Arabic: The language with no capital letters
History of the language
The first written trace of Old Arabic was found in a 1st-century Sabaic script. The oldest preserved papyrus using the 28-letter Arabic alphabet is dated 643 CE. Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali standardized the language in the 7th century and was considered the Father of Arabic Grammar. Hundreds of years later, Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi created the first dictionary.
3 interesting facts about the Arabic language
The Arabic language is one of the few languages that is written and read from right to left. However, while Arabic words are written from right to left, Arabic numerals are written from left to right.
One prominently distinguishable feature of Arabic is that it is written in cursive, i.e. the letters are connected.
Most Arabic words start with consonants; all 28 letters in Arabic represent consonants and three also represent long vowels. Short vowels are indicated by markings.
How to say 10 common words and phrases in the Arabic language
Arabian language for beginners
Ten basic words to start learning in Arabic:
Hello = Marhaba
Bye = Wade'ana
Good morning = Sabah alkhayr
Thank you= Shukran
Holidays = Aleutal
Love = Ishq
Brother = Shaqiq
Good = Hasan
Today = Al Youm
Tomorrow = Bukra
Man is essentially ignorant and becomes learned through acquiring knowledge.
Ibn Khaldun
Philosopher, Sociologist, Historian
Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Kahlil Gibran
Poet, Writer, Visual Artist
Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave.
Prophet Muhammad
Founder of Islam, Political and Social Leader
3 Fun facts about the Arabic language
Over 10 words for "love"
Arabic has 14 words for "love" that describe the various stages. For example, “ishq” refers to intense love, while “hawa” refers to infatuation.
Over a hundred words for camel
Arabic has hundreds of words for "camel," depending on the breed, character, and position of a camel in a herd as well as other factors.
No use of the verb "to be" in the present tense
In Arabic, the present tense does not use the verb "to be." It is understood in the context. So, "I am Jack" is literally expressed as "I Jack."
FAQ
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the standardized form of Arabic that all Arab countries commonly use in writing and official settings and is the Arabic language to learn. However, the language has diglossia characteristics, meaning colloquial Arabic is almost a separate language with many regional variants.
Learning the Arabic language isn’t very easy, especially for speakers of Romanic and Germanic languages. As for difficulty, only Japanese, Mandarin, and some tribal languages rank higher.
Arabic has three distinctive forms. Classical Arabic is the language of the Qur’an and literature. MSA is the official language for written documents. Dialectal Arabic variants are for everyday use.
Arabic is the native and official or co-official language in 25 countries: for example, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and more.
Both languages are difficult. However, complexity in speech is more prominent in Arabic, while the writing system in Mandarin Chinese is substantially harder.
