Getting to know the arabic language sept2011 final

Did you know?• -Arabic is one of the 6 official languages of the United Nations + English, French, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish • -Arabic is the fourth most widely-spoken language, a

Getting to Know the Arabic

Language ©

Getting to Know the Arabic

Language ©

A Brief Overview Susan A Hodge September 2011

Did you know?

• -Arabic is one of the 6 official languages of the

United Nations (+ English, French, Chinese,

Russian, and Spanish)

• -Arabic is the fourth most widely-spoken

language, after English, Spanish, and Chinese

• -number of native speakers: 220-280 million

(Did you know?)

• There are 3 functional types of Arabic language:

– Classical Arabic is the language of the Qur’an,

and is used primarily for reading and reciting

Islamic holy text

– Spoken Arabic has 4 regional dialects, but over

30 actual varieties of colloquial (spoken) Arabic around the world

– Modern Standard Arabic is used in the news and

on TV—the “common language” used by

speakers of different dialects

• A dialect is a different way of speaking the SAME language to say the SAME thing

• A dialect is not right or wrong, just different

• Can you name a dialect of English?

• Do you think that Rasha, Sami, Yasmin, and

Akram speak the same dialect?

(Did you know?)

Countries where Arabic is the primary spoken

language:

Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq,

Palestinian territories in Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian West Bank

& Gaza, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,

Tanzania, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen

(Classical Arabic is read everywhere that Islam is practiced.)

(Did you know?)

• Speakers of colloquial Arabic from different parts

of the world use dialects and may not understand each other! (They can use Modern Standard

Arabic to communicate with each other.)

• Native speakers of Arabic include Muslims,

Christians, and people of other faiths…but Arabic is the liturgical (religious) language of Islam.

• Which character in Bayoumi’s book is Christian?

Arabic literature

• Arabic has been a highly developed literary

language for over 1,500 years (including poetry).

Words derived from Arabic

• Algebra (al Jabr)

• Cipher (sifr, the name for “zero”)

• Alcohol (al quhul)

Characteristics of Arabic language

• Arabic an Afro-Asiatic language of the Semitic group

• Arabic is considered one of the “younger” Semitic

(characteristics of Arabic language)

• Semitic languages share this characteristic:

Verbs (and related adjectives) are based on a

group of 3 consonants

• For example: k-t-b : “write”

• ‘aktubu = I write katib = writer

• maktub = written kuttab = writers

• kitab = book maktab = office

• kutub = books maktabah = library

Text is written from right to lef

An Arabic name and an American name – both written in Arabic

An Arabic name and an American name – both written in Arabic

Kareem

Robert

Numbers are also listed from right to lef, but a

number with meaning is written lef to right:

12,345,678,910



(Characteristics of Arabic language)

• 28 letters (plus variations to make the sounds for

/p/ and /g/)

• no distinction between capital and small letters

• Only 3 long vowels (a, i, u)

• Other vowels are indicated by diacritical marks

(slashes, small circles, squiggles)

Arabic alphabet, continued

Summary of the alphabet

bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi

In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful -Qur’an, (Al-Fatiha 1:1)

(Characteristics of Arabic writing)

• Most letters change form and look different

when they appear at the beginning, in the

middle, or at the end of a word.

• Ex: hā’ h /h/ ه ـهـ ـ ـه ه

• Sometimes the letters are connected, but not

always – it depends.

“M’brook” = “congratulations!”

(notice: only some letters connect)

Writing as religious art – Bism’allah

(“In the name of God the Merciful the Compassionate”- Qur’an)

Dr Bayoumi’s book title

“Kaifa tashour wa ladaika ahnsas

anaka mushkela”

•(Mushkela = problem)

Some commonly used expressions

• In sha’ Allah = God willing

(said seriously or even informally)

• Bism’ Allah = in the name of God

(said when beginning a trip, reading, walking,

or even eating)

• Alhamdulillah! = Praise to Allah!

(said to express satisfaction, even after eating)

Meeting friends, in Arabic

• Hello! (informal) ahlan wa sahlan!

• Hello (peace to you): Salaam.

• How are you?: kheif halak? (m), haliki (f)

Now, meet the person next to you!

A: What is your name? ma ismuk? (m), ismuki? (f) B: My name is _ ismee _

Contact Susan Hodge at: shodge@uscupstate.edu

if you would like a list of websites for further

investigation, or a copy of these slides.

Special thanks to my teachers:

Dr Mirko Hall (Converse College) Mrs Laila Miraziz (USC Upstate)

and to Mr John Miraziz Shukran jiddan! (Thank you very much!)