Twenty-six countries
around the world have adopted Arabic as an official language - more than any
other language but English and French. There are
approximately 280 million native speakers, and it is a second language for
millions more who are familiar with Arabic through the recitation of the Koran.
As with the Chinese language, spoken dialects are not mutually understandable, but
Arabic speakers share a written language called Modern Standard Arabic. The
main dialects are Levantine (spoken in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine),
Egyptian, Iraqi, and Moroccan. Arabic is an official language of the United
Nations. (The New York Times ‘Smarter by Sunday – 52 Weekends of Essential
Knowledge for the Curious Mind’)
Twenty-six countries
around the world have adopted Arabic as an official language - more than any
other language but English and French. There are
approximately 280 million native speakers, and it is a second language for
millions more who are familiar with Arabic through the recitation of the Koran.
As with the Chinese language, spoken dialects are not mutually understandable, but
Arabic speakers share a written language called Modern Standard Arabic. The
main dialects are Levantine (spoken in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine),
Egyptian, Iraqi, and Moroccan. Arabic is an official language of the United
Nations. (The New York Times ‘Smarter by Sunday – 52 Weekends of Essential
Knowledge for the Curious Mind’)