Importance of Arabic Language
Arabic Language Facts:
Language family: Central Semitic language
Spoken by 280 Million
Offical Language in 22 Countries
5th most spoken world language
Orgin 7th Century
What is the Arabic Language?
Arabic is a Semitic language originating from the Arabian peninsula.
With its Origins in the 6th Century, the Muslim World expanded, Arabic spread into Africa and Asia. The distribution of the Arabic language began within the seventh century throughout the Islamic conquests which expanded Arabic’s reach from the Middle Eastern countries into Northern Africa. Arabic began to prosper for a while before having to incorporate new words and technological dependent terms.
Arabic is considered to be one of the oldest languages in the world with a wealth of knowledge that Archeologists to this day are still trying to uncover. Importance of Arabic has roots going back as far as the sixth century. The Middle East has a rich storytelling history that has produced some of the most remarkable stories such as the Arabian Nights, Ali Baba, and Aladdin. Arabs have also made significant contributions in such areas as mathematics, navigation, belly dancing, astrology, and architecture.
Arabic Today
Today Arabic is the official language of 26 Countries and spoken by 280 Million worldwide.
One of the UN Six official languages. (UN’s 6 official languages: Chinese, Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish)
Example of Countries where the official language is Arabic:
- Bahrain,
- Comoros
- Chad,
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Mauritania
- Morocco,
- Oman
- Palestinian National Authority
- Qatar
- Western Sahara
- Saudi Arabia
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tunisia
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen.
An important thing to keep in mind when travelling to Arabic speaking countries. Each region has a different Arabic dialect that may or may not be understood in a different region.
Arabic has 2 forms:
- Classical Arabic (Fus-ha)
Language in which the Qur’an is wirtten. - Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)
Arabic dialect generally understood
Arabic is an extremely descriptive language. Where some languages has one word for something, Arabic has many.
Arabic has many words for ‘love’ and even hundreds for ‘camel’
Lets now explore why Arabic is Important:
The Muslim Religion
Arabic plays an important role in the Islamic faith because Arabic is the language of the Holy Quran. Muslims holds the importance of Arabic language in very high esteem with most of their beliefs being inseparable from Arabic.
Muslims considering Arabic the divine gift and a sacred part of their customs. They are required to perform five daily prayers in Arabic. Muslims believe that Arabic may be the mother of all languages in the world, is the very first language taught to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
Business of Arabic
The global importance of the Arabic language is highlighted by the growing presence of the Middle East.
Arabic is spoken by more than 260 million people throughout the world and is the main language of most of the Middle East.
Arabic is becoming an important language when it comes to operating an international business that’s trying to break into foreign markets.
Learning Arabic opens up many employment possibilities in a number of different industries:
- Oil
- Energy
- Travel
- Finance
- Translation
- Government
Importance of Arabic within the international intelligence gathering community when trying to extract information from highly valued targets and individuals.
With this level of high demand, they are prepared to pay a lot of money to individuals who utilize this particular important ability. Some businesses want Arabic speakers onboard specifically to contact local Arabic people and to obtain an edge when running a business that might otherwise end up being missed only using English interpretation and discussions.
Why Learn Arabic – Ten Reasons to Learn Arabic
You probably already have your own reasons to learn Arabic but in case you don’t have one already or still looking for more reasons to get motivated to learn Arabic. This article should help you answer the question “why learn Arabic?”
Reasons to Learn Arabic 1: Arabic is the fifth most spoken language in the world
The Arabic language is spoken by over 280 million speakers. Most Arabic speakers are found in the Middle East and are a presence as the official language of more than twenty countries with a minority of Arabic speakers all over the world. Arabic is also an official language of many world organizations. Arabic has a rich history and dated back as one of the oldest languages.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 2: High Demand but Low Supply of Arabic-Speakers in the Western World
Despite being one of the most spoken languages globally, there are very few Arabic translators available in the western world. With the increasing importance of the Arabic world in our daily news. There is a very high demand currently for more and more Arabic translators and interpreters are needed by government departments and agencies as well as corporations seeking to enter the global arena.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 3: Arabic is the Language of the Qur’an, the Holy Book of Islam
Arabic is the language of the Islamic Faith. The Qur’an is written in Arabic and as part of their faith are required to pray towards Mecca in Arabic fives times a day.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 4: There are Scholarship Opportunities for Arabic Studies
Because of the higher demand for people speaking Arabic, many of the world’s governments and agencies have been offering scholarships and other opportunities for individuals who are interested in Arabic studies and learning Arabic.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 5: A Growing Arabic Minority in the United States and All Over the World
Like the rest of the world, the United States as a growing minority of Arabic speakers. The estimated percent of Arabic according to recent census data is around four to five million. Even just a basic knowledge of the Arabic language and culture can improve understanding and acceptance of this often misunderstood and misrepresented a group of Americans.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 6: You Plan to Visit an Arabic Speaking Country
This one I’m sure you have the gist of already. If you plan to travel a lot to Middle Eastern countries then learning the Arabic language will come in handy when trying to find your way around and talking to the local people.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 7: Business Opportunities in Arabic Speaking Countries
Learn Arabic because the company you work for wants to branch out into the Middle East. The Arabic economy is one of the biggest in the world and doesn’t show signs of slowing down any time soon. This makes the Arabic world a great place to expand any business into.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 8: Learn Arabic as a Hobby/Love of Learning Languages
Maybe you are just one of those people that just enjoy learning languages for the fun of it! Once you’ve mastered the urge to learn more becomes pretty strong. Contrary to popular opinion, not much confusion happens between languages.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 9: Rich Cultural History of Arabic on the World.
Arabic is one of the oldest in the world with a wealth of knowledge that Archeologists to this day are still trying to uncover. Arabic has roots going back as far as the sixth century. The Middle East has a rich storytelling history and has produced some of the most memorable stories such as the Arabian Nights, Ali Baba, and Aladdin. Arabs have also made significant contributions in such areas as literature, mathematics, navigation, belly dancing, astrology, and architecture.
Reasons to Learn Arabic 10: Help Intercultural Understanding When Knowing Arabic
Arabic-speaking people have been demonized with one-dimensional negative stereotypes through most of the media and other outlets. This disconnect from reality is caused by a lot of miscommunication, and the inability to separate fact from fiction. Understanding the Arabic world to help bring the cultural and linguistic gap to halt to avoid intercultural conflicts.
Arabic is truly an amazing language to learn. I hope you find this article helpful in narrowing and strengthening your reasons to learn Arabic.
