The Arabic Language is the primary language of most countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It is an international language and according to al-bab.com, it is the sixth most commonly spoken language in the world and been impacted by other languages throughout history. It is spoken as language by almost a third of a billion people and as a second language by a quarter-billion more.
The Arabic Language had a considerable influence on the vocabulary of many other languages including Urdu, Hindi, Spanish and Portuguese. Several common English words including "sugar" and "alcohol" are taken from Arabic. The Arabic Language is used both practically and artistically in its written from. Arabic calligraphy is a complex and painstaking art that requires years of study to master.
Arabic spoken in:
United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Yemen and many other countries as a minority language.
History
The Arabic language predates Islamic civilization, although it would not have risen to prominence without the rise of Islam. The first classical Arabic inscription was found near Damascus and written in the Aramaic script.
Geography
Arabic is distributed around North Africa and the Middle East as an official or co-official language. In places where it is not an official or first language, it may be important for international relations because it is the language of the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an.
