Arabic

Modern Standard Arabic - (al- fuSHaa)

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is a modernised form of Classical Arabic, the language of the Qur'an. MSA is the universal language of the Arabic-speaking world that is understood, if not spoken, by most speakers of Arabic.

It is estimated that there are 246 million first-language speakers of all Arabic varieties worldwide. Of these, 206 million speak Modern Standard Arabic as a second dialect.

MSA Arabic is the official or co-official language of Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian West Bank and Gaza, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Mauritania, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. In addition to the Arab countries, in which Arabic speakers are concentrated, large numbers of Arabic speakers live in Iran and France (about 600,000 speakers each), and a substantial number of speakers live in Israel and parts of Africa (Ethnologue).

MSA is used in formal speaking situations, such as sermons, lectures, news broadcasts, and speeches, and in all formal writing such as official correspondence, literature and newspapers. There are no native speakers of MSA, the vast majority of educated Arabs learn it through formal schooling. In addition, many Arabs without formal schooling in MSA can understand it. MSA is quite uniform throughout the Arab world and serves as a lingua franca for speakers of various not mutually comprehensible spoken dialects.

The use of MSA varies somewhat across the Arab world. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, all radio and TV broadcasts are in MSA, regardless of their content. In the former French colonies of the Maghreb, there is a continued tendency to use French, rather than MSA, on formal occasions, and in writing. In most other Arabic-speaking countries, the use of MSA is reserved for formal occasions and formal programming in the media, with local dialects being used for all other programs.

MSA has several registers, or styles, each used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. The higher registers of MSA, used in formal settings, are close to Classical Arabic in grammar and vocabulary. They tend to be quite uniform across Arabic-speaking countries. Since the lower registers, used in informal contexts, represent a mixture of MSA and local dialects, they differ from country to country.

Although Ethnologue reports that 206 million people speak MSA, this figure must be taken with a grain of salt. The exact number of people who speak MSA is extremely difficult to estimate for a number of reasons. First, it is learned not as a first language, but as a second language in school and through exposure to radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and religion. Second, the skill levels in MSA vary widely. Educated people tend to be highly proficient in speaking and writing in MSA, in addition to speaking their local Arabic varieties. Among the rest of the population, the level of proficiency in MSA varies: some people may only be able to follow newscasts, some may be able to read newspapers, and some may be able to speak MSA with varying degrees of accuracy and fluency.

Eastern (Levantine) Arabic

Eastern, or Levantine, Arabic is a general term that covers a continuum of spoken dialects along the Eastern Mediterranean Coast in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel.

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the official language in each of the countries in which Levantine Arabic is spoken. MSA is used in education, for official purposes, in the media, and for written communication. Levantine colloquial Arabic is used in all informal settings, such as in the home, at work, among friends, and in the community. Levantine Arabic is recognised by Arabs virtually anywhere, in large part due to the large number of Lebanese and Palestinians who are living abroad.

Egyptian Arabic

Egyptian Arabic, or Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, is the national language of Egypt. It also serves as a second language in many countries of the Middle East.

Prior to the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th century AD, the Egyptians spoke Coptic, a later phase of ancient Egyptian. Following the Arab conquest, there was a prolonged period when both Coptic and Arabic were spoken in Egypt. Egyptian Arabic, as distinct from Classical Arabic and the variety spoken by the Arab invaders, is thought to have developed in the first Islamic capital of Egypt, that is now part of Cairo, the capital of present-day Egypt. With increased Islamization and Arabization of the country, Egyptian Arabic slowly replaced Coptic. However, there is evidence that Coptic Egyptian continued to be spoken until the 17th century AD. Coptic is still the liturgical language of the Egyptian Coptic Church.

It is estimated that Egyptian Arabic is spoken by over 44 million people in Egypt, the most populous Arabic-speaking country of 77 million people. It is also spoken in Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (Ethnologue). The total number of speakers of Egyptian Arabic is estimated to be over 46 million.

Although Egyptian Arabic is for the most part a spoken dialect, it is also used in vernacular literature, including novels, plays, and poems, as popular media, such as in comics, advertising, some newspapers, and in transcriptions of popular songs. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is used In most other written media and in TV broadcasts. MSA is spoken on all formal occasions and for all formal purposes.

Egyptian Arabic is widely understood throughout the Arab world because Egypt has been a dominant force in film and in the media. Egypt developed the first Arab-speaking local film industry, and Egyptian films are widely distributed throughout the Arab world. The Egyptian film industry has created some 3,000 full-length films since 1924 and has earned the name of 'Hollywood on the Nile.' As a result, Egyptian Arabic is usually chosen as the spoken dialect taught to students of Arabic as a foreign language.

Western (Maghreb) Arabic

Western, or Maghreb, Arabic is a continuum of spoken dialects in the Maghreb (which means 'western' in Arabic), the region of Africa north of the Sahara desert and west of the Nile that includes Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. It has a mixed Arab-Berber population that was historically referred to as Moors by the Europeans. The Maghreb varieties include the following, although some classify Libyan together with Egyptian Arabic.

Variety
Algerian
Moroccan
Tunisian
Libyan

Number of first-language speakers
21.1
19.5
9.0
4.5

Where spoken primarily
Algeria
Morocco
Tunisia
Libya

Language use in the Maghreb countries is characterised by diglossia, i.e., proficiency in two languages/dialects, namely local variety and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) which have specialised functions.

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)
MSA is a is the official language of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya. It is used in formal situations, such as sermons, lectures, news broadcasts, and speeches, and in all formal writing, such as official correspondence, literature and newspapers. There are no native speakers of MSA, the vast majority of educated Arabs learn it through formal schooling. In addition, many Arabs without formal schooling in MSA can understand it with varying degrees of facility. MSA is quite uniform throughout the Arab world and serves as a lingua franca for speakers of various spoken dialects, some of which are not mutually comprehensible.

Colloquial (spoken) Arabic
This term refers to the regional dialects, such as Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian and Libyan, used in everyday communication and popular culture throughout the region. All colloquial varieties are acquired by children as their first language. Arabs from one region can usually understand dialects from other regions, depending on their geographical proximity. Factors that differentiate colloquial varieties include the influence of languages that were spoken in the area prior to the arrival of the Arabs, neighbouring languages, and languages of the colonial powers.

Classical Arabic
This term refers to the written Arabic of the Qur'an and literature of the early period. It became the language of scholarship and religion with the spread of Islam. Its relation to the modern spoken varieties is similar to that of Latin to the modern Romance languages. It is used as the language of religious practice throughout the Islamic world. It is learned formally in school and has changed very little since the 7th century AD.

• Morocco - Since Morocco is a former French colony, French continues to be an important language in formal contexts where it competes with MSA, particularly in higher education and in written communication. A good percent of print and electronic media also use French.
• Tunisia - The dialect of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, is used in the media and in language textbooks for foreigners.

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