Arab

Varieties of Arabic

Arabic is a generic term which gathers many varieties:

the Classical Arabic : the language of Coran, spoken at the time of the expansion arabo-Moslem woman;
the Written Arabic : a form modernized but little differentiated from the classical Arabic, who is the common written language of all the countries Arabic-speaking people;
the Arab dialects: oral languages spoken in the Arab Countries, resulting from the classical Arabic, with substrates, superstrata and loans different according to the areas, and about the dialects spoken in distant areas are not easily comprehensible without training (which can take place by the means of the Egyptian series on television, for example, for the Egyptian dialect). Thus for an Iraqi, the Arab Morrocan will be as different as the Spanish for a French, which go in addition against the definition of Dialecte. The differences between dialects less moved away, like Algerian, Tunisian and the Morrocan, are less large but nevertheless represent an important handicap for the communication, as between French of Quebec and French of Europe. Generally the speakers of different dialects use the written Arabic rather, or the simplified shape of the written Arabic.

It should be noted that the Arab known as dialectal is not transmissible written in spite of several unfruitful attempts in Lebanon and in Egypt. Some allot this difference and regard it as a difference of accent because of l" geographical distance and especially consequence of the colonial time.

Arab country of language

See also: Arab Countries, List of the Arab country of language

Arab and Islam

The language of the Islam being Arabic, of many words of the religious field initially appeared in Arabic. Thus, certain religious words exist only in Arabic, or have an Arabic direction much more precise.

See also: Vocabulary of Islam, Arab Terms used in Islam

Cultural radiation

NonArab writers used the Arab language for their publications, for example the doctor and Persian philosopher Ibn Sina. The Norman kings of Sicily pricked themselves of speaking Arabic.

Today, though the international statute of this language remains undeniable, it has evil to be exported out of the Arab world. Its teaching abroad remains rather marginal. The political lack of will to promote the language, as well as a too large gap between written Arabic and dialectical Arabic are also obstacles with the real internationalization of Arabic. But recently, the appearance of new chains of information panarabes, such Al Jazeera or Al Arabia lets predict a revival of the Arab language through the media. It is as to note as Arabic remained a liturgical language in the majority of the Moslem countries, although Arabic ic Coran is far away from the modern Arab language today.

Languages derived from Arabic

Maltese

Diversity of the loans

Arabic bequeathed a series of words to the Romance Langues (and, from there, to the other languages of Europe), especially with the Spanish , the Italian and the Portuguese.

Loans in the French language

Presence of the article

One recognizes certain loans with Arabic in the Western languages with the fact that they often start with has or Al , which is not other than the Definite article in this language (one has Al normally and has when the Arab word started with a “solar consonant”, i.e. D , R , S , T and Z mainly; for more details, to consult Arabic alphabet ).

The Westerners by not being aware (phenomenon of Métanalyse), they sometimes preserved this article and have it bound with the mot. It is however notable that all the languages did not always preserve the article for the same mot. Ainsi, the Spanish and the Portuguese preserved some more than French: to algodón or azúcar in Spanish corresponds cotton and sugar , for example, or, one finds dogana in Italian opposite aduana in Spanish.

Loan of the figures

The Arab numerals, used in Western classification, were borrowed from the Arab , which themselves had borrowed them from the Indiens.

Currently, in the Arab World, only the Maghreb countries (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania) use these figures, the other countries use others of them, called “Indians” (where the 5 resembles our 0).

The “Arab numerals” in their current form were introduced in Europe by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci which learned from it the use in the town of Béjaïa capital of small Kabylie (Algérie) to the Moyen-âge. In 1202, Fibonacci publishes Liber Abaci (“books of calculations”), a Traité on the Calculs and the Comptabilité founded on the decimal Calcul with one time when all the Occident still used the Roman numerals and calculated on Abaque. This book is strongly influenced by its life in the Arab countries; it is written besides partly from right to left. By this publication, Fibonacci introduces the Arab marking system in Europe. This system is much more powerful and rapid that the Roman notation, and Fibonacci in is fully conscious. He however pained to be essential before several centuries. The invention will be badly received because the public did not include/understand any more calculations that made the tradesmen. In 1280, Florence prohibits even the use of the Arab numerals by the bankers. It was judged that the 0 brought confusion and of the difficulties so much so that they called this system will cifra (" sifr" , zero in Arabic), who took the significance of “secret code” in Latin.

Random links: