Arabic is a language we must have come across at some point in time. The language, named after the Arabs that used to reside in the Arabian Peninsula, has been around for a very long time and has some interesting facts that you probably wouldn’t have known!
So let’s start
1. The Arabic language started out as poetry
The oldest recorded form of the Arabic Language was Poetry. This dates back to about 16 centuries ago. The language is thought to have emerged in 1st to 4th centuries CE.
2. Arabic is an Afro-asiatic language and belongs to the it’s Semitic branch
Afro-asiatic is a family of language with about 300 members. These languages are spoken primarily in larger parts of Africa and Middle East. It consists of 6 branches, one of it being Semitic, which along with Arabic, contains Hebrew, Aramaic, Ethiopic and many more.
3. It’s spoken by 300 million people around the world
Of the total countries in the Arab League, 22 of them have elected Arabic as their national language. Understandably, most these speakers are based around the Middle East and Africa region.
4. Most of the Arabic words are derived from its basic roots
For example, the pattern “k-t-b", can be used to derive words are place in the Semantic field of writing, like “kitaab" for books or “maktab" for office.
5. It has sounds that do not exist in any other language in the world.
Some Arabic syllables have sounds that are not in any other languages.
6. English language has words that are derived from the Arabic language
Alcohol, algebra, algorithm are some of the words that are derived from the Arabic language. Even the modern numeric system was introduced to Europeans via Arab merchants.
7. It has vastly different dialects in different areas of Africa and Middle East
People speaking with one dialect have a hard time recognizing other dialects even thought they’re the same language!