spoken varieties, but deletes Classical words that sound obsolete in MSA. In addition, MSA has borrowed or coined many terms for concepts that did not exist in Quranic times, and MSA continues to evolve.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Kaye|1991|p=?}}</ref> Some words have been borrowed from other languages—notice that transliteration mainly indicates spelling and not real pronunciation (e.g., {{lang|ar|فِلْم}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|film}}'' 'film' or {{lang|ar|ديمقراطية}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|dīmuqrāṭiyyah}}'' 'democracy').{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

The current preference is to avoid direct borrowings, preferring to either use [[loan translation]]s (e.g., {{lang|ar|فرع}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|farʻ}}'' 'branch', also used for the branch of a company or organization; {{lang|ar|جناح}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|janāḥ}}'' 'wing', is also used for the wing of an airplane, building, air force, etc.), or to coin new words using forms within existing [[Semitic root|roots]] ({{lang|ar|استماتة}} ''{{transliteration|ar|istimātah}}'' '[[apoptosis]]', using the root {{lang|ar|موت}} ''m/w/t'' 'death' put into the [[Arabic verbs#Formation of derived stems ("forms")|Xth form]], or {{lang|ar|جامعة}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jāmiʻah}}'' 'university', based on {{lang|ar|جمع}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jamaʻa}}'' 'to gather, unite'; {{lang|ar|جمهورية}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jumhūriyyah}}'' 'republic', based on {{lang|ar|جمهور}} ''{{transliteration|ar|jumhūr}}'' 'multitude'). An earlier tendency was to redefine an older word although this has fallen into disuse (e.g., {{lang|ar|هاتف}} ''{{transliteration|ar|hātif}}'' 'telephone' < 'invisible caller (in Sufism)'; {{lang|ar|جريدة}} ''{{transliteration|ar|jarīdah}}'' 'newspaper' < 'palm-leaf stalk').{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

''Colloquial'' or ''dialectal'' Arabic refers to the many national or regional varieties which constitute the everyday spoken language. Colloquial Arabic has many regional variants; geographically distant varieties usually differ enough to be [[mutual intelligibility|mutually unintelligible]], and some linguists consider them distinct languages.<ref>"Arabic Language." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009.</ref> However, research indicates a high degree of mutual intelligibility between closely related Arabic variants for native speakers listening to words, sentences, and texts; and between more distantly related dialects in interactional situations.<ref>Trentman, E. and Shiri, S., 2020. The Mutual Intelligibility of Arabic Dialects. Critical Multilingualism Studies, 8(1), pp.104–134.</ref>[[File:Epitaph Imru-l-Qays Louvre AO4083.jpg|thumb|The [[Namara inscription]], a sample of [[Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean script]], considered a direct precursor of Arabic script<ref name="The National-2016">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-15|title=Examining the origins of Arabic ahead of Arabic Language Day|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/examining-the-origins-of-arabic-ahead-of-arabic-language-day-1.199916|access-date=2021-04-20|website=The National|language=en|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420022852/https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/examining-the-origins-of-arabic-ahead-of-arabic-language-day-1.199916|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=linteau de porte|url=https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010123278|access-date=2021-04-20|website=Musée du Louvre|date=328|language=en|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420022907/https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010123278|url-status=live}}</ref>]]The varieties are typically unwritten. They are often used in informal spoken media, such as [[soap opera]]s and [[talk show]]s,<ref name="Jenkins">{{Citation |last=Jenkins |first=Orville Boyd |url=http://strategyleader.org/articles/arabicpercent.html |title=Population Analysis of the Arabic Languages |date=18 March 2000 |access-date=12 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318105008/http://strategyleader.org/articles/arabicpercent.html |archive-date=18 March 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as occasionally in certain forms of written media such as poetry and printed advertising.

[[Hassaniya Arabic]], [[Maltese language|Maltese]], and [[Cypriot Arabic]] are only varieties of modern Arabic to have acquired official recognition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Morocco 2011 Constitution – Constitute |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Morocco_2011?lang=en |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=www.constituteproject.org |language=en}}</ref> Hassaniya is official in Mali<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sgg-mali.ml/JO/2023/mali-jo-2023-13-sp-2.pdf |title=Journal officiel de la republique du mali secretariat general du gouvernement – decret n°2023-0401/pt-rm du 22 juillet 2023 portant promulgation de la constitution |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=22 July 2023 |website=sgg-mali.ml |access-date=26 July 2023 |quote=Article 31 : Les langues nationales sont les langues officielles du Mali.}}</ref> and recognized as a minority language in Morocco,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Morocco 2011 Constitution, Article 5|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Morocco_2011?lang=en|access-date=2021-07-18|website=www.constituteproject.org|language=en}}</ref> while the Senegalese government adopted the Latin script to write it.<ref name=HassaniyaAlphabet/> Maltese is official in (predominantly [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]) [[Malta]] and written with the [[Maltese alphabet|Latin script]]. Linguists agree that it is a variety of spoken Arabic, descended from [[Siculo-Arabic]], though it has experienced extensive changes as a result of sustained and intensive contact with Italo-Romance varieties, and more recently also with English. Due to "a mix of social, cultural, historical, political, and indeed linguistic factors", many Maltese people today consider their language Semitic but not a type of Arabic.<ref name="Čéplö">{{Cite journal |last=Čéplö |first=Slavomír |date=2020-01-01 |title=Chapter 13 Maltese |url=https://www.academia.edu/43201849 |journal=Arabic and Contact-induced Change}}</ref> Cypriot Arabic is recognized as a minority language in Cyprus.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/14664208.2011.629113 |last1=Hadjioannou |first1=Xenia |last2=Tsiplakou |first2=Stavroula |last3=Kappler |first3=Matthias |year=2011 |title=Language policy and language planning in Cyprus |journal=Current Issues in Language Planning |volume=12 |issue=4 |page=508 |publisher=Routledge |hdl=10278/29371 |s2cid=143966308 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

== Status and usage ==

=== Diglossia ===
The sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern times provides a prime example of the linguistic phenomenon of [[diglossia]], which is the normal use of two separate varieties of the same language, usually in different social situations. ''Tawleed'' is the process of giving a new shade of meaning to an old classical word. For example, ''al-hatif'' lexicographically means the one whose sound is heard but whose person remains unseen. Now the term ''al-hatif'' is used for a telephone. Therefore, the process of ''tawleed'' can express the needs of modern civilization in a manner that would appear to be originally Arabic.<ref name="GUP">{{Cite book|title=Arabic Language and Linguistics|date=2012|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=9781589018853|jstor = j.ctt2tt3zh }}</ref>

In the case of Arabic, educated Arabs of any nationality can be assumed to speak both their school-taught Standard Arabic as well as their native dialects, which depending on the region may be mutually unintelligible.<ref>Janet C.E. Watson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4RDIoDAF1e8C&pg=PR19 The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414064146/https://books.google.com/books?id=4RDIoDAF1e8C&pg=PR19 |date=14 April 2016 }}, Introduction, p. xix. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-19-160775-2}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=oj5jAMspUfAC&pg=PA10462 Proceedings and Debates of the] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414102344/https://books.google.com/books?id=oj5jAMspUfAC&pg=PA10462 |date=14 April 2016 }} [[107th United States Congress]] [[Congressional Record]], p. 10,462. Washington, DC: [[United States Government Printing Office]], 2002.</ref><ref>Shalom Staub, [https://books.google.com/books?id=HPsCHy3nsA8C&pg=PA124 Yemenis in New York City: The Folklore of Ethnicity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414035902/https://books.google.com/books?id=HPsCHy3nsA8C&pg=PA124 |date=14 April 2016 }}, p. 124. Philadelphia: [[Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies]], 1989. {{ISBN|978-0-944190-05-0}}</ref><ref>[[Daniel Newman (academic)|Daniel Newman]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=DEdXz4OVvqMC&pg=PA1 Arabic-English Thematic Lexicon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413231019/https://books.google.com/books?id=DEdXz4OVvqMC&pg=PA1 |date=13 April 2016 }}, p. 1. London: Routledge, 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-134-10392-8}}</ref><ref>Rebecca L. Torstrick and Elizabeth Faier, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Jwp6D51NB34C&pg=PA41 Culture and Customs of the Arab Gulf States] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414064244/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jwp6D51NB34C&pg=PA41 |date=14 April 2016 }}, p. 41. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-313-33659-1}}</ref> Some of these dialects can be considered to constitute separate languages which may have "sub-dialects" of their own.<ref>[[Walter J. Ong]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=JXC217u47tEC&pg=PA32 Interfaces of the Word: Studies in the Evolution of Consciousness and Culture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414064010/https://books.google.com/books?id=JXC217u47tEC&pg=PA32 |date=14 April 2016 }}, p. 32. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2012. {{ISBN|978-0-8014-6630-4}}</ref> When educated Arabs of different dialects engage in conversation (for example, a Moroccan speaking with a Lebanese), many speakers [[Code-switching|code-switch]] back and forth between the dialectal and standard varieties of the language, sometimes even within the same sentence.

[[File:Flag of the Arab League.svg|thumb|upright|Flag of the [[Arab League]], used in some cases for the Arabic language]]
The issue of whether Arabic is one language or many languages is politically charged, in the same way it is for the [[varieties of Chinese]], [[Hindi language|Hindi]] and [[Urdu language|Urdu]], [[Serbian language|Serbian]] and [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Scots language|Scots]] and English, etc. In contrast to speakers of Hindi and Urdu who claim they cannot understand each other even when they can, speakers of the varieties of Arabic will claim they can all understand each other even when they cannot.<ref>Clive Holes, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8E0Rr1xY4TQC&pg=PA2 Modern Arabic: Structures, Functions, and Varieties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102102905/https://books.google.com/books?id=8E0Rr1xY4TQC&pg=PA2 |date=2 November 2022 }}, p. 3. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1-58901-022-2}}</ref>

While there is a minimum level of comprehension between all Arabic dialects, this level can increase or decrease based on geographic proximity: for example, Levantine and Gulf speakers understand each other much better than they do speakers from the Maghreb. The issue of diglossia between spoken and written language is a complicating factor: A single written form, differing sharply from any of the spoken varieties learned natively, unites several sometimes divergent spoken forms. For political reasons, Arabs mostly assert that they all speak a single language, despite mutual incomprehensibility among differing spoken versions.<ref>Nizar Y. Habash,[https://books.google.com/books?id=kRIHCnC74BoC&pg=PA1 ''Introduction to Arabic Natural Language Processing''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102102906/https://books.google.com/books?id=kRIHCnC74BoC&pg=PA1 |date=2 November 2022 }}, pp. 1–2. [[San Rafael, California|San Rafael, CA]]: Morgan & Claypool, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-59829-795-9}}</ref>

From a linguistic standpoint, it is often said that the various spoken varieties of Arabic differ among each other collectively about as much as the [[Romance languages]].<ref>Bernard Bate, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8uP7LHS3cDMC&pg=PT38 Tamil Oratory and the Dravidian Aesthetic: Democratic Practice in South India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102102907/https://books.google.com/books?id=8uP7LHS3cDMC&pg=PT38 |date=2 November 2022 }}, pp. 14–15. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-231-51940-3}}</ref> This is an apt comparison in a number of ways. The period of divergence from a single spoken form is similar—perhaps 1500 years for Arabic, 2000 years for the Romance languages. Also, while it is comprehensible to people from the [[Maghreb]], a linguistically innovative variety such as [[Moroccan Arabic]] is essentially incomprehensible to Arabs from the [[Mashriq]], much as French is incomprehensible to Spanish or Italian speakers but relatively easily learned by them. This suggests that the spoken varieties may linguistically be considered separate languages.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}[[File:Flag of Hejaz 1917.svg|thumb|upright|Flag used in some cases for the Arabic language (Flag of the [[Kingdom of Hejaz]] 1916–1925). The flag contains the four [[Pan-Arab colors]]: [[black]], [[white]], [[green]] and [[red]]. |alt=]]

=== Status in the Arab world vis-à-vis other languages ===
With the sole example of Medieval linguist [[Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati]] – who, while a scholar of the Arabic language, was not ethnically Arab – Medieval scholars of the Arabic language made no efforts at studying comparative linguistics, considering all other languages inferior.{{sfn|Versteegh|2014|p=107}}

In modern times, the educated upper classes in the Arab world have taken a nearly opposite view. [[Yasir Suleiman]] wrote in 2011 that "studying and knowing English or French in most of the Middle East and North Africa have become a badge of sophistication and modernity and ... feigning, or asserting, weakness or lack of facility in Arabic is sometimes paraded as a sign of status, class, and perversely, even education through a mélange of code-switching practises."<ref>Suleiman, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FQAiPgBRUkoC&pg=PA93 93] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414032933/https://books.google.com/books?id=FQAiPgBRUkoC&pg=PA93 |date=14 April 2016 }}</ref>

=== As a foreign language ===
Arabic has been taught worldwide in many [[elementary school|elementary]] and [[secondary school|secondary]] schools, especially Muslim schools. Universities around the world have classes that teach Arabic as part of their [[Foreign Languages|foreign languages]], [[Middle Eastern studies]], and [[religious studies]] courses. [[Arabic language school]]s exist to assist students to learn Arabic outside the academic world. There are many Arabic [[language school]]s in the Arab world and other [[Muslim world|Muslim]] countries. Because the Quran is written in Arabic and all [[Glossary of Islam|Islamic terms]] are in Arabic, millions<ref>{{Cite web|last1=M. Ed.|first1=Loyola University-Maryland|last2=B. S.|first2=Child Development|title=The Importance of the Arabic Language in Islam|url=https://www.learnreligions.com/arabic-language-in-islam-2004035|access-date=2021-01-07|website=Learn Religions|language=en|archive-date=1 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201010256/http://islam.about.com/library/weekly/aa032300a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> of Muslims (both Arab and non-Arab) study the language.

Software and books with tapes are an important part of Arabic learning, as many of Arabic learners may live in places where there are no academic or Arabic language school classes available. Radio series of Arabic language classes are also provided from some radio stations.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Quesada|first1=Thomas C.|title=Arabic Keyboard|publisher=Peter Jones|location=Madisonville|page=49|edition=Atlanta|url=https://arabic-keyboard.online|access-date=11 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927072656/http://www.arc-news.com/read.php?lang=en&id_articol=1059|archive-date=27 September 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> A number of websites on the [[Internet]] provide online classes for all levels as a means of distance education; most teach Modern Standard Arabic, but some teach regional varieties from numerous countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=Reviews of Language Courses|url=http://Lang1234.com|publisher=Lang1234|access-date=12 September 2012}}</ref>

== Vocabulary ==

=== Lexicography ===
{{See also|List of Arabic dictionaries}}

==== Pre-modern Arabic lexicography ====
The tradition of Arabic [[lexicography]] extended for about a millennium before the [[Modern era|modern period]].<ref name="Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE-2020">{{Cite journal |title=Lexicography, Arabic |year=2020 |publisher=Brill |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/*-COM_35848 |language=en |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_com_35848|journal=Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE}}</ref> Early lexicographers ({{Lang|ar|لُغَوِيُّون}} ''lughawiyyūn'') sought to explain words in the [[Quran]] that were unfamiliar or had a particular contextual meaning, and to identify words of non-Arabic origin that appear in the Quran.<ref name="Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE-2020" /> They gathered ''shawāhid'' ({{Lang|ar|شَوَاهِد}} 'instances of attested usage') from [[Arabic poetry|poetry]] and the speech of the Arabs—particularly the Bedouin {{Ill|ʾaʿrāb (Bedouins)|lt=ʾaʿrāb|ar|أعراب}} ({{Lang|ar|أَعْراب}}) who were perceived to speak the "purest," most eloquent form of Arabic—initiating a process of ''jamʿu‿l-luɣah'' ({{Lang|ar|جمع اللغة}} 'compiling the language') which took place over the 8th and early 9th centuries.<ref name="Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE-2020" />[[File:Birmingham Quran manuscript.jpg|thumb|Arabic from the Quran in the old Hijazi dialect (Hijazi script, 7th century&nbsp;AD)]][[Kitab al-'Ayn|''Kitāb al-'Ayn'']] ({{Circa|8th century}}), attributed to [[Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi]], is considered the first [[Dictionary|lexicon]] to include all [[Semitic root|Arabic roots]]; it sought to exhaust all possible root [[permutation]]s—later called ''taqālīb'' ({{Lang|ar|تقاليب}})''—''calling those that are actually used ''mustaʿmal'' ({{Lang|ar|مستعمَل}}) and those that are not used ''muhmal'' ({{Lang|ar|مُهمَل}}).<ref name="Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE-2020" /> [[Lisan al-Arab|''Lisān al-ʿArab'']] (1290) by [[Ibn Manzur]] gives 9,273 roots, while [[Taj al-ʿArus Min Jawahir al-Qamus|''Tāj al-ʿArūs'']] (1774) by [[Murtada al-Zabidi|Murtada az-Zabidi]] gives 11,978 roots.<ref name="Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE-2020" />

This lexicographic tradition was traditionalist and corrective in nature—holding that linguistic correctness and eloquence derive from Qurʾānic usage, {{Ill|Jahili poetry|lt=pre-Islamic poetry|fr|Littérature préislamique|ar|أدب جاهلي}}, and Bedouin speech—positioning itself against ''laḥnu‿l-ʿāmmah'' ({{Lang|ar|لَحْن العامة}}), the [[solecism]] it viewed as defective.<ref name="Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE-2020" />

==== Western lexicography of Arabic ====
In the second half of the 19th century, the British Arabist [[Edward William Lane]], working with the Egyptian scholar {{Ill|Ibrāhīm Abd al-Ghaffār ad-Dasūqī|ar|إبراهيم عبد الغفار الدسوقي}},<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Richards |first=D. S. |date=1999 |title=Edward Lane's Surviving Arabic Correspondence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25183625 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=1–25 |doi=10.1017/S135618630001590X |jstor=25183625 |s2cid=161420127 |issn=1356-1863}}</ref> compiled the ''[[Arabic–English Lexicon]]'' by translating material from earlier Arabic lexica into English.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2020 |title=Lane, Edward William |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/*-COM_35793 |journal=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |language=en |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_com_35793}}</ref> The German Arabist [[Hans Wehr]], with contributions from [[Hedwig Klein]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hedwig Klein and "Mein Kampf": The unknown Arabist - Qantara.de |url=https://en.qantara.de/content/hedwig-klein-and-mein-kampf-the-unknown-arabist |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=Qantara.de – Dialogue with the Islamic World |date=7 April 2018 |language=en}}</ref> compiled the ''[[Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart]]'' (1952), later translated into English as ''[[A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic]]'' (1961), based on established usage, especially in literature.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Abu-Haidar |first=J. A. |date=1983 |title=Review of A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (Arabic-English) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/615409 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=351–353 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00079040 |jstor=615409 |s2cid=162954225 |issn=0041-977X}}</ref>

==== Modern Arabic lexicography ====
The [[Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo]] sought to publish a [[historical dictionary]] of Arabic in the vein of the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', tracing the changes of meanings and uses of Arabic words over time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-15 |title=المعجم التاريخي للعربية.. ضوء في عتمة الهوان |url=https://www.hespress.com/المعجم-التاريخي-للعربية-ضوء-في-عتمة-ال-738317.html |access-date=2021-03-31 |website=Hespress – هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية |language=ar}}</ref> A first volume of [[Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (dictionary)|''Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr'']] was published in 1956 under the leadership of [[Taha Hussein]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=von Grunebaum |first=G. E. |date=1959 |title=Review of Al-Muʿjam al-kabīr, Murad Kāmil, Ibrāhīm al-Ibyārī |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/543279 |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=157–159 |doi=10.1086/371525 |jstor=543279 |issn=0022-2968}}</ref> The project is not yet complete; its 15th volume, covering the letter ''[[Tsade#Arabic ṣād|ṣād]]'', was published in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=الجبر |first=خالد |title=معجم الدوحة التاريخي للغة العربية.. الواقع الحقيقي للغة والحضارة |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/opinions/2022/8/30/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%ac%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%ae%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%82%d8%b9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%82%d9%8a%d9%82%d9%8a |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=www.aljazeera.net |language=ar}}</ref>

=== Loanwords ===
[[File:Folio Blue Quran Met 2004.88.jpg|thumb|The Qur'an has served and continues to serve as a fundamental reference for Arabic. ([[Maghrebi script|Maghrebi]] [[Kufic]] script, [[Blue Qur'an]], 9th–10th century.)]]
The most important sources of borrowings into (pre-Islamic) Arabic are from the related (Semitic) languages [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]],<ref>See the seminal study by Siegmund Fraenkel, ''Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen'', Leiden 1886 (repr. 1962)</ref> which used to be the principal, international language of communication throughout the ancient Near and Middle East, and [[Ge'ez language|Ethiopic]]. Many cultural, religious and political terms have entered Arabic from [[Iranian languages]], notably [[Middle Persian]], [[Parthian language|Parthian]], and (Classical) Persian,<ref>See for instance Wilhelm Eilers, "Iranisches Lehngut im Arabischen", ''Actas IV. Congresso des Estudos Árabes et Islâmicos, Coimbra, Lisboa'', Leiden 1971, with earlier references.</ref> and Hellenistic Greek (''kīmiyāʼ'' has as origin the Greek ''khymia'', meaning in that language the melting of metals; see [[Roger Dachez]], ''Histoire de la Médecine de l'Antiquité au XXe siècle'', Tallandier, 2008, p.&nbsp;251), ''alembic'' (distiller) from ''ambix'' (cup), ''almanac'' (climate) from ''almenichiakon'' (calendar).

For the origin of the last three borrowed words, see Alfred-Louis de Prémare, ''Foundations of Islam'', Seuil, L'Univers Historique, 2002. Some Arabic borrowings from Semitic or Persian languages are, as presented in De Prémare's above-cited book: {{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
*''madīnah''/[[medina]] (مدينة, city or city square), a word of Aramaic origin ܡܕ݂ܝܼܢ݇ܬܵܐ ''məḏī(n)ttā'' (in which it means "state/city").{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
*''jazīrah'' (جزيرة), as in the well-known form الجزيرة "Al-Jazeera", means "island" and has its origin in the Syriac ܓܵܙܲܪܬܵܐ ''gāzartā''.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
*''lāzaward'' (لازورد) is taken from Persian لاژورد ''lājvard'', the name of a blue stone, lapis lazuli. This word was borrowed in several European languages to mean (light) blue – azure in English, ''azur'' in French and ''azul'' in Portuguese and Spanish.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
[[File:Arabic_script_evolution.svg|thumb|Evolution of early [[Arabic script]] (9th–11th century), with the ''[[Basmala]]'' as an example, from [[kufic]] ''[[Qur'an|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Qur'ān}}]]'' manuscripts:

(1) Early 9th century, script with no dots or diacritic marks;(2) and (3) 9th–10th century under the Abbasid dynasty, [[Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali|Abu al-Aswad's]] system established red dots with each arrangement or position indicating a different short vowel; later, a second black-dot system was used to differentiate between letters like ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|fā'}}'' and ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|qāf}}'';

(4) 11th century, in [[Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi|al-Farāhidi's]] system (system used today) dots were changed into shapes resembling the letters to transcribe the corresponding long vowels.]]A comprehensive overview of the influence of other languages on Arabic is found in Lucas & Manfredi (2020).<ref name="Lucas2020"/>

=== Influence on other languages ===
The influence of Arabic has been most important in Islamic countries, because it is the language of the Islamic sacred book, the Quran. Arabic is also an important source of vocabulary for languages such as [[Amharic language|Amharic]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], [[Baluchi language|Baluchi]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Berber languages|Berber]], [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], [[Chaldean Neo-Aramaic|Chaldean]], [[Chechen language|Chechen]], [[Chittagonian language|Chittagonian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Dagestani language|Dagestani]], [[Maldivian language|Dhivehi]], [[English language|English]], [[German language|German]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Hausa language|Hausa]], [[Hindi]], [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], [[Kutchi Language|Kutchi]], [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]], [[Malay language|Malay]] ([[Malaysian language|Malaysian]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]), [[Pashto language|Pashto]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Rohingya language|Rohingya]], [[Romance languages]] ([[French language|French]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], etc.) [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Somali language|Somali]], [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]], [[Swahili language|Swahili]], [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]], [[Urdu]], [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]], [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]], [[Visayan languages|Visayan]] and [[Wolof language|Wolof]], as well as other languages in countries where these languages are spoken.<ref name="Lucas2020">{{Cite book
| veditors = Lucas C, Manfredi S
| title = Arabic and contact-induced change
| place = Berlin
| publisher = Language Science Press
| date = 2020
| format = pdf
| url = http://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/235
| doi = 10.5281/zenodo.3744565
| doi-access = free
| isbn = 978-3-96110-252-5
| access-date = 7 January 2021
| archive-date = 16 January 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210116141357/https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/235
| url-status = live
| last1 = Lucas
| first1 = Christopher
| last2 = Manfredi
| first2 = Stefano
}}</ref> [[Modern Hebrew]] has been also influenced by Arabic especially during the process of [[Revival of the Hebrew language|revival]], as [[Modern Standard Arabic|MSA]] was used as a source for modern Hebrew vocabulary and roots.<ref>{{Cite web|last=PhD|first=D. Gershon Lewental|title=Rasmī or aslī?: Arabic's impact on modern Israeli Hebrew by D Gershon Lewental, PhD (DGLnotes)|url=http://dglnotes.com/notes/arabic-hebrew.htm|access-date=2021-11-27|website=DGLnotes}}</ref>

[[English language|English]] has many Arabic loanwords, some directly, but most via other Mediterranean languages. Examples of such words include admiral, adobe, alchemy, alcohol, algebra, algorithm, alkaline, almanac, amber, arsenal, assassin, candy, carat, cipher, coffee, cotton, ghoul, hazard, jar, kismet, lemon, loofah, magazine, mattress, sherbet, sofa, sumac, tariff, and zenith.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.transparent.com/arabic/top-50-english-words-of-arabic-origin/|title=Top 50 English Words – of Arabic Origin|publisher=Arabic Language Blog|website=blogs.transparent.com|date=21 February 2012|access-date=2018-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215065830/https://blogs.transparent.com/arabic/top-50-english-words-of-arabic-origin/|archive-date=15 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Other languages such as [[Maltese language|Maltese]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=EB staff |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050379/Maltese-language |title=Maltese language – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=4 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605045845/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050379/Maltese-language |archive-date=5 June 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Kinubi]] derive ultimately from Arabic, rather than merely borrowing vocabulary or grammatical rules.

Terms borrowed range from religious terminology (like [[Berber languages|Berber]] ''taẓallit'', "prayer", from ''[[salat]]'' ({{lang|ar|صلاة}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ṣalāh}}'')), academic terms (like [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] ''mentiq'', "logic"), and economic items (like English ''coffee'') to [[placeholder name|placeholders]] (like [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''{{lang|es|fulano}}'', "so-and-so"), everyday terms (like [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] ''lekin'', "but", or Spanish {{lang|es|taza}} and [[French language|French]] ''{{lang|fr|tasse}}'', meaning "cup"), and expressions (like [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''{{lang|ca|a betzef}}'', "galore, in quantity"). Most Berber varieties (such as [[Kabyle language|Kabyle]]), along with [[Swahili language|Swahili]], borrow some numbers from Arabic. Most Islamic religious terms are direct borrowings from Arabic, such as {{lang|ar|صلاة}} (''ṣalāh''), "prayer", and {{lang|ar|إمام}} (''imām''), "prayer leader".{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

In languages not directly in contact with the [[Arab world]], Arabic loanwords are often transferred indirectly via other languages rather than being transferred directly from Arabic. For example, most Arabic loanwords in Hindustani and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] entered through [[Persian language|Persian]]. Older Arabic loanwords in [[Hausa language|Hausa]] were borrowed from [[Kanuri language|Kanuri]]. Most Arabic loanwords in [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] entered through [[Hausa language|Hausa]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

Arabic words made their way into several West African languages as Islam spread across the Sahara. Variants of Arabic words such as {{lang|ar|كتاب}} ''kitāb'' ("book") have spread to the languages of African groups who had no direct contact with Arab traders.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Gregersen|1977|p=237}}</ref>

Since, throughout the Islamic world, Arabic occupied a position similar to that of [[Latin]] in Europe, many of the Arabic concepts in the fields of science, philosophy, commerce, etc. were coined from Arabic roots by non-native Arabic speakers, notably by [[Aramaic]] and Persian translators, and then found their way into other languages. This process of using Arabic roots, especially in [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]] and Persian, to translate foreign concepts continued through to the 18th and 19th centuries, when swaths of Arab-inhabited lands were under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman rule]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

== Spoken varieties ==
{{Main|Varieties of Arabic}}
[[File:Arabic Varieties Map-2023.svg|thumb|center|upright=3|Geographical distribution of the varieties of Arabic per ''[[Ethnologue]]'' and [[:File:Arabic Varieties Map.svg|other sources]]:
{{legend-col|thumb size=wide
|{{legend|#ff4900|1: [[ISO 639:mey|Hassaniyya]]}}
|{{legend|#00c373|2: [[ISO 639:ary|{{ISO 639 name|ary}}]]}}
|{{legend|#009dff|3: [[ISO 639:aao|Algerian Saharan Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#ff00d6|4: [[ISO 639:arq|{{ISO 639 name|arq}}]]}}
|{{legend|#ddb92f|5: [[ISO 639:aeb|{{ISO 639 name|aeb}}]]}}
|{{legend|#00ffbd|6: [[ISO 639:ayl|Libyan Arabic – Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#e7c075|7: [[ISO 639:arz|{{ISO 639 name|arz}}]]}}
|{{legend|#51cc29|8: [[ISO 639:avl|Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#298dcc|9: [[ISO 639:aec|Saidi Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#cc29b2|10: [[ISO 639:shu|{{ISO 639 name|shu}}]]}}
|{{legend|#ccb929|11: [[ISO 639:apd|Sudanese Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#29cca2|12: [[ISO 639:pga|Sudanese Creole Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#ff9266|13: [[ISO 639:ars|{{ISO 639 name|ars}}]]}}
|{{legend|#66c4ff|14: [[ISO 639:apc|Levantine Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#ea93f0|15: [[ISO 639:ayp|North Mesopotamian Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#998e3d|16: [[ISO 639:acm|Mesopotamian Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#66ffd8|17: [[ISO 639:afb|Gulf Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#cc8366|18: [[ISO 639:abv|Baharna Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#bae344|19: [[ISO 639:acw|Hijazi Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#66a5cc|20: [[ISO 639:ssh|Shihhi Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#cc66bc|21: [[ISO 639:acx|Omani Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#ccc066|22: [[ISO 639:adf|Dhofari Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#66ccb2|23: [[ISO 639:ayn|Sanaani Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#f2ae92|24: [[ISO 639:acq|Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#79ba3c|25: [[ISO 639:ayh|Hadrami Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#91cdf2|26: [[ISO 639:auz|Uzbeki Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#a786f2|27: [[ISO 639:abh|Tajiki Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#a4a068|28: [[ISO 639:acy|Cypriot Arabic]]}}
|{{legend|#59a6b8|29: [[ISO 639:mlt|{{ISO 639 name|mt}}]]}}
|{{legend|#fc7183|30: [[ISO 639:kcn|Nubi]]}}
|{{legend|#fefee9ff|Sparsely populated area or no indigenous Arabic speakers}}
|Solid area fill: variety natively spoken by at least 25% of the population of that area or variety indigenous to that area only
|Hatched area fill: minority scattered over the area
|Dotted area fill: speakers of this variety are mixed with speakers of other Arabic varieties in the area
}}]]
''Colloquial Arabic'' is a collective term for the spoken dialects of Arabic used throughout the [[Arab world]], which differ radically from the [[literary language]]. The main dialectal division is between the varieties within and outside of the [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian peninsula]], followed by that between [[Varieties of Arabic#Typological differences|sedentary]] varieties and the much more conservative [[Bedouin]] varieties. All the varieties outside of the Arabian peninsula, which include the large majority of speakers, have many features in common with each other that are not found in Classical Arabic. This has led researchers to postulate the existence of a prestige [[Koiné language|koine]] dialect in the one or two centuries immediately following the [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab conquest]], whose features eventually spread to all newly conquered areas. These features are present to varying degrees inside the Arabian peninsula. Generally, the Arabian peninsula varieties have much more diversity than the non-peninsula varieties, but these have been understudied.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}[[File:Manuscript page by Maimonides Arabic in Hebrew letters (cropped).jpg|thumb|Maimonides' [[Autograph (manuscript)|autograph]] draft of ''[[The Guide for the Perplexed]]'' ({{lang|he|דלאלת אלחאירין}}, {{Lang|ar|دلالة الحائرين}} ''Dalālatu‿l-ḥāʾirīn''), in Arabic written with [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew letters]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cairo Genizah : Philosophy |url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-00010-KA-00004-00001 |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=Cambridge Digital Library}}</ref>]]Within the non-peninsula varieties, the largest difference is between the non-Egyptian [[Maghrebi Arabic|North African dialects]], especially [[Moroccan Arabic]], and the others. Moroccan Arabic in particular is hardly comprehensible to Arabic speakers east of [[Libya]] (although the converse is not true, in part due to the popularity of Egyptian films and other media).{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

One factor in the differentiation of the dialects is influence from the languages previously spoken in the areas, which have typically provided many new words and have sometimes also influenced pronunciation or word order. However, a more weighty factor for most dialects is, as among [[Romance languages]], retention (or change of meaning) of different classical forms. Thus [[Mesopotamian Arabic|Iraqi]] ''aku'', [[Levantine Arabic|Levantine]] ''fīh'' and [[Maghrebi Arabic|North African]] ''kayən'' all mean 'there is', and all come from Classical Arabic forms (''yakūn'', ''fīhi'', ''kā'in'' respectively), but now sound very different.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

=== Koiné ===
According to [[Charles A. Ferguson]],<ref>{{citation|first=Charles|last=Ferguson|title=The Arabic Koine|journal=Language|volume=35|year=1959|pages=616–630|issue=4|doi=10.2307/410601|jstor=410601}}</ref> the following are some of the characteristic features of the [[Koiné language|koiné]] that underlies all the modern dialects outside the Arabian peninsula. Although many other features are common to most or all of these varieties, Ferguson believes that these features in particular are unlikely to have evolved independently more than once or twice and together suggest the existence of the koine:
* Loss of the [[dual (grammatical number)|dual number]] except on nouns, with consistent plural agreement (cf. feminine singular agreement in plural inanimates).
* Change of ''a'' to ''i'' in many affixes (e.g., non-past-tense prefixes ''ti- yi- ni-''; ''wi-'' 'and'; ''il-'' 'the'; feminine ''-it'' in the [[construct state]]).
* Loss of third-weak verbs ending in ''w'' (which merge with verbs ending in ''y'').
* Reformation of geminate verbs, e.g., ''{{transliteration|ar|ḥalaltu}}'' 'I untied' → ''{{transliteration|ar|ḥalēt(u)}}''.
* Conversion of separate words ''lī'' 'to me', ''laka'' 'to you', etc. into indirect-object [[clitic]] suffixes.
* Certain changes in the [[cardinal number (linguistics)|cardinal number]] system, e.g., ''{{transliteration|ar|khamsat ayyām}}'' 'five days' → ''{{transliteration|ar|kham(a)s tiyyām}}'', where certain words have a special plural with prefixed ''t''.
* Loss of the feminine [[elative (gradation)|elative]] (comparative).
* Adjective plurals of the form ''{{transliteration|ar|kibār}}'' 'big' → ''{{transliteration|ar|kubār}}''.
* Change of [[Arabic grammar#Nisba|nisba]] suffix ''{{transliteration|ar|-iyy}}'' > ''{{transliteration|ar|i}}''.
* Certain [[lexical item]]s, e.g., ''{{transliteration|ar|jāb}}'' 'bring' < ''{{transliteration|ar|jāʼa bi-}}'' 'come with'; ''{{transliteration|ar|shāf}}'' 'see'; ''{{transliteration|ar|ēsh}}'' 'what' (or similar) < ''{{transliteration|ar|ayyu shayʼ}}'' 'which thing'; ''{{transliteration|ar|illi}}'' (relative pronoun).
* Merger of {{IPA|/ɮˤ/}} and {{IPA|/ðˤ/}}.

=== Dialect groups ===
* [[Egyptian Arabic]], spoken by 67 million people in [[Egypt]].<ref name="ARZ">{{e25|arz|Arabic, Egyptian Spoken}}</ref> It is one of the most understood varieties of Arabic, due in large part to the widespread distribution of Egyptian films and television shows throughout the Arabic-speaking world.
* [[Levantine Arabic]], spoken by about 44 million people in [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], [[State of Palestine|Palestine]], [[Israel]], and [[Turkey]].<ref name="e25apc">{{e25|apc|Levantine Arabic}}</ref>
** [[Lebanese Arabic]] is a [[Varieties of Arabic|variety]] of [[Levantine Arabic]] spoken primarily in [[Lebanon]].
** [[Jordanian Arabic]] is a continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of [[Levantine Arabic]] spoken by the population of the [[Kingdom of Jordan]].
** [[Palestinian Arabic]] is a name of several dialects of the subgroup of [[Levantine Arabic]] spoken by the Palestinians in [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestine]], by [[Arab citizens of Israel]] and in most Palestinian populations around the world.
** [[Samaritan alphabet|Samaritan Arabic]], spoken by only several hundred in the [[Nablus]] region.
* [[Cypriot Maronite Arabic]], spoken in [[Cyprus]] by around 9,800 people (2013 UNSD).<ref>{{e25|acy|Arabic, Cypriot Spoken}}</ref>
* [[Maghrebi Arabic]], also called "Darija", spoken by about 70 million people in [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]] and [[Libya]]. It also forms the basis of [[Maltese language|Maltese]] via the extinct [[Siculo-Arabic|Sicilian Arabic]] dialect.<ref name="Borg, Albert J. 1997">Borg, Albert J.; Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie (1997). Maltese. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-02243-6}}.</ref> [[Maghrebi Arabic]] is very hard to understand for Arabic speakers from the [[Mashriq]] or [[Mesopotamia]], the most comprehensible being [[Libyan Arabic]] and the most difficult [[Moroccan Arabic]]. The others such as [[Algerian Arabic]] can be considered in between the two in terms of difficulty.
** [[Libyan Arabic]], spoken in [[Libya]] and neighboring countries.
** [[Tunisian Arabic]], spoken in [[Tunisia]] and north-eastern [[Algeria]].
** [[Algerian Arabic]], spoken in [[Algeria]].
*** [[Judeo-Algerian Arabic]] was spoken by [[History of the Jews in Algeria|Jews]] in [[Algeria]] until 1962, now it is spoken by a few elderly [[History of the Jews in Algeria|Algerian Jews]] in France and Israel.
** [[Moroccan Arabic]], spoken in [[Morocco]].
** [[Hassaniya Arabic]] (3 million speakers), spoken in [[Mauritania]], [[Western Sahara]], some parts of the [[Azawad]] in northern [[Mali]], southern [[Morocco]], and south-western [[Algeria]].
** [[Andalusian Arabic]], spoken in [[Spain]] until the 16th century.
** [[Siculo-Arabic]] ([[Sicilian Arabic]]), was spoken in [[Sicily]] and [[Malta]] between the end of the 9th century and the end of the 12th century and eventually evolved into the [[Maltese language]].
*** [[Maltese language|Maltese]], spoken on the [[Malta|island of Malta]], is the only fully separate standardized language to have originated from an Arabic dialect, the extinct [[Siculo-Arabic]] dialect, with independent literary norms. Maltese has evolved independently of Modern Standard Arabic and its varieties into a standardized language over the past 800 years in a gradual process of [[Romanization of Arabic|Latinisation]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Borg and Azzopardi-Alexander|title=Maltese|date=1997| publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-02243-9|page=xiii|quote=In fact, Maltese displays some areal traits typical of Maghrebine Arabic, although over the past 800 years of independent evolution it has drifted apart from Tunisian Arabic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tYf-fZ-izycC&pg=PR13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Brincat, Joseph M. |date=Feb 2005 |publisher=MED Magazine |title=Maltese – an unusual formula|quote=Originally Maltese was an Arabic dialect but it was immediately exposed to Latinisation because the Normans conquered the islands in 1090, while Christianisation, which was complete by 1250, cut off the dialect from contact with Classical Arabic. Consequently Maltese developed on its own, slowly but steadily absorbing new words from Sicilian and Italian according to the needs of the developing community.|url=http://macmillandictionaries.com/MED-Magazine/February2005/27-LI-Maltese.htm|access-date=17 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208063739/http://macmillandictionaries.com/MED-Magazine/February2005/27-LI-Maltese.htm|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Maltese is therefore considered an exceptional descendant of Arabic that has no [[diglossia|diglossic]] relationship with [[Standard Arabic]] or [[Classical Arabic]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert D Hoberman|title=Morphologies of Asia and Africa, Alan S. Kaye (Ed.), Chapter 13: Maltese Morphology|date=2007|publisher=Eisenbrown|quote=Maltese is the chief exception: Classical or Standard Arabic is irrelevant in the Maltese linguistic community and there is no diglossia.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gaktTQ8vq28C&pg=PA257|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004103929/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gaktTQ8vq28C&pg=PA257|archive-date=4 October 2018|url-status=live|isbn=978-1-57506-109-2}}</ref> Maltese is different from Arabic and other [[Semitic languages]] since its [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] has been deeply influenced by [[Romance languages]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert D Hoberman|title=Morphologies of Asia and Africa, Alan S. Kaye (Ed.), Chapter 13: Maltese Morphology|date=2007|publisher=Eisenbrown|quote=yet it is in its morphology that Maltese also shows the most elaborate and deeply embedded influence from the Romance languages, Sicilian and Italian, with which it has long been in intimate contact....As a result Maltese is unique and different from Arabic and other Semitic languages.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gaktTQ8vq28C&pg=PA257|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004103929/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gaktTQ8vq28C&pg=PA257|archive-date=4 October 2018|url-status=live|isbn=978-1-57506-109-2}}</ref> It is the only Semitic language written in the [[Latin script]]. In terms of basic everyday language, speakers of Maltese are reported to be able to understand less than a third of what is said to them in [[Tunisian Arabic]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Mutual Intelligibility of Spoken Maltese, Libyan Arabic and Tunisian Arabic Functionally Tested: A Pilot Study|quote=To summarise our findings, we might observe that when it comes to the most basic everyday language, as reflected in our data sets, speakers of Maltese are able to understand less than a third of what is being said to them in either Tunisian or Benghazi Libyan Arabic.|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fling.auf.net%2Flingbuzz%2F002930%2Fcurrent.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=false&dov=1|access-date=23 September 2017|page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011132849/https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fling.auf.net%2Flingbuzz%2F002930%2Fcurrent.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=false&dov=1|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> which is related to Siculo-Arabic,<ref name="Borg, Albert J. 1997" /> whereas speakers of Tunisian are able to understand about 40% of what is said to them in Maltese.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mutual Intelligibility of Spoken Maltese, Libyan Arabic and Tunisian Arabic Functionally Tested: A Pilot Study|quote=Speakers of Tunisian and Libyan Arabic are able to understand about 40% of what is said to them in Maltese.|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fling.auf.net%2Flingbuzz%2F002930%2Fcurrent.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=false&dov=1|access-date=23 September 2017|page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011132849/https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fling.auf.net%2Flingbuzz%2F002930%2Fcurrent.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=false&dov=1|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> This [[mutual intelligibility|asymmetric intelligibility]] is considerably lower than the [[mutual intelligibility]] found between Maghrebi Arabic dialects.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mutual Intelligibility of Spoken Maltese, Libyan Arabic and Tunisian Arabic Functionally Tested: A Pilot Study|quote=In comparison, speakers of Libyan Arabic and speakers of Tunisian Arabic understand about two-thirds of what is being said to them.|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fling.auf.net%2Flingbuzz%2F002930%2Fcurrent.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=false&dov=1|access-date=23 September 2017|page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011132849/https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fling.auf.net%2Flingbuzz%2F002930%2Fcurrent.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=false&dov=1|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Maltese has its own dialects, with urban varieties of Maltese being closer to Standard Maltese than rural varieties.<ref name="isser">Isserlin (1986). ''Studies in Islamic History and Civilization'', {{ISBN|965-264-014-X}}</ref>
* [[Mesopotamian Arabic]], spoken by about 41.2 million people in [[Iraq]] (where it is called "Aamiyah"), eastern [[Syria]] and southwestern [[Iran]] ([[Khuzestan Province|Khuzestan]]) and in the southeastern of [[Turkey]] (in the eastern [[Mediterranean Region, Turkey|Mediterranean]], [[Southeastern Anatolia Region]]).
**[[North Mesopotamian Arabic]] is a spoken north of the [[Hamrin Mountains]] in [[Iraq]], in western [[Iran]], northern [[Syria]], and in southeastern [[Turkey]] (in the eastern [[Mediterranean Region, Turkey|Mediterranean Region]], [[Southeastern Anatolia Region]], and southern [[Eastern Anatolia Region]]).<ref>{{e25|ayp|Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken}}</ref>
**[[Judeo-Iraqi Arabic|Judeo-Mesopotamian Arabic]], also known as Iraqi Judeo Arabic and Yahudic, is a variety of Arabic spoken by [[History of the Jews in Iraq|Iraqi Jews]] of [[Mosul]].
**[[Baghdad Arabic]] is the Arabic dialect spoken in [[Baghdad]], and the surrounding cities and it is a subvariety of [[Mesopotamian Arabic]].
**[[Baghdad Jewish Arabic]] is the dialect spoken by the [[History of the Jews in Iraq|Iraqi Jews]] of [[Baghdad]].
**[[South Mesopotamian Arabic]] (Basrawi dialect) is the dialect spoken in southern [[Iraq]], such as [[Basra]], [[Dhi Qar Governorate|Dhi Qar]], and [[Najaf]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Müller-Kessler|first=Christa|date=2003|title=Aramaic ?k?, lyk? and Iraqi Arabic ?aku, maku: The Mesopotamian Particles of Existence|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3217756|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=123|issue=3|pages=641–646|doi=10.2307/3217756|jstor=3217756|issn=0003-0279}}</ref>
**[[Khuzestani Arabic]], spoken in the Iranian province of [[Khuzestan Province|Khuzestan]]. This is a mix of [[South Mesopotamian Arabic|Southern Mesopotamian Arabic]] and [[Gulf Arabic]].
* [[Khorasani Arabic]], spoken in the Iranian province of [[Khorasan Province|Khorasan]].
*[[Kuwaiti Arabic]] is a [[Gulf Arabic]] [[dialect]] spoken in [[Kuwait]].
* [[Sudanese Arabic]], spoken by 17 million people in [[Sudan]] and some parts of southern [[Egypt]]. Sudanese Arabic is quite distinct from the dialect of its neighbor to the north; rather, the Sudanese have a dialect similar to the Hejazi dialect.
* [[Juba Arabic]], spoken in [[South Sudan]] and southern far [[Sudan]].
* [[Gulf Arabic]], spoken by around four million people, predominantly in [[Kuwait]], [[Bahrain]], some parts of [[Oman]], eastern [[Saudi Arabia]] coastal areas and some parts of [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] and [[Qatar]]. Also spoken in [[Iran]]'s [[Bushehr Province|Bushehr]] and [[Hormozgan Province|Hormozgan]] provinces. Although Gulf Arabic is spoken in [[Qatar]], most Qatari citizens speak [[Najdi Arabic]] (Bedawi).
* [[Omani Arabic]], distinct from the [[Gulf Arabic]] of [[Eastern Arabia]] and [[Bahrain]], spoken in Central [[Oman]]. With its oil wealth and mobility it has spread to various areas of the former [[Sultanate of Muscat]], especially [[Zanzibar]] and the [[Swahili Coast]].
* [[Hadhrami Arabic]], spoken by around 8 million people, predominantly in [[Hadhramaut]], and in parts of the [[Arabian Peninsula]], [[South Asia|South]] and [[Southeast Asia]], and [[East Africa]] by [[Hadhrami people|Hadhrami]] descendants.
* [[Yemeni Arabic]], spoken in [[Yemen]], and southern [[Saudi Arabia]] by 15 million people. Similar to [[Gulf Arabic]].
* [[Najdi Arabic]], spoken by around 10 million people, mainly spoken in [[Najd]], central and northern [[Saudi Arabia]]. Most Qatari citizens speak Najdi Arabic (Bedawi).
* [[Hejazi Arabic]] (6 million speakers), spoken in [[Hejaz]], western [[Saudi Arabia]].
* [[Saharan Arabic]] spoken in some parts of [[Algeria]], [[Niger]] and [[Mali]].
* [[Baharna Arabic]] (800,000 speakers), spoken by [[Bahrani people|Bahrani Shias]] in [[Bahrain]] and [[Qatif]], the dialect exhibits many big differences from [[Gulf Arabic]]. It is also spoken to a lesser extent in [[Oman]].
* [[Judeo-Arabic languages|Judeo-Arabic]] dialects – these are the dialects spoken by the [[Jews]] that had lived or continue to live in the [[Arab world|Arab World]]. As Jewish migration to Israel took hold, the language did not thrive and is now considered endangered. So-called Qəltu Arabic.
* [[Chadian Arabic]], spoken in [[Chad]], [[Sudan]], some parts of [[South Sudan]], [[Central African Republic]], [[Niger]], [[Nigeria]], and [[Cameroon]].
* [[Central Asian Arabic]], spoken in [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], and [[Afghanistan]] by around 8,000 people.<ref>{{e25|abh|Arabic, Tajiki Spoken}}</ref><ref>{{citation|chapter=Central Asian Arabic: The Irano-Arabic Dynamics of a New Perfect|doi=10.4324/9780203327715-12 |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780203327715-12/central-asian-arabic-irano-arabic-dynamics-new-perfect-%C3%A9va-%C3%A1gnes-csat%C3%B3-bo-isaksson-carina-jahani|access-date=14 January 2023|title=Linguistic Convergence and Areal Diffusion |year=2004 |pages=121–134 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780203327715 }}</ref> Tajiki Arabic is highly endangered.<ref name="ELTajiki">{{Citation|title=Tajiki Spoken Arabic|url=https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/3585|website=Endangered Languages|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref>
* [[Shirvani Arabic]], spoken in [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Dagestan]] until the 1930s, now extinct.
* [[Indonesian Arabic]], spoken in Arab ethnic enclaves in [[Indonesia]], especially along the north coast of [[Java]]. It has about 60,000 speakers according to a rough estimate in 2010.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Evi Nurus Suroiyah |last2=Dewi Anisatuz Zakiyah |date=2021-06-07 |title=Perkembangan Bahasa Arab di Indonesia |trans-title=Development of Arabic in Indonesia |url=https://ejournal.iaiskjmalang.ac.id/index.php/muhad/article/view/302 |journal=Muhadasah: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=60–69 |doi=10.51339/muhad.v3i1.302 |issn=2721-9488|doi-access=free |language=id}}</ref>

== Phonology ==
{{Main|Arabic phonology}}

While many languages have numerous dialects that differ in [[phonology]], contemporary spoken Arabic is more properly described as a [[varieties of Arabic|continuum of varieties]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Kirchhoff|Vergyri|2005|p=38}}</ref> [[Modern Standard Arabic]] (MSA), is the [[standard variety]] shared by educated speakers throughout Arabic-speaking regions. MSA is used in writing in formal print media and orally in newscasts, speeches and formal declarations of numerous types.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Kirchhoff|Vergyri|2005|pp=38–39}}</ref>

Modern Standard Arabic has 28 [[consonant]] [[phoneme]]s and 6 [[vowel]] phonemes. All phonemes contrast between "[[emphatic consonant|emphatic]]" ([[pharyngealized]]) consonants and non-emphatic ones. Some of these phonemes have [[Phonetic merger|coalesced]] in the various modern dialects, while new phonemes have been introduced through [[Loanword|borrowing]] or [[phonemic split]]s. A "phonemic quality of length" applies to [[Gemination|consonants]] as well as [[Vowel length|vowels]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Holes|2004|p=57}}</ref>

== Grammar ==
[[File:Fa33aalah EN.pdf|thumb|upright=1.5|right|Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works]]
{{Main|Arabic grammar}}The [[Arabic grammar|grammar of Arabic]] has similarities with the [[Semitic languages#Grammar|grammar of other Semitic languages]]. Some of the typical differences between Standard Arabic ({{Lang|ar|فُصْحَى}}) and vernacular varieties are a loss of [[Morpheme|morphological markings]] of [[grammatical case]], changes in [[word order]], a shift toward more [[Analytic language|analytic]] morphosyntax, loss of [[grammatical mood]], and loss of the inflected [[passive voice]].

=== Literary Arabic ===
{{main|Modern Standard Arabic}}
As in other Semitic languages, Arabic has a complex and unusual [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], i.e. method of constructing words from a basic [[root (linguistics)|root]]. Arabic has a [[nonconcatenative morphology|nonconcatenative]] "root-and-pattern" morphology: A root consists of a set of bare consonants (usually [[triliteral|three]]), which are fitted into a discontinuous pattern to form words. For example, the word for 'I wrote' is constructed by combining the root '''{{transliteration|ar|k-t-b}}''' 'write' with the pattern '''{{transliteration|ar|-a-a-tu}}''' 'I Xed' to form ''{{transliteration|ar|katabtu}}'' 'I wrote'.

Other verbs meaning 'I Xed' will typically have the same pattern but with different consonants, e.g. ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|qaraʼtu}}'' 'I read', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|akaltu}}'' 'I ate', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|dhahabtu}}'' 'I went', although other patterns are possible, e.g. ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|sharibtu}}'' 'I drank', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|qultu}}'' 'I said', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|takallamtu}}'' 'I spoke', where the subpattern used to signal the past tense may change but the suffix ''{{transliteration|ar|-tu}}'' is always used.

From a single root '''{{transliteration|ar|k-t-b}}''', numerous words can be formed by applying different patterns:
* {{Script/Arabic|كَتَبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|katabtu}}'' 'I wrote'
* {{Script/Arabic|كَتَّبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kattabtu}}'' 'I had (something) written'
* {{Script/Arabic|كَاتَبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kātabtu}}'' 'I corresponded (with someone)'
* {{Script/Arabic|أَكْتَبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'aktabtu}}'' 'I dictated'
* {{Script/Arabic|اِكْتَتَبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|iktatabtu}}'' 'I subscribed'
* {{Script/Arabic|تَكَاتَبْنَا}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|takātabnā}}'' 'we corresponded with each other'
* {{Script/Arabic|أَكْتُبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'aktubu}}'' 'I write'
* {{Script/Arabic|أُكَتِّبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'ukattibu}}'' 'I have (something) written'
* {{Script/Arabic|أُكَاتِبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'ukātibu}}'' 'I correspond (with someone)'
* {{Script/Arabic|أُكْتِبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'uktibu}}'' 'I dictate'
* {{Script/Arabic|أَكْتَتِبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'aktatibu}}'' 'I subscribe'
* {{Script/Arabic|نَتَكَتِبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|natakātabu}}'' 'we correspond each other'
* {{Script/Arabic|كُتِبَ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kutiba}}'' 'it was written'
* {{Script/Arabic|أُكْتِبَ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'uktiba}}'' 'it was dictated'
* {{Script/Arabic|مَكْتُوبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktūbun}}'' 'written'
* {{Script/Arabic|مُكْتَبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|muktabun}}'' 'dictated'
* {{Script/Arabic|كِتَابٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kitābun}}'' 'book'
* {{Script/Arabic|كُتُبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kutubun}}'' 'books'
* {{Script/Arabic|كَاتِبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kātibun}}'' 'writer'
* {{Script/Arabic|كُتَّابٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kuttābun}}'' 'writers'
* {{Script/Arabic|مَكْتَبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|maktabun}}'' 'desk, office'
* {{Script/Arabic|مَكْتَبَةٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|maktabatun}}'' 'library, bookshop'
* etc.

====Nouns and adjectives====
Nouns in Literary Arabic have three grammatical [[noun case|cases]] ([[nominative case|nominative]], [[accusative case|accusative]], and [[genitive case|genitive]] [also used when the noun is governed by a preposition]); three [[grammatical number|numbers]] (singular, dual and plural); two [[gender (grammar)|genders]] (masculine and feminine); and three "states" (indefinite, definite, and [[Status constructus|construct]]). The cases of singular nouns, other than those that end in long ā, are indicated by [[suffix]]ed short vowels (/-u/ for nominative, /-a/ for accusative, /-i/ for genitive).

The feminine singular is often marked by {{script/Arabic|ـَة}} /-at/, which is pronounced as /-ah/ before a pause. Plural is indicated either through endings (the [[sound plural]]) or internal modification (the [[broken plural]]). Definite nouns include all proper nouns, all nouns in "construct state" and all nouns which are [[prefix]]ed by the definite article {{script/Arabic|اَلْـ}} /al-/. Indefinite singular nouns, other than those that end in long ā, add a final /-n/ to the case-marking vowels, giving /-un/, /-an/ or /-in/, which is also referred to as [[nunation]] or [[tanwīn]].

[[Adjective]]s in Literary Arabic are marked for case, number, gender and state, as for nouns. The plural of all non-human nouns is always combined with a singular feminine adjective, which takes the {{script/Arabic|ـَة}} /-at/ suffix.

[[Pronoun]]s in Literary Arabic are marked for person, number and gender. There are two varieties, independent pronouns and [[Enclitic#Enclitic|enclitics]]. Enclitic pronouns are attached to the end of a verb, noun or preposition and indicate verbal and prepositional objects or possession of nouns. The first-person singular pronoun has a different enclitic form used for verbs ({{script/Arabic|ـنِي}} /-nī/) and for nouns or prepositions ({{script/Arabic|ـِي}} /-ī/ after consonants, {{script/Arabic|ـيَ}} /-ya/ after vowels).

Nouns, verbs, pronouns and adjectives agree with each other in all respects. Non-human plural nouns are grammatically considered to be feminine singular. A verb in a verb-initial sentence is marked as singular regardless of its semantic number when the subject of the verb is explicitly mentioned as a noun. Numerals between three and ten show "chiasmic" agreement, in that grammatically masculine numerals have feminine marking and vice versa.

====Verbs====
{{further|Arabic verbs}}
Verbs in Literary Arabic are marked for person (first, second, or third), gender, and number. They are [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugated]] in two major paradigms ([[past]] and [[non-past]]); two [[grammatical voice|voices]] (active and passive); and six [[grammatical mood|moods]] ([[indicative]], [[imperative mood|imperative]], [[subjunctive]], [[Irrealis mood#Jussive|jussive]], shorter [[energetic mood|energetic]] and longer energetic); the fifth and sixth moods, the energetics, exist only in Classical Arabic but not in MSA.<ref>Rydin, Karin C. (2005). A reference grammar of Modern Standard Arabic. New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref> There are two [[participle]]s, active and passive, and a [[verbal noun]], but no [[infinitive]].

The past and non-past paradigms are sometimes termed [[perfective]] and [[imperfective]], indicating the fact that they actually represent a combination of [[Grammatical tense|tense]] and [[Grammatical aspect|aspect]]. The moods other than the [[indicative]] occur only in the non-past, and the [[future tense]] is signaled by prefixing {{Script/Arabic|سَـ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|sa-}}'' or {{Script/Arabic|سَوْفَ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|sawfa}}'' onto the non-past. The past and non-past differ in the form of the stem (e.g., past {{Script/Arabic|كَتَبـ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|katab-}}'' vs. non-past {{Script/Arabic|ـكْتُبـ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|-ktub-}}''), and use completely different sets of affixes for indicating person, number and gender: In the past, the person, number and gender are fused into a single [[suffix]]al morpheme, while in the non-past, a combination of [[prefix]]es (primarily encoding person) and suffixes (primarily encoding gender and number) are used. The passive voice uses the same person/number/gender affixes but changes the vowels of the stem.

The following shows a paradigm of a regular Arabic verb, {{Script/Arabic|كَتَبَ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|kataba}}'' 'to write'. In Modern Standard, the energetic mood, in either long or short form, which has the same meaning, is almost never used.

====Derivation====
Like other [[Semitic languages]], and unlike most other languages, Arabic makes much more use of [[nonconcatenative morphology]], applying many templates applied to roots, to [[Morphological derivation|derive]] words than adding prefixes or suffixes to words.

For verbs, a given root can occur in many different [[Derived stem|derived verb stems]], of which there are about fifteen, each with one or more characteristic meanings and each with its own templates for the past and non-past stems, active and passive participles, and verbal noun. These are referred to by Western scholars as "Form I", "Form II", and so on through "Form XV", although Forms XI to XV are rare.

These stems encode grammatical functions such as the [[causative]], [[intensive]] and [[reflexive verb|reflexive]]. Stems sharing the same root consonants represent separate verbs, albeit often semantically related, and each is the basis for its own [[Verb conjugation|conjugational]] paradigm. As a result, these derived stems are part of the system of [[derivational morphology]], not part of the [[inflection]]al system.

Examples of the different verbs formed from the root {{Script/Arabic|كتب}} ''{{transliteration|ar|k-t-b}}'' 'write' (using {{Script/Arabic|حمر}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ḥ-m-r}}'' 'red' for Form IX, which is limited to colors and physical defects):
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Most of these forms are exclusively [[Classical Arabic]]
! Form !! Past !! Meaning !! Non-past !! Meaning
|-
| I || ''{{transliteration|ar|kataba}}'' || 'he wrote' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yaktubu}}'' || 'he writes'
|-
| II || ''{{transliteration|ar|kattaba}}'' || 'he made (someone) write' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yukattibu}}'' || "he makes (someone) write"
|-
| III || ''{{transliteration|ar|kātaba}}'' || 'he corresponded with, wrote to (someone)' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yukātibu}}'' || 'he corresponds with, writes to (someone)'
|-
| IV || ''{{transliteration|ar|ʾaktaba}}'' || 'he dictated' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yuktibu}}'' || 'he dictates'
|-
| V || ''{{transliteration|ar|takattaba}}'' || ''nonexistent''|| ''{{transliteration|ar|yatakattabu}}'' || ''nonexistent''
|-
| VI || ''{{transliteration|ar|takātaba}}'' || 'he corresponded (with someone, esp. mutually)' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yatakātabu}}'' || 'he corresponds (with someone, esp. mutually)'
|-
| VII || ''{{transliteration|ar|inkataba}}'' || 'he subscribed' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yankatibu}}'' || 'he subscribes'
|-
| VIII || ''{{transliteration|ar|iktataba}}'' || 'he copied' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yaktatibu}}'' || 'he copies'
|-
| IX || ''{{transliteration|ar|iḥmarra}}'' || 'he turned red' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yaḥmarru}}'' || 'he turns red'
|-
| X || ''{{transliteration|ar|istaktaba}}'' || 'he asked (someone) to write' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yastaktibu}}'' || 'he asks (someone) to write'
|}

Form II is sometimes used to create transitive [[denominative verb]]s (verbs built from nouns); Form V is the equivalent used for intransitive denominatives.

The associated participles and verbal nouns of a verb are the primary means of forming new lexical nouns in Arabic. This is similar to the process by which, for example, the [[English gerund]] "meeting" (similar to a verbal noun) has turned into a noun referring to a particular type of social, often work-related event where people gather together to have a "discussion" (another lexicalized verbal noun). Another fairly common means of forming nouns is through one of a limited number of patterns that can be applied directly to roots, such as the "nouns of location" in ''ma-'' (e.g. ''{{transliteration|ar|maktab}}'' 'desk, office' < ''{{transliteration|ar|k-t-b}}'' 'write', ''{{transliteration|ar|maṭbakh}}'' 'kitchen' < ''{{transliteration|ar|ṭ-b-kh}}'' 'cook').

The only three genuine suffixes are as follows:
* The feminine suffix ''-ah''; variously derives terms for women from related terms for men, or more generally terms along the same lines as the corresponding masculine, e.g. ''{{transliteration|ar|maktabah}}'' 'library' (also a writing-related place, but different from ''{{transliteration|ar|maktab}}'', as above).
* The [[Arabic grammar#Nisba|nisbah]] suffix ''-iyy-''. This suffix is extremely productive, and forms adjectives meaning "related to X". It corresponds to English adjectives in ''-ic, -al, -an, -y, -ist'', etc.
* The feminine [[Arabic grammar#Nisba|nisbah]] suffix ''-iyyah''. This is formed by adding the feminine suffix ''-ah'' onto nisba adjectives to form abstract nouns. For example, from the basic root ''{{transliteration|ar|š-r-k}}'' 'share' can be derived the Form VIII verb ''{{transliteration|ar|ishtaraka}}'' 'to cooperate, participate', and in turn its verbal noun ''{{transliteration|ar|ištirāk}}'' 'cooperation, participation' can be formed. This in turn can be made into a nisbah adjective ''{{transliteration|ar|ištirākiyy}}'' 'socialist', from which an abstract noun ''{{transliteration|ar|ishtirākiyyah}}'' 'socialism' can be derived. Other recent formations are ''{{transliteration|ar|jumhūriyyah}}'' 'republic' (lit. "public-ness", < ''{{transliteration|ar|jumhūr}}'' 'multitude, general public'), and the [[Gaddafi]]-specific variation ''{{transliteration|ar|jamāhīriyyah}}'' 'people's republic' (lit. "masses-ness", < ''{{transliteration|ar|jamāhīr}}'' 'the masses', pl. of ''{{transliteration|ar|jumhūr}}'', as above).

=== Colloquial varieties ===
{{main|Varieties of Arabic}}
The spoken dialects have lost the case distinctions and make only limited use of the dual (it occurs only on nouns and its use is no longer required in all circumstances). They have lost the mood distinctions other than imperative, but many have since gained new moods through the use of prefixes (most often /bi-/ for indicative vs. unmarked subjunctive). They have also mostly lost the indefinite "nunation" and the internal passive.

The following is an example of a regular verb paradigm in Egyptian Arabic.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Example of a regular Form I verb in [[Egyptian Arabic]], ''kátab/yíktib'' "write"
! colspan="2" | Tense/Mood
! Past
! Present Subjunctive
! Present Indicative
! Future
! Imperative
|-
! style="width:100%;" colspan="7" | Singular
|-
! colspan="2" | 1st
| ''katáb-t''
| ''á-ktib''
| ''bá-ktib''
| ''ḥá-ktib''
| style="background: silver;" |"
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2nd
! <small>masculine</small>
| ''katáb-t''
| ''tí-ktib''
| ''bi-tí-ktib''
| ''ḥa-tí-ktib''
| ''í-ktib''
|-
! <small>feminine</small>
| ''katáb-ti''
| ''ti-ktíb-i''
| ''bi-ti-ktíb-i''
| ''ḥa-ti-ktíb-i''
| ''i-ktíb-i''
|-
! rowspan="2" | 3rd
! <small>masculine</small>
| ''kátab''
| ''yí-ktib''
| ''bi-yí-ktib''
| ''ḥa-yí-ktib''
| rowspan="2" style="background: silver;" |"
|-
! <small>feminine</small>
| ''kátab-it''
| ''tí-ktib''
| ''bi-tí-ktib''
| ''ḥa-tí-ktib''
|-
! style="width:100%;" colspan="7" | Plural
|-
! colspan="2" | 1st
| ''katáb-na''
| ''ní-ktib''
| ''bi-ní-ktib''
| ''ḥá-ní-ktib''
| style="background: silver;" |"
|-
! colspan="2" | 2nd
| ''katáb-tu''
| ''ti-ktíb-u''
| ''bi-ti-ktíb-u''
| ''ḥa-ti-ktíb-u''
| ''i-ktíb-u''
|-
! colspan="2" | 3rd
| ''kátab-u''
| ''yi-ktíb-u''
| ''bi-yi-ktíb-u''
| ''ḥa-yi-ktíb-u''
| style="background: silver;" |"
|}

== Writing system {{anchor|writing system}} ==
{{Main|Arabic alphabet|Arabic Braille}}
[[File:Menulis khat.jpg|thumb|[[Arabic calligraphy]] written by a Malay Muslim in Malaysia. The calligrapher is making a rough draft.]]
The Arabic alphabet derives from the Aramaic through [[Nabatean alphabet|Nabatean]], to which it bears a loose resemblance like that of [[Coptic alphabet|Coptic]] or [[Cyrillic script]]s to [[Greek alphabet|Greek script]]. Traditionally, there were several differences between the Western (North African) and Middle Eastern versions of the alphabet—in particular, the ''faʼ'' had a dot underneath and ''qaf'' a single dot above in the Maghreb, and the order of the letters was slightly different (at least when they were used as numerals).

However, the old Maghrebi variant has been abandoned except for calligraphic purposes in the Maghreb itself, and remains in use mainly in the Quranic schools ([[zaouia]]s) of West Africa. Arabic, like all other Semitic languages (except for the Latin-written Maltese, and the languages with the [[Ge'ez script]]), is written from right to left. There are several styles of scripts such as [[thuluth]], [[muhaqqaq]], [[tawqi]], [[rayhan]], and notably [[Naskh (script)|naskh]], which is used in print and by computers, and [[Ruq'ah|ruqʻah]], which is commonly used for correspondence.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tabbaa|first=Yasser|date=1991|title=The Transformation of Arabic Writing: Part I, Qur'ānic Calligraphy|journal=Ars Orientalis|volume=21|pages=119–148|issn=0571-1371|jstor=4629416}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Hanna|Greis|1972|p=2}}</ref>

Originally Arabic was made up of only ''rasm'' without diacritical marks<ref>{{cite book |title=What the Koran Really Says : Language, Text & Commentary |publisher=Prometheus |year=2002 |isbn=157392945X |editor-last=Ibn Warraq |author1=Ibn Warraq |location=New York |url=https://www.ebooklibs.co/book/view/1m41/what-the-koran-really-says.html |translator-last=Ibn Warraq |page=64 |ref=WtKRS-I-IW2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411194515/https://www.ebooklibs.co/book/view/1m41/what-the-koran-really-says.html |archive-date=11 April 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later diacritical points (which in Arabic are referred to as ''nuqaṯ'') were added (which allowed readers to distinguish between letters such as b, t, th, n and y). Finally signs known as ''[[Arabic diacritics#Tashkil (marks used as phonetic guides)|Tashkil]]'' were used for short vowels known as ''[[Arabic diacritics#Harakat (short vowel marks)|harakat]]'' and other uses such as final postnasalized or long vowels.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="7" |Arabic Alphabet
|-
! rowspan="2" |Wikipedia
Romanization
! rowspan="2" |Value in MSA 
([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]])
! colspan="3" |Contextual forms
! rowspan="2" |Isolated form
! rowspan="2" |No.
|-
!Final
!Medial
!Initial
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ʾ}} or {{transliteration|ar|ALA|ʔ}}, {{transliteration|ar|ALA|ā}}
|{{IPAslink|ʔ}}, {{IPAslink|aː}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـا}}}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ا]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="01." |1
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|b}}
|{{IPAslink|b}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـب}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـبـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|بـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ب]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="02." |2
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|t}}
|{{IPAslink|t}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـت}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـتـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|تـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ت]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="03." |3
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ṯ}} or {{transliteration|ar|ALA|th}}
|{{IPAslink|θ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـث}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـثـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ثـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ث]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="04." |4
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|j}}
|{{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}}*
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـج}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـجـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|جـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="05." |5
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ḥ}}
|{{IPAslink|ħ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـح}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـحـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|حـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ح]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="06." |6
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ḵ}} or {{transliteration|ar|ALA|kh}}
|{{IPAslink|x}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـخ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـخـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|خـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[خ]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="07." |7
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|d}}
|{{IPAslink|d}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـد}}}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[د]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="08." |8
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ḏ}} or {{transliteration|ar|ALA|dh}}
|{{IPAslink|ð}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـذ}}}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ذ]]}}}}
| data-sort-value="09." |9
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|r}}
|{{IPAslink|r}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـر}}}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ر]]}}}}
|10
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|z}}
|{{IPAslink|z}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـز}}}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ز]]}}}}
|11
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|s}}
|{{IPAslink|s}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـس}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـسـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|سـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[س]]}}}}
|12
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|š}} or {{transliteration|ar|ALA|sh}}
|{{IPAslink|ʃ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـش}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـشـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|شـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ش]]}}}}
|13
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ṣ}}
|{{IPAslink|sˤ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـص}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـصـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|صـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ص]]}}}}
|14
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ḍ}}
|{{IPAslink|dˤ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـض}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـضـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ضـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ض]]}}}}
|15
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ṭ}}
|{{IPAslink|tˤ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـط}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـطـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|طـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ط]]}}}}
|16
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ẓ}}
|{{IPAslink|ðˤ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـظ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـظـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ظـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ظ]]}}}}
|17
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ʿ}}  or {{transliteration|ar|ALA|ʕ}}
|{{IPAslink|ʕ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـع}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـعـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|عـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ع]]}}}}
|18
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ḡ}} or {{transliteration|ar|ALA|gh}}
|{{IPAslink|ɣ}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـغ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـغـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|غـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[غ]]}}}}
|19
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|f}}
|{{IPAslink|f}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـف}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـفـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|فـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ف]]}}}}
|20
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|q}}
|{{IPAslink|q}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـق}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـقـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|قـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}}
|21
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|k}}
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـك}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـكـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|كـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ك]]}}}}
|22
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|l}}
|{{IPAslink|l}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـل}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـلـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|لـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ل]]}}}}
|23
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|m}}
|{{IPAslink|m}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـم}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـمـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|مـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[م]]}}}}
|24
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|n}}
|{{IPAslink|n}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـن}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـنـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|نـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ن]]}}}}
|25
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|h}}
|{{IPAslink|h}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـه{{lrm}}}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـهـ{{lrm}}{{lrm}}}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|هـ{{lrm}}}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ﻩ]]}}}}
|26
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|w}}, {{transliteration|ar|ALA|ū}}
|{{IPAslink|w}}, {{IPAslink|uː}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـو}}}}
| colspan="2" |{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[و]]}}}}
|27
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|y}}, {{transliteration|ar|ALA|ī}}
|{{IPAslink|j}}, {{IPAslink|iː}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـي}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|ـيـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|يـ}}}}
|{{huge|{{lang|ar|[[ي]]}}}}
|28
|}
Notes:

* Modern Standard Arabic (Literary Arabic) {{angle bracket|{{lang|ar|ج}}}} can be pronounced {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}} or {{IPAslink|ʒ}} (or {{IPAslink|g}} only in Egypt) depending on the speaker's regional dialect.
* The [[Hamza]] {{angle bracket|{{lang|ar|ء}}}} can be considered a letter and plays an important role in Arabic spelling but it is not considered part of the alphabet.

=== Calligraphy ===
{{Main|Arabic calligraphy}}
After [[Khalil ibn Ahmad al Farahidi]] finally fixed the Arabic script around 786, many styles were developed, both for the writing down of the Quran and other books, and for inscriptions on monuments as decoration.

Arabic calligraphy has not fallen out of use as calligraphy has in the Western world, and is still considered by [[Arabs]] as a major art form; calligraphers are held in great esteem. Being cursive by nature, unlike the Latin script, Arabic script is used to write down a [[ayah|verse]] of the Quran, a [[hadith]], or a [[proverb]]. The composition is often abstract, but sometimes the writing is shaped into an actual form such as that of an animal. One of the current masters of the genre is [[Hassan Massoudy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hassan Massoudy |url=https://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/artist/iraq/hassan-massoudy/ |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=Barjeel Art Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>

In modern times the intrinsically calligraphic nature of the written Arabic form is haunted by the thought that a typographic approach to the language, necessary for digitized unification, will not always accurately maintain meanings conveyed through calligraphy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Osborn|first=J.R.|year=2009|title=Narratives of Arabic Script: Calligraphic Design and Modern Spaces|journal=Design and Culture|volume=1|issue=3|pages=289–306|doi=10.1080/17547075.2009.11643292|s2cid=147422407}}</ref>

=== Romanization ===
{{Main|Romanization of Arabic}}There are a number of different standards for the [[romanization of Arabic]], i.e. methods of accurately and efficiently representing Arabic with the Latin script. There are various conflicting motivations involved, which leads to multiple systems. Some are interested in [[transliteration]], i.e. representing the ''spelling'' of Arabic, while others focus on [[Phonetic transcription|transcription]], i.e. representing the ''pronunciation'' of Arabic. (They differ in that, for example, the same letter {{lang|ar|[[ي]]}} is used to represent both a consonant, as in "'''y'''ou" or "'''y'''et", and a vowel, as in "m'''e'''" or "'''ea'''t".)

Some systems, e.g. for scholarly use, are intended to accurately and unambiguously represent the phonemes of Arabic, generally making the phonetics more explicit than the original word in the Arabic script. These systems are heavily reliant on [[diacritic]]al marks such as "š" for the sound equivalently written ''sh'' in English. Other systems (e.g. the [[Bahá'í orthography]]) are intended to help readers who are neither Arabic speakers nor linguists with intuitive pronunciation of Arabic names and phrases.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

These less "scientific" systems tend to avoid [[diacritics]] and use [[digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] (like ''sh'' and ''kh''). These are usually simpler to read, but sacrifice the definiteness of the scientific systems, and may lead to ambiguities, e.g. whether to interpret ''sh'' as a single sound, as in ''gash'', or a combination of two sounds, as in ''gashouse''. The [[ALA-LC]] romanization solves this problem by separating the two sounds with a [[Prime (symbol)|prime]] symbol ( ′ ); e.g., ''as′hal'' 'easier'.

During the last few decades and especially since the 1990s, Western-invented text communication technologies have become prevalent in the Arab world, such as [[personal computer]]s, the [[World Wide Web]], [[email]], [[bulletin board system]]s, [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]], [[instant messaging]] and [[mobile phone text messaging]]. Most of these technologies originally had the ability to communicate using the Latin script only, and some of them still do not have the Arabic script as an optional feature. As a result, Arabic speaking users communicated in these technologies by transliterating the Arabic text using the Latin script.

To handle those Arabic letters that cannot be accurately represented using the Latin script, numerals and other characters were appropriated. For example, the numeral "3" may be used to represent the Arabic letter {{angle bracket|{{lang|ar|ع}}}}. There is no universal name for this type of transliteration, but some have named it [[Arabic Chat Alphabet]] or IM Arabic. Other systems of transliteration exist, such as using dots or capitalization to represent the "emphatic" counterparts of certain consonants. For instance, using capitalization, the letter {{angle bracket|{{lang|ar|د}}}}, may be represented by '''d'''. Its emphatic counterpart, {{angle bracket|{{lang|ar|ض}}}}, may be written as '''D'''.

=== Numerals ===
In most of present-day North Africa, the [[Western Arabic numerals]] (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) are used. However, in Egypt and Arabic-speaking countries to the east of it, the [[Eastern Arabic numerals]] ({{script/Arabic|٠}} – {{script/Arabic|١}} – {{script/Arabic|٢}} – {{script/Arabic|٣}} – {{script/Arabic|٤}} – {{script/Arabic|٥}} – {{script/Arabic|٦}} – {{script/Arabic|٧}} – {{script/Arabic|٨}} – {{script/Arabic|٩}}) are in use. When representing a number in Arabic, the lowest-valued [[positional notation|position]] is placed on the right, so the order of positions is the same as in left-to-right scripts. Sequences of digits such as telephone numbers are read from left to right, but numbers are spoken in the traditional Arabic fashion, with units and tens reversed from the modern English usage. For example, 24 is said "four and twenty" just like in the German language (''vierundzwanzig'') and [[Classical Hebrew]], and 1975 is said "a thousand and nine-hundred and five and seventy" or, more eloquently, "a thousand and nine-hundred five seventy".

=== Arabic alphabet and nationalism ===
There have been many instances of national movements to convert Arabic script into Latin script or to Romanize the language. Currently, the only Arabic variety to use Latin script is [[Maltese language|Maltese]].

====Lebanon====
The Beirut newspaper ''La Syrie'' pushed for the change from Arabic script to Latin letters in 1922. The major head of this movement was [[Louis Massignon]], a French Orientalist, who brought his concern before the Arabic Language Academy in Damascus in 1928. Massignon's attempt at Romanization failed as the academy and population viewed the proposal as an attempt from the Western world to take over their country. [[Sa'id al-Afghani|Sa'id Afghani]], a member of the academy, mentioned that the movement to Romanize the script was a [[Zionism|Zionist]] plan to dominate Lebanon.<ref name="shrivtiel179">{{cite book|last=Shrivtiel|first=Shraybom|title=The Question of Romanisation of the Script and The Emergence of Nationalism in the Middle East|date=1998|publisher=Mediterranean Language Review|pages=179–196}}</ref><ref name="shirvtiel188">Shrivtiel, p. 188</ref> [[Said Akl]] created a Latin-based alphabet for [[Lebanese Arabic|Lebanese]] and used it in a newspaper he founded, ''Lebnaan'', as well as in some books he wrote.

====Egypt====
After the period of colonialism in Egypt, Egyptians were looking for a way to reclaim and re-emphasize Egyptian culture. As a result, some Egyptians pushed for an Egyptianization of the Arabic language in which the formal Arabic and the colloquial Arabic would be combined into one language and the Latin alphabet would be used.<ref name="shrivtiel179" /><ref name="shirvtiel188" /> There was also the idea of finding a way to use [[Hieroglyphics]] instead of the Latin alphabet, but this was seen as too complicated to use.<ref name="shrivtiel179" /><ref name="shirvtiel188" />

A scholar, [[Salama Musa]] agreed with the idea of applying a Latin alphabet to Arabic, as he believed that would allow Egypt to have a closer relationship with the West. He also believed that Latin script was key to the success of Egypt as it would allow for more advances in science and technology. This change in alphabet, he believed, would solve the problems inherent with Arabic, such as a lack of written vowels and difficulties writing foreign words that made it difficult for non-native speakers to learn.<ref name="shrivtiel179" /><ref name="shirvtiel188" /> [[Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed|Ahmad Lutfi As Sayid]] and [[Muhammad Mustafa Azmi|Muhammad Azmi]], two Egyptian intellectuals, agreed with Musa and supported the push for Romanization.<ref name="shrivtiel179" /><ref name="shrivtiel189">Shrivtiel, p. 189</ref>

The idea that Romanization was necessary for modernization and growth in Egypt continued with Abd Al-Aziz Fahmi in 1944. He was the chairman for the Writing and Grammar Committee for the Arabic Language Academy of Cairo.<ref name="shrivtiel179" /><ref name="shrivtiel189" /> This effort failed as the Egyptian people felt a strong cultural tie to the Arabic alphabet.<ref name="shrivtiel179" /><ref name="shrivtiel189" /> In particular, the older Egyptian generations believed that the Arabic alphabet had strong connections to Arab values and history, due to the long history of the Arabic alphabet (Shrivtiel, 189) in Muslim societies.

== Sample text ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+From Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]
![[Modern Standard Arabic]], [[Arabic script]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=OHCHR &#124; Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Arabic (Alarabia) |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/arabic}}</ref>
![[ALA-LC]] transliteration
!English<ref>{{cite news |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights |newspaper=United Nations}}</ref>
|-
|{{rtl-para|ar|يولد جميع الناس أحراراً متساوين في الكرامة والحقوق، وقد وهبوا عقلاً وضميراً وعليهم أن يعامل بعضهم بعضاً بروح الإخاء.}}
|{{transl|ALA|Yūlad jamīʻ al-nās aḥrār-an mutasāwīn fil-karāma-ti wal-huqūq-i, wa-qad wuhibū ʻaql-an wa-ḍamīr-an wa-ʻalayhim an yuʻāmil-u baʻduhum baʻd-an bi-rūh al-ikhāʼ-i.}}
|All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Islam|Language}}
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Arabic Ontology]]
* [[Diglossia#Arabic|Arabic diglossia]]
* [[Arabic language influence on the Spanish language]]
*[[Arabic Language International Council]]
* [[Arabic literature]]
* [[Arabic–English Lexicon]]
* [[Arabist]]
* ''[[A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic]]''
* [[Glossary of Islam]]
* [[International Association of Arabic Dialectology]]
* [[List of Arab newspapers]]
* [[List of Arabic-language television channels]]
* [[List of Arabic given names]]
* [[List of countries where Arabic is an official language]]
* [[Arabic-based creole languages]]
* [[Varieties of Arabic]]
* [[List of French words of Arabic origin]]
* [[Replacement of loanwords in Turkish]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
*{{Cite JIPA|first1=Ibrahim|first2=Alfredo|first3=Amanda|last1=Al Malwi|last2=Herrero De Haro|last3=Baker|title=Abha Arabic|pages=1&ndash;19|doi=10.1017/S0025100323000269|onlinedate=2023-12-06|soundfiles=yes}}
{{refend}}

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{{Reflist}}

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* {{Citation |first = Laura Veccia |last = Vaglieri |title=Grammatica teorico-pratica della lingua araba |publisher=I.P.O. |location = Rome }}
* {{cite book | last=Versteegh | first=C. H. M. |author-link=Kees Versteegh| title=The Arabic Language | publisher=Edinburgh University Press | year=2014 | isbn=978-0-7486-4528-2|oclc=872980196}}
* {{Citation
|last = Watson
|first= Janet
|year= 2002
|title= The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic
|location = New York
|publisher = Oxford University Press
|isbn = 978-0-19-824137-9
}}
* {{Citation |first = Hans |last = Wehr |title = Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart: Arabisch-Deutsch |publisher = Harassowitz |year = 1952 |edition = 1985 reprint (English) |isbn = 978-3-447-01998-9 |title-link = Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart }}
* {{Citation |title = The New York Times Almanac 2002 |first = John W. |last = Wright |year = 2001 |publisher = Routledge |isbn = 978-1-57958-348-4 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{InterWiki|code=ar|Standard Arabic}}
{{InterWiki|code=arz|Egyptian Arabic}}
{{InterWiki|code=ary|Moroccan Arabic}}
{{Incubator|arq|lang=Algerian Arabic}}
{{Incubator|mey|lang=Hassaniya Arabic}}
{{Incubator|apc|lang=Levantine Arabic}}
{{Incubator|aeb|lang=Tunisian Arabic}}
{{Wiktionary category}}
{{Wikiversity}}
{{Wikibooks|Arabic}}
{{Commons category|Arabic language}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikivoyage|Arabic phrasebook|Arabic|a phrasebook}}

{{Clear}}
{{Arabic language}}
{{Arabic language books}}
{{Language histories}}
{{Semitic languages}}

{{Authority control}}

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