Countries speaking Arabic. So how many peoples speak Arabic?

Language is perhaps the most important function of the human body - it allows us to get food as a child, it allows us to get almost anything we want as adults, and it also gives us many hours of entertainment through literature. , radio, music, and films. This list (in order from least common) summarizes the most important languages ​​in use today.

10. French

Number of carriers: 129 million

Often called the most romantic language in the world, French is spoken in many countries, including Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon and Haiti. Oh yes, in France too. We are actually very lucky that French is so popular because without it, we'd be stuck with Dutch Toast, Dutch Fries and Dutch Kisses (ugh!).

To say “hello” in French, you say “Bonjour.”

9. Malay-Indonesian language

Number of carriers: 159 million

Malay-Indonesian is spoken - surprise - in Malaysia and Indonesia. In fact, we will deviate from the quantity because there are many Malay dialects, the most popular of which is Indonesian. But they are all largely based on the same root language, making it the ninth most spoken language in the world.

Indonesia is a fascinating place; The nation is made up of more than 13,000 islands and is the sixth most populous country in the world. Malaysia borders two major regions of Indonesia (including borneo island), and is mainly known for its capital Kuala Lumpur.

To say “hello” in Indonesian, say “Selamat pagi” (se-LA-maht PA-gi).

8. Portuguese

Number of carriers: 191 million

Think of Portuguese as a small language. In the 12th century, Portugal gained independence from Spain and expanded throughout the world with the help of famous explorers such as Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator. (Good thing Henry became a navigator... could you imagine if a guy named “Prince Henry the Navigator” became a florist?) Since Portugal got into this exploration game early enough, the language took hold around the world, especially in Brazil (where it is the national language), Macau, Angola, Venezuela, and Mozambique.

To say “hello” in Portuguese, say “Bom dia.”

7. Bengali language

Number of carriers: 211 million

In Bangladesh, a country of more than 120 million people, nearly everyone speaks Bengali. And because Bangladesh is virtually surrounded by India (where the population is growing so fast that it feels like breathing the air could get you pregnant), the number of Bengali speakers in the world is much higher than most people would expect.

To say “hello” in Bengali, say “Ei Je.”

6. Arabic

Number of carriers: 246 million

Arabic, one of the oldest languages ​​in the world, is spoken in the Middle East, with speakers found in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. Moreover, because Arabic is the language of the Quran, millions of Muslims in other countries also speak Arabic. So many people have a working knowledge of Arabic, in fact, that it became the sixth official language of the United Nations in 1974.

To say “hello” in Arabic, say “Al salaam a’alaykum” (Al sa-LAM a a-LEY-kum).

5. Russian language

Number of carriers: 277 million

Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Yakov Smirnov are among the millions of Russian speakers. Of course, we are used to thinking of them as our communist enemies. Now we think of them as our communist friends. One of the six languages ​​of the UN, Russian is spoken not only in its homeland, but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan and the USA (we name a few places).

To say “hello” in Russian, you say “Zdravstvuyte” (Zdrav-stv-uite).

4. Spanish

Number of carriers: 392 million

Except for all those children who study it in high school, on Spanish spoken in approximately every South American and Central American country, not to mention Spain, Cuba and the USA. There is particular interest in Spanish in the United States, as many English words are borrowed from their language, including: tornado, bonanza, patio, quesadilla, enchilada, and taco grande supreme.

To say “hello” in Spanish, say “Hola” (OH-LA).

3. Hindustani

Number of carriers: 497 million

Hindustani is the main language of populous India, and it includes a huge number of dialects (of which Hindi is the most common). While many predict that India's population will soon surpass China's, the recognition of English in India prevents Hindustani from being recognized as the world's most popular language. If you are interested in getting some Hindi, there is a very simple way: rent an Indian movie. The film industry in India is the most prosperous in the world, producing thousands of action films/romances/musicals every year.

To say “hello” in Hindustani, say “Namaste” (Na-MA-ste).

2. English

Number of carriers: 508 million

While English does not have the most speakers, it is the official language of more countries than any other language. It is spoken all over the world, including New Zealand, USA, Australia, England, Zimbabwe, Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Africa and Canada. We would tell you more about English language, but you probably already feel pretty comfortable in this language. Let us just talk further about the most popular languages ​​in the world.

Today there are a huge number of language schools offering English courses in Moscow. The courses are taught using the latest educational methods. You study in English, without using Russian. All new words and concepts are explained by already familiar words, gestures, pictures - this makes the learning process much more interesting and interactive, but if learning is interesting, then the results will be better! After studying, all new constructions and words are immediately reinforced in practice, when working in pairs and mini groups. Thus, learning English in courses is not just about learning grammar and memorizing new words: you are learning to communicate.

1. Mandarin Chinese

Number of carriers: more than 1 billion.

Surprise, surprise, the most widely spoken language on the planet is found in the most populous country on the planet. Second place English has a 2 to 1 ratio of speakers, but that shouldn't give you any reason to think that Chinese easy to learn. Spoken Mandarin can be very rigid because each word can be spoken in four directions (or “tones”), and beginners are bound to have trouble distinguishing one tone from another. But if over a billion people could do it, you could too. Try saying hi!

To say “hello” in Chinese, say “Ni hao.” ("Hao" is pronounced as one syllable, but the tone requires your voice to drop halfway and then rise again at the end.)

Geographically, the Arab world covers the region from the Atlantic Ocean near the northern part East Africa to the Arabian Sea. A wide swath of the planet, including territory throughout North Africa, a large cluster in South-West Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, is connected by the Arabic language.

A Semitic language related to Hebrew, spoken by citizens of member states of the Arab states, founded in 1945 to represent the interests of the Arab people and achieve the political unification of Arab countries.

The political boundaries of the Arab world have historically diverged, leaving Arabs as minorities in Arab countries Sahel and Horn of Africa and Middle Eastern countries (Cyprus, Turkey and Iran). At the same time, non-Arab minorities remained in Arab countries. However, the underlying geography - sea, deserts and mountains - provides strong natural boundaries for the region.

Kingdom of Bahrain

• capital - Manama;
• The official language is Arabic.

Located in the Persian Gulf in the Bahrain archipelago, in southwest asia. The state has been governed as a constitutional monarchy since 2002 under the leadership of Sunni King Hamad ibn Isa Al-Khalifa, whose family holds all major political and military positions in the government. The gap between the Shia majority and the Sunni population led to long-term tensions that periodically erupted into civil disobedience.

Bahrain is one of the first countries in the Persian Gulf to discover oil (production began in 1932) and build an oil refinery. The energy sector remains the backbone of the kingdom's economy, making up a significant share of government revenue, but its share of GDP has also been declining due to earlier efforts to diversify the economy away from hydrocarbons.

Not reaching production levels like Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, Bahrain was forced to diversify its economy. This led to the kingdom becoming one of the main financial centers in the region. Transport links are being modernized and work is underway to expand Bahrain International Airport, which is expected to enhance the country's status as a transit and logistics center.

Iraq

• capital - Baghdad;
• official languages ​​are Arabic and Kurdish.

Once a country of great civilizations, Iraq, located in western Asia, in modern history has become a battleground for competing forces with high levels of sectarian violence since the US-led overthrow of President Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Shiite-led governments that have held power since then have struggled to maintain order, but the country has had only brief respites.

Archaeological sites of Samarra, Iraq

Chaos and violence are preventing the revival of an economy destroyed by decades of conflict and sanctions. Iran is the third largest country in the world in terms of crude oil reserves. The economy is expected to grow slightly in 2019, but much depends on the rise and fall of oil production and the economic fallout from the Islamic State (IS) insurgency. The budget deficit is constantly growing.

The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds. Others are Assyrians, Turkmens, Shabakis, Yezidis, Armenians, Mandaeans, Circassians and Kavliyas.

• capital - Doha;
• The official language is Arabic.

Since gaining independence in 1971, Qatar has quickly become a leader regionally and internationally. Economic, political and Cultural Center Middle East. With a relatively small local population and significant income generated from natural gas Qatar has the world's highest GDP per capita (averaging around US$100,000).

Until 2010, the country was mainly known internationally as the home of the Al Jazeera media network, but that all changed when Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in December 2010.

Numerous large billboard infrastructures continue to expand the construction industry. By emphasizing extensive international investment, ample spending on significant infrastructure projects, labor migration issues, and state involvement in foreign and regional affairs, Qatar has made a name for itself on the international stage.

Qatar's significant oil and natural gas reserves underpin rapid economic growth.

The country is the world's fourth largest producer of dry natural gas and the largest producer of liquefied natural gas, resulting in hydrocarbon revenues making up the bulk of national income.

Although the fall in global energy prices has impacted export earnings, last years Strong diversification of the economy has led to dividends, with non-hydrocarbon growth reaching 7.7% in 2015, compared with a 0.1% contraction for hydrocarbon growth over the same period. The country's financial sector continues to develop; Islamic banking in particular has witnessed significant progress.

Jordan

• capital - Amman;
• The official language is Arabic.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan lies in the heart of the Middle East, in a region often called the Levant. Jordan's importance stems from its strategic location - at the crossroads of what Christians, Jews and Muslims call the Holy Land.

Shares land borders with Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria. In the south it has access to the Red Sea through the Arabian Gulf. Jordan has few natural resources, but it has played important role in the struggle for power in the Middle East. Key US ally. One of two Arab countries (along with Egypt) to have concluded a peace agreement with Israel.

• capital - Sana'a;
• language - Arabic.

Despite its ancient roots as a crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the modern Republic of Yemen is a relatively young state. Founded in 1990 as a result of the merger of North Yemen (officially the Yemen Arab Republic) and South Yemen (officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen).

Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East. The ongoing conflict in the country has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. As of 2019, approximately 17 million Yemenis (60 percent of the total population) are in need of any kind of humanitarian assistance, and 7 million are experiencing severe food shortages.

(Kuwait; Arabic).

Kuwait is a small country located in southwest Asia, at the top of the region Persian Gulf, surrounded by powerful neighbors: Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. Its strategic location and vast oil reserves make Kuwait one of the richest countries in the world (5th highest GDP per capita). US ally.

A conservative state (sheikhdom) with a Sunni Muslim majority, Kuwait stands out from other monarchies in the Gulf region for its most open political system. As a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Kuwait is perhaps the most politically dynamic in the region, and tensions persist between the parliament and the cabinet controlled by ruling family Al-Sabah. The government faces growing opposition calls for radical political reform.

As Kuwait continues its efforts to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil revenues, it is increasing momentum on several major infrastructure projects that should help further integrate the country into the global economy.

To visit the country you need.

(Beirut; Arabic).

With high levels of literacy and traditional cash crops, Lebanon has always been important shopping center in the Middle East. Situated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria, Lebanon is the smallest country in the Middle East. But, despite its compact size, throughout its history it has played an important role in regional politics and security. Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Christians and Druze represent the main population groups in the country, which has always remained a haven for the region's minorities.

After years of political turmoil, Lebanon has regained its former reputation as the "Switzerland of the Middle East" and is becoming an important international destination for both leisure and business. Pristine natural beauty, beautiful mountain and seaside resorts, excellent weather conditions, excellent food, European architecture, exciting nightlife, casinos, international hotels attract wealthy travelers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

If you plan to visit the country and stay there for more than 30 days, then it is necessary.

(Abu Dhabi; Arabic).

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation of seven emirates, is one of the most important economic centers in the Middle East. Before oil was discovered in the 1950s, the UAE's economy depended on fishing and pearling. The UAE has diversified and has become a regional trade and tourism hub. UAE companies have invested heavily in foreign countries.

Despite its traditional conservatism, the UAE is one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf. However, politically they remain an authoritarian state. Federal absolute monarchy. The two most famous emirates are cosmopolitan Dubai and oil-rich Abu Dhabi.

In recent years, both have played key roles in managing trade and investment between the region and the rest of the world. Lesser-known emirates are Umm al-Quwain, Ajman, Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. Although in Lately they also become important shopping centers.

Relations with neighboring Iran remain tense due to the ongoing territorial dispute over the Persian Gulf islands. The UAE was one of three countries that recognized Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Oman

(Muscat; Arabic).

Located in the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, Oman is the only member of the Gulf Cooperation Council located outside the Gulf itself (at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula). Taking advantage of its strategic location, it invested in infrastructure with the goal of becoming a global logistics hub.

The country has smaller hydrocarbon reserves than neighboring Gulf Arab states and has made efforts to diversify the sultanate, driving economic growth. The long-term development strategy, Oman Vision 2020, emphasizes industrialization, privatization and Omanization. Logistics, tourism, mining, fishing and industrial production identified as potential future economic drivers and are the focus of development under Vision 2040.

The oldest independent state in the Arab world, Oman is one of the most traditional countries in the region. Oman has not been immune to political dissent in the region. Protests in 2011 demanding reform were broken up by police, and the following year the government began a crackdown on online criticism.

Those wishing to travel to the country must.

Saudi Arabia

(Riyadh; Arabic).

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the main players in the Arab world. Authority is built on geographic size, prestige as the birthplace of Islam and its status as a colossus as an oil producer. It stands out for its support of the puritanical version of Sunni Islam, which welcomes harsh punishments, executions (public beheadings), and the oppression of women. It doesn't just come out that way.

State of Palestine

• capital - Ramallah;
• language - Arabic.

A de jure sovereign state in the Middle East. The West Bank - bordering Israel and Jordan - and the Gaza Strip - bordering Israel and Egypt - with East Jerusalem as the designated capital, although the administrative center is located in Ramallah. The Palestinians seek self-determination but have achieved only limited control over their territories. The economy is fragmented and subject to Israeli restrictions. A significant portion of the population depends on international food aid.

The Palestinian population - some ten or eleven million people - is divided between historical Palestine and a diaspora in neighboring Arab countries. Efforts to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza on the Mediterranean coast have been thwarted by the ongoing conflict with Israel and disputes over the status of diaspora Palestinians.

The war that followed Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 saw the former British Mandate of Palestine divided between Israel, Trans-Jordan and Egypt. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced from their homeland during the war - the Palestinian exodus, which they call the Nakba (catastrophe).

Syria

The capital is Damascus.

Once the center of the Islamic Caliphate, Syria occupied territory that had experienced invasions over the centuries, from the Romans and Mongols to the Crusaders and Turks. A land of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, home to a variety of ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shiites and Arab Sunnis, the latter of whom make up the majority Muslim population.

Modern Syria gained independence from France in 1946, but has experienced periods of political instability due to the conflicting interests of these various groups.
Since 2011, political power in the hands of a small elite has been contested in a brutal civil conflict, initially sparked by the Arab Spring, that has evolved into a complex war involving regional and international powers.

Algeria's national commitment to pan-Arabism and the Arab world in the Middle East and North Africa has led to an active role in the region. It joined the League of Arab States (LAS) immediately after the declaration of national independence in 1962.

To go to Algeria you need.

Djibouti

• capital - Djibouti;
• languages ​​- Arabic, French.

Located on the northeastern coast of Africa, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Djibouti - officially the Republic of Djibouti - is bordered to the east by the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Thanks to geographical location Djibouti is of significant geopolitical interest, controlling access to and access to the main waterway- The Red Sea and one of the world's busiest shipping routes, the Suez Canal. Djibouti was a French protectorate (first a colony, then an overseas territory) until 1977. Supports foreign military presence: In 2002, the United States of America established the largest American military base in Africa (Camp Lemonnier) in Djibouti.

The seaport is the main source of the economy, providing the largest source of income and employment. In terms of metals and minerals, there are some deposits of gold, granite, limestone and marble. Djibouti is also seeking to exploit its significant geothermal resources to meet domestic energy demand.

• capital - Cairo;
• language – Arabic.

Famed for its ancient civilization, Egypt, the largest Arab country, plays a central role in Middle Eastern politics in the modern era. Big cities Egypt and almost all agricultural activity is concentrated along the banks and delta of the Nile. Most of the country is desert.

The economy is highly dependent on Agriculture, tourism and remittances from Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. However, rapid population growth and limited arable land are straining the country's resources and economy, and political instability often paralyzes government efforts to solve problems.

Egypt's great past and the fact that it was one of the first countries in the Middle East to open up to the Western world after Napoleon's invasion gives it the right to claim the role of intellectual and cultural leader in the region. Al-Azhar Mosque ( Mosque of the Most Shining One) in Cairo is a symbol of Islamic Egypt and is extremely revered in the Sunni Muslim world.

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario Front in 1976, is now recognized by many governments and is a full member of the African Union. A buffer strip with landmines and fortifications runs the length of the disputed territory and separates the Moroccan-based western part from the eastern region controlled by the Polisario Front.

In addition to phosphate reserves and rich fishing grounds off the coast, Western Sahara is believed to have offshore oil fields.

Libya

• capital - Tripoli;
• language - Arabic.

Libya, located in northern Africa's Maghreb region, is a largely desert, oil-rich country with ancient history. It is washed in the north by the Mediterranean Sea and borders Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria and Tunisia. In modern history, it is known for the 42-year rule of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the chaos that followed his overthrow in 2011 as a result of an armed rebellion facilitated by Western military intervention. In recent years, Libya has been a key staging area for migrants heading to Europe.

There are serious concerns about the rise of Islamist militancy. Libya's economy continues to shrink. The influx of foreign direct investment has virtually ceased, and unemployment has risen sharply. The current account deficit accounted for almost half of GDP in 2017, while exports fell sharply. Crude oil production has been declining since 2013. The economy may recover in the next few years, but this largely depends on a stable government and improved security.

To travel to Libya, foreigners must

The content of the article

ARABIC LANGUAGE, a generalized name for the various dialects and dialects spoken by Arabs (hereinafter these numerous oral forms are called colloquial Arabic, abbreviated RAYA), as well as the common literary language for them (hereinafter abbreviated LAYA; the term “standard Arabic” is also used abroad) . Belongs to the Afroasiatic language macrofamily. It is the existence of LAYA as a common supra-dialectal form and its high prestige (this is, first of all, the language of the Koran, as well as a literature enormous in volume and time of existence) in combination with a general ethnic identity that determines the recognition of widely differing Arabic territorial dialects - more than 30 in total - a single language.

HISTORY OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE AND ITS SOCIOLINGUISTIC CHARACTERISTICS

Mentions of the peoples of the Arabian Desert, called “Arabs,” are found in Assyrian military chronicles of the 8th–7th centuries. BC, in biblical texts of the 9th century. BC, in epigraphic texts of the ancient states of South Arabia (1st millennium BC - mid-1st millennium AD), in ancient authors (for example, in Herodotus, 5th century BC .), in early medieval Byzantine and Syrian sources. When applied to the Arabic language, this name was noted in the 3rd century. BC. in Hebrew sources in the form as. Among the native speakers themselves, the name “Arabs” and “Arabic” for themselves and their language has been fixed since the emergence and spread of Islam. The first use of the name “Arabic language” in Arabic sources is noted in the Koran (mid-7th century AD) in the form (Sura XVI, verse 103/105 and several others), which means “the Arabic language is clear/understandable.”

Arabic is spoken in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Somalia, Djibouti, and the Republic of Chad. Arabic dialects are also found in “islands” in the territories of neighboring African states, in Turkey, Cyprus, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia(in Uzbekistan). The literary form of the Arabic language is the official language of all Arab countries, one of the official and working languages ​​of the UN. The Maltese dialect of Arabic has a literary and written form that is different from LAYA, and is the only Arabic dialect that is considered an independent language; in Malta it has state status. Total The Arabic-speaking population currently ranges from 190 to 250 million people, according to various sources.

It is assumed that in the first centuries of our era, the Arabic language was a collection of closely related tribal dialects common in the central and northern regions of the Arabian Peninsula. Along with tribal and territorial dialects, a single form of poetic language was emerging. The works of tribal poets were composed and passed down orally from tribe to tribe and from generation to generation. At the same time, a unified oral form of the sacred language of priests and soothsayers was formed. Subsequently, the processed oral forms of a single intertribal language became the basis for the formation of a literary and written common Arabic language.

The first written monument of the common Arabic language is the Koran, written down in the mid-7th century. AD The sacred nature of the text of the Koran has determined the preservation of all its linguistic features without significant changes to the present day. In the 8th–9th centuries. AD Monuments of oral tribal poetry were also recorded. Literary form of the language during the 8th–10th centuries. AD improves in the written field in scientific and educated circles of society. Due to the consolidation of Arab society, the addition Muslim community, the spread of Islam, the formation of the state, administration and army, a colloquial common Arabic language such as Koine was formed.

Along with the development of the standard literary form of the Arabic language, the direct descendants of the ancient tribal dialects continue to function in the Arabic-speaking environment. Distribution of Arabs in the 7th–9th centuries. into the non-Arab territories of Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt and North Africa, as well as into the Iberian Peninsula, Iran and Central Asia, leads to the formation of new local territorial dialects of Arabic, which superimpose on the ancient tribal dialects.

Currently, Arabic dialects are classified according to two main parameters - social and territorial. According to social characteristics, they are divided into nomadic and sedentary, and the latter, in turn, into urban and rural. The social division of dialects is superimposed by geographical division. Based on geography, modern Arabic dialects are divided into two large groups: eastern(Mashriq), consisting of four subgroups - Mesopotamian, Arabian, Central Arab and Egyptian-Sudanese - and western(Maghrebian, or North African). The eastern group also includes the “island” Arabic dialects of Central Asia.

Medieval Arabic sources indicate that the divergence between literary Arabic and its dialectally fragmented colloquial form already by the 10th century. observed in all Arabic-speaking territories. Later LAYA becomes the language of the educated strata of society. The classical heritage of LAYA is of global importance and is represented by a huge corpus of Arabic poetry, artistic, historical and geographical prose, translations of ancient scientific works and his own works on astronomy, mathematics, medicine and other exact and natural sciences, philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, linguistics. Currently, LAYA functions in the religious sphere (not only in the Arab, but throughout the Muslim world), in the media, in the administrative, scientific and literary spheres of activity, and in the field of education.

The oral-conversational form (RAYA), represented in each case by the local dialect, serves everyday spheres of communication at all levels: family, production, trade, households and on the street; it has long been used verbally folk art(for example, fairy tale texts 1001 nights, recorded in the 14th–16th centuries. in Egypt, are characterized by signs of urban spoken language).

Such coexistence of two structurally different forms of language, opposed as “high” and “low”, is called diglossia in sociolinguistics. Unlike bilingualism (bilingualism), in a situation of diglossia the choice of one of the forms of language (and sometimes one of two languages) is not determined by which of these forms or which of these languages ​​better allows achieving the immediate goals of interpersonal communication in a bilingual (or multilingual) person. in the case of multilingualism) communication, and the subject of speech or the situation of communication: one form is used to talk about serious and sublime things and in official and solemn situations; the second - in all others, and not only by the educated, but also, to the extent possible, by all layers of society (LAY is taught in all public education systems). Diglosia is characteristic of the entire Arab world and is recognized as a problem, regarding the method of solving which there are different points of view.

A similar relationship existed for several centuries between Church Slavonic and Russian in Rus' and exists in a number of other regions of the world; however, in the Arab world the situation is more complicated, if only because LAYA serves not only as a “sublime” language, but also as a means of communication for people from various regions of the Arab world and its surroundings. In addition, the modern linguistic situation in the Arab world is characterized by complex dynamics. Political and economic integration in each of the Arab countries leads to the formation of a certain local Koine on the basis of a prestigious (most often capital) dialect, which serves as a means of communication between speakers of different dialects. Interstate communication, strengthening economic and cultural contacts between regions lead to the formation of more general forms of Koine - the so-called regional everyday spoken languages. Along with such development “from below”, there is also a process of interaction between LAYA and RAYA, as a result of which the so-called “middle” or “third” language is formed, losing its series grammatical features BARKING, but does not have pronounced signs of any specific local dialect. Some regional phonetic features are also observed in the oral form of BAY.

Some writers, as an experiment, introduce direct speech of characters and dialogue in the local dialect into their works. Egyptian drama features a number of plays in the Egyptian dialect. Cinema, some radio specials, television, considering the audience, also appeal to PARADISE.

The main territorial dialects of the Arabic language, such as Iraqi, Syro-Palestinian, Egyptian, dialects of the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, have their own quite pronounced characteristics at the phonetic-morphological and lexical levels. The degree of mutual understanding between speakers of different dialects is relative and subjective. As a rule, it intensifies during contacts of neighboring dialects and weakens during contacts between representatives of opposite outskirts of the Arab world. Mutual understanding is also influenced by the conditions and topic of the conversation. Purely local or professional topics (national cuisine, local economy, way of life, customs, etc., i.e. everything that is characterized by the use of local vocabulary and expressions) weakens mutual understanding and requires explanation. On the contrary, socio-political and cultural topics (which rely heavily on common literary vocabulary and expressions) provide a higher degree of mutual understanding.

In what follows, the article will focus mainly on LAYA (in some cases simply called Arabic).

HISTORY OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE AND ITS CULTURAL RELATIONS

The most important milestones in the history of the Arabic language are the emergence of Islam and the development of its own written language (7th century AD). The first epigraphic (mainly on stone) monuments of the Arabic language are messages about the movements of fellow tribesmen, shepherds with herds of camels, as well as gravestone and dedicatory inscriptions. In the pre-Islamic period, such inscriptions used the Nabatean script (derived from Aramaic) or a variation of the South Arabian (Sabean) script. In its final form, Arabic writing took shape on the basis of the Nabatean script during the period of recordings of the Koran (from the mid-7th century AD) and the further development of written culture. The Arabic script is a system of 28 letters that represent only consonant phonemes. To denote three long vowels, three consonant letters are used, called "alif, waw and ua. To denote short vowels, doubling consonants, absence of vowels, special superscript and subscript symbols are used. The direction of writing is from right to left. Depending on the position in a word or phrase, many letters have different styles: isolated, initial, middle and final. Some pairs of letters form so-called ligatures in the letter (fused styles like & from Latin-French et "and" or @ from English at "in"). Arabic writing has several varieties: Kufic script (ornamental and decorative), Suls, Ruk", Nastaliq, Diwani, Maghribi, Naskh. Naskh is used for typographic typesetting.

Period 8th–12th centuries in the history of the Arabic language is characterized by its unification, standardization, the development of literary and written genres and styles, the development of classical poetry, artistic and scientific prose. Arabic is becoming the international language of literature and science in the Near and Middle East. The greatest scientists of the medieval East created their works on it: al-Farabi (870–950) from Turkestan, Avicenna (Ibn Sina, 980–1037) originally from Bukhara, al-Biruni (973 - ca. 1050) from Khorezm, Averroes (Ibn Rushd, 1126–1198), a native of Andalusia, and many others.

The next turning point in the development and modernization of the Arabic language was the turn of the 18th–19th centuries, when economic contacts between the Arab East and the West intensified. The development of printing, the emergence of the press and, accordingly, new genres of journalism, the emergence of new fiction, drama and poetry are becoming the most important factor in the development of the Arabic language and its adaptation to the new requirements of social, cultural and scientific life. Development of new media and communications in the 20th century. contributes to the further modernization of the Arabic language.

The cultural and historical influence of the Arabic language can be traced in many languages ​​of Asia and Africa. This was facilitated by the spread of Islam, as well as the high cultural status of LAYA, which has a developed system of general and special terminology for many areas of social, scientific and cultural life.

A considerable number of words of Arabic origin are also found in the Russian language, where they came, as a rule, through intermediary languages: Latin, Western European, Persian, Turkish. In addition to exoticisms like genie, jihad, vizier, kadi and so on, some names of stars and constellations are Arabic in origin ( Aldebaran, Altair– from Arab. " al=Dabaran, "al=Ta"ir), a number of scientific terms ( algebra, alcohol– via Spanish, number, zero– through European, from Arab. "zero"; algorithm– from the Latinized form of the name of the mathematician al-Khwarizmi), the name of a military rank admiral(borrowed into Russian from Dutch and going back to Arabic" amiru l=bahri“emir of the sea”, and nothing remained of “sea” in the form of the word, but as a result of “folk etymology”, which connected this word with the Latin admiror “to be amazed” and its derivatives in Romance languages, the sound appeared d) and other words quite varied in meaning.

In turn, already early monuments of the Arabic language testify to a wide layer of cultural borrowings from the neighboring Semitic languages ​​of South Arabia, from the Aramaic languages ​​of Syria and Mesopotamia, from Middle Persian, Greek and Latin. Later, borrowings from Persian and Turkish appeared. The modern period is characterized by the active penetration of Western European technical terminology into the Arabic vocabulary. Despite the purist activities of Arabic language academies in many countries, new international scientific and technical terms are penetrating into modern Arabic, and copies of standard phrases and phrases characteristic of the press and mass media are being formed.

THE PLACE OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE IN THE GENEALOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES

Arabic is part of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic (or Semito-Hamitic; this common name is now considered obsolete) language macrofamily. According to traditional classification, Arabic belongs to the South Semitic group of languages, combining it with the ancient epigraphic languages ​​of South Arabia and with the Ethiosemitic languages ​​common in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Currently, as a result of the discovery of new materials on ancient and modern Semitic languages, as well as as a result of the introduction of new methods into comparative historical Semitic science, in particular the method of glottochronology ( cm. LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD), a more precise classification of Semitic languages ​​has been developed, according to which the Arabic language with dialects represents an independent south-central group. The Arabic language shares some grammatical features with the ancient South Arabian languages ​​and the languages ​​of Ethiopia (Ge'ez, Tigre, Tigrinya), as well as with the modern South Arabian languages ​​(Mehri, Shahri, Soqotri): methods of word formation, forms of the so-called “broken” plural. numbers (aka plural internal education: rasm"drawing" - rusãm"drawings", etc.), more complete phonological systems of consonants. At the same time, South Semitic languages ​​differ from Arabic in certain types of verbal conjugation. On the other hand, such grammatical features as the formation of suffix plural forms. the numbers of masculine nouns, the types of conjugation of the stems of the perfect and imperfect, bring Arabic closer to the languages ​​of the north-central group, especially Aramaic.

In the first period of comparative historical study of Semitic languages ​​(18th–19th centuries), it was believed that classical Arabic represents the most archaic type of Semitic language, which most fully preserved the phonetic features lost in other Semitic languages ​​(interdental, voiced and voiceless laryngeal, pharyngeal and uvular phonemes) and morphology (nominal case and verbal modal endings, complete system personal verb forms, dual number, characteristic of both the name and the verb). Later, opposing points of view emerged (put forward by some Italian and Czech semitologists), according to which phonemes unique to Arabic are innovations; forms of the “broken” plural were also classified as innovations. numbers and some other grammatical forms characteristic only of Arabic. Modern comparative historical studies of the wider material of Afroasiatic languages ​​confirm the Semitic and Afroasiatic character of these phonemes and forms.

At the same time, research has shown that the Arabic phonological system also does not represent a complete proto-Semitic system. The Arabic system is characterized by a slight reduction in the composition of phonemes and their phonetic changes, in particular - palatalization of middle and back lingual plosives: , in dialects: k > c; and also glottalization: q >".

The verb system of LAY also represents an already restructured Proto-Semitic system, characterized by the verbalization of the Proto-Semitic participle, turning into the perfect conjugation.

The phonetic-phonological and grammatical structure of modern Arabic dialects is also characterized by a number of reductions, modifications and innovations.

STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BARKING

Phonological system

BARK is represented by 34 phonemes; of which 28 are consonants and 6 are vowels. Vowels are characterized by opposition in quality a : i : u and by quantity ā : ī : ū . Consonants are characterized by deafness/voicing oppositions: t:d;s:z, according to velarization (emphaticity) – ; . In relation to simple plosives and spirants, there are three interdental correlates: . In turn, interdental emphatic is in opposition to simple emphatic – .

Throughout the history of LAL known to us, its phonetic system has undergone some changes compared to the period of the 8th–10th centuries. There was a loss of redundant differential features and, accordingly, a restructuring of oppositions: lateral emphatic simple emphatic; interdental emphatic . In the emphatic system, oppositions based on deafness/voice were formed - , . Palatalization destroyed the binary opposition g:k according to deafness/voice.

LAYA belongs to the so-called mora-counting languages ​​(along with, for example, Latin or Ancient Greek): the short syllable S (vowel) G (vocal) is equal to one mora; a long syllable SG is equal to two moras; The closed syllable SGS is also equal to two moras. The classical system of versification is built on the moro-counting principle. The structure of a syllable in LAYA is limited by a number of rules: there is a ban on an open syllable (i.e. starting with a vowel; those Arabic words that in Russian transmission begin with a vowel, in Arabic have an initial consonant - a glottal stop, "called in Arabic" "ain"; the name of the letter itself begins with ain), on the confluence of consonants at the beginning and end of the syllable. Thus, only syllables of the structure SG/SG and SGS are possible. In the case of the formation of an extra-long syllable, it is phonetically converted into a regular long one, for example yaqūl=u“he says”, but with the loss of the final vowel, the theoretically resulting verbal word form loses its length, i.e. * lam yaqūl > lam yaqul"he didn't say, he didn't say." The stress in LAYA is weak, it falls on the third mora from the end of the word and moves accordingly if a clitic (a form, often pronominal, that does not have independent stress) is attached to the end of the word, for example “book”, but kitābū=humā"the book of two of them."

There is a widespread opinion that in LAL (and in Semitic languages ​​in general) consonants and vowels are functionally opposed: consonants are assigned lexical meaning, and vowels are assigned grammatical meaning. This statement is not entirely correct; The grammatical system of LAL has a large inventory of affixes, consisting not only of vowels, but also of consonants. Wed, for example: indicator of women. sort of = t; indicators of dual and suffixal (as opposed to “broken”) plural. numbers = āni/ayni And = ūna/Ina; personal prefixes and suffixes of verbal conjugation; To convey grammatical meanings, doubling root consonants is also used in a number of forms.

At the same time, with a synchronous (i.e., regardless of its historical development) description of Arabic grammar in verb stems and the derived stems of verbal names, it is indeed possible to distinguish a root consisting only of consonants, usually three (the so-called three-consonant root: ktb"write", qtl"kill" lm"to know", etc.). In non-derivative primary nominal and verbal stems, in a number of cases it is possible to establish a historical root vowel. The last category of words also includes pronouns, prepositions, particles and some other unchangeable words.

According to lexical and grammatical criteria, there are three main categories of words in LAYA: noun, verb and particles. Within the name, adjectives are distinguished based on certain morphological and syntactic characteristics; lexical - pronouns and numerals. The nominal parts of speech are characterized by the categories of gender (masculine and feminine), number (singular, dual and plural), case (there are only three cases in Arabic - nominative, genitive and accusative, and each of them has as its indicator one of three qualitatively different vowels - u, i And a respectively), state (definite - with the article " al, which, depending on the phonetic neighborhood, can appear in various forms, and indefinite), categories of diminutive and comparative superlative.

The verb is characterized by a system of aspectual and tense forms, voice (also for derived participles), person, number, gender, as well as a system of syntactically determined forms, conventionally called moods. In addition, the verb in LAL is characterized by a special lexical and grammatical category of characterizing the action in terms of its intensity, direction, causality, etc. This category has ten bases, called "breeds" or "extended stems" (i.e., in addition to the original primary stem, or "breed", there are nine more derivatives); For example, " alima(breed I) "he knew" allama(II) "he taught", " a ="lama(IV) “he informed, let know”, “ ista"lama(X) “he asked for information for himself,” etc. From these same extended stems the corresponding verbal names (or participles) are formed." ālim =(I) "knowledgeable, learned", mu ="allim =(II) “teacher”, etc.

The grammatical methods of word and form formation in LAYA are divided into “external”, i.e. affixal, which does not affect the base and root of the word, and “internal”, traditionally called “internal inflection” (alternation of phonemes), changing the base of the word. In many cases, external inflection is combined with internal.

According to the traditional morphological classification, Arabic is defined as an inflectional language with elements of fusion and agglutination. According to the traditional syntactic classification - as a language of synthetic type. In the second half of the 20th century. Russian semitologists and linguists prefer to characterize the method of internal inflection as an agglutinative way of connecting an intermittent consonantal root with an intermittent vocal affix - a “diffix” (in mixed cases - a confix, transfix, etc.) This gives rise to the concept of an “intermittent” morpheme (cf. above example with “broken plural”). Accordingly, the typological characteristics of LAY are changing towards the agglutinative technique of combining morphemes.

The main types of non-predicative phrases are represented in LAL by attributive and genitive combinations with the word order “defined - definition”. In an attributive phrase, the definition, as a rule, is completely consistent with the one defined by gender, number, case and condition: “new teacher.” In a genitive phrase, the first name (the modifier) ​​does not take the prepositive article " al = and loses some endings (an indicator of an uncertain state = n, part of the ending of the dual and suffix plural): kitabu l = mu"allimati“teacher’s book” (a certain state for both the first and second members of the phrase); or: kitabu mu"allimatin“the book of (some) teacher” (indefinite state for both members of the phrase). (vin. case) “His son returned weeping (crying)” or.

SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF ARABIC LANGUAGE

In the history of the study of the Arabic language, first of all, it is necessary to highlight the Arabic grammatical tradition itself, represented in the period of its greatest prosperity (8th–14th centuries) by several schools. During this period, Arabic linguistics adopted some ideas and concepts from the ancient and Indian grammatical traditions, but the features of the Arabic language attracted the attention of the earliest Arab philologists. They develop their own original system of concepts, terms and techniques for describing linguistic facts. Lexicography has received especially significant development in the national Arab tradition.

In turn, the Arabic grammatical tradition exerts its influence on Western Arabic linguistics, developing from the 16th to the 18th centuries. V Western Europe(first in Spain and Holland, and then in other countries). Despite the fact that European Arabic studies, as well as later, from the 19th century, Russian (the first Arabic grammar in Russian was published in 1827), begins to study the facts of the Arabic language in line with new general linguistic trends (neogrammatism, comparative historical linguistics and typology) , the influence of the Arabic grammatical tradition is evident in many works, especially in descriptive grammars of classical Arabic, throughout the 20th century. At the same time, along with the study of BARK in the 20th century. Western and Russian Arabic linguistics turns to the study of Arabic dialects, as a result of which a special direction is formed - Arabic dialectology.

The typological originality of the grammatical system of LAL, the structure of the root and the word, and special grammatical methods are of great interest for the structural-typological direction in general linguistics. The lexical richness of the Arabic language, a large number of written monuments and data from modern Arabic dialects provide great opportunities for the further development of comparative historical Semitology and Afro-Asian linguistics.

Literature:

Krachkovsky I.Yu. Essays on the history of Russian Arabic studies. M. – L., 1950
Zvegintsev V.A. History of Arabic linguistics. M., 1958
Zavadovsky Yu.N. Arabic dialects of the Maghreb. M., 1962
Russian-Arabic dictionary. Comp. V.M. Borisov, ed. V.M. Belkina. M., 1967
Gabuchan G.I. Article theory and problems of Arabic syntax. M., 1972
Khrakovsky V.S. Essays on General and Arabic Syntax. M., 1973
Belkin V.M. Arabic lexicology. M., 1975
Baranov H.K. Arabic-Russian dictionary, 5th ed. M., 1976
Mishkurov E.N. Fundamentals of the theoretical grammar of modern Arabic, part 1–2. M., 1978 –1979
Essays on the history of Arab culture V–XV centuries. M., 1982
Yushmanov N.V. Grammar of Literary Arabic, ed. 3. M., 1985
Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary. M., 1990
Sharbatov G.Sh. Arabic literary language, modern Arabic dialects and regional vernacular languages. – In the book: Languages ​​of Asia and Africa, vol. 4, book. 1. M., 1991
Grande B.M. Course of Arabic grammar in comparative historical coverage, 2nd ed. M., 1998
Chagal V.E. Arab countries: language and society. M., 1998
Belova A.G. Essays on the history of the Arabic language. M., 1999

[ ] - minor or extremely small population groups

Algeria Algeria,
Bahrain Bahrain,
Djibouti Djibouti,
Egypt Egypt,
Israel Israel,
Jordan Jordan,
Iraq Iraq,
Yemen Yemen,
Qatar Qatar,
Comoros Comoros,
Kuwait Kuwait,
Lebanon Lebanon,
Libya Libya,
Mauritania Mauritania,
Morocco Morocco,
UAE UAE,
Oman Oman,
Eritrea Eritrea,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia ,
Syria Syria,
Somalia Somalia,
Sudan Sudan,
Tunisia Tunisia,
Chad Chad,
SADR SADR
() ,
State of Palestine State of Palestine
(partially recognized state)
Somaliland Somaliland
(unrecognized state) .
Organizations:

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Subtitles

Dialects

Modern spoken Arabic falls into 5 groups of dialects, which are actually separate languages ​​from a linguistic point of view:

• Maghreb dialect group
• Egyptian-Sudanese Arabic
• Syro-Mesopotamian Arabic
• Arabian dialect group
• Central Asian group of dialects

The Maghreb language belongs to the Western group, the rest - to the Eastern group of Arabic languages ​​and dialects. (See Problem of language or dialect ); It is preferable to use the well-established term “dialect” in Arabic studies ( Arab. لهجة ‎)

The literary language (in Western Arabic studies the English term Modern Standard Arabic is used) is single. Literary Arabic combines vocabulary for many things in modern world or science, but at the same time in some Arab countries it is quite rarely used in colloquial speech.

Place of Arabic in the Semitic language group

Classical Arabic differs little from Old Arabic. Many roots of Semitic languages ​​are also found in Arabic. In Semitic studies, there has in the past been a tendency to regard Classical Arabic as the most archaic of the Semitic languages. However, over time, through comparison with other Afroasiatic languages, it was found that much in classical Arabic is not so original.

Story

Over the centuries, the language has constantly changed, which, however, has had little effect on writing, because short vowel sounds, except in the Koran, are not written in the text.

Classical (high) Arabic is not the native language of Arabs today. However, even today, with a modified vocabulary, it is used in almost all newspapers and books, with the exception of Tunisia, Morocco and partly Algeria, where Arabic shares the role of a literary language with French. In scientific and technical literature in other Arab countries, English is often used in places where the necessary vocabulary is lacking.

Vocabulary composition

The vocabulary of the modern Arabic literary language is characterized by the fact that its main part is originally Arabic. “The Arabs highly value the word-formation capabilities of their language, seeing the richness and clarity of word-formation paradigms as the key to adapting the Arabic literary language to current state society. Moreover, it should be noted that in modern nomination processes, models with a high generalization index are the most active. Thus, recently, the vocabulary of the Arabic literary language has been significantly replenished due to derivative names formed by adding the suffix ية- ‎, forming a derivative series with the meaning of generalized abstract qualities and properties: استقلالية ‎ independence; حركية ‎ dynamism, dynamics; شمولية‎ maximalism; totalitarianism; اشكلالية ‎ - problem, etc.” . Some of the vocabulary is general Semitic and only a small part is foreign, such as the words: “television” - تليفزيون ‎, دكتورة ‎ doctor’s title, سكرتير ‎ secretary, فيلم ‎ film. The total number of borrowings from European languages ​​is small and amounts to about one percent of the dictionary.

For the Arabic literary language, four large synchronous sections of vocabulary development are distinguished: the pre-Muslim vocabulary of the communal-tribal system (late 7th and early 8th centuries); expansion of the vocabulary associated with the origin, development and prosperity of the medieval Arabic-speaking civilization (until the 12th century); period of stagnation and reduction in the range of use of the Arabic literary language (XIII-XVIII centuries) and the beginning modern period(from the middle of the 19th century).

Synonymy, polysemy of words and homonymy have become widely developed in the Arabic language. The main methods of word formation are: morphological - according to word-formation models and formulas, syntactic and semantic.

Despite the fact that the vocabulary is very rich, it is often not sufficiently standardized and is often overloaded with linguistic background. For example, there is no word that quite accurately corresponds to the word nation. The word used to denote this concept is (أمة‎, umma) meaning in the past, and in a religious context to this day, “a community of believers (Muslims)”; or, for example, “nationality” (جنسية ‎, jinsiya) generally means “gender,” for example “sex life” sounds like (حياة الجنسية ‎, haya: t al-jinsiyya). The word "nationalism" (قومية ‎, Qaumiyya), comes originally from the vocabulary of nomads kaum and means "tribe" in the sense of "nomadic tribe".

In a similar way, very old and very modern concepts are often intertwined in one word, without the slightest connection in terms of word origin. There are also loanwords from Aramaic, Greek and many modern terms from English.

Phonetics

Phonetically, literary Arabic is characterized by a widely developed system of consonant phonemes, especially glottal, emphatic and interdental.

“In the phonetic sections of grammatical works, either only the articulations of Arabic sounds were described, or also their combinatorial changes. The Indian system of sound classification, based on taking into account the place of articulation and other articulatory features, had a significant influence on the Arabs. The technique of comparing sounds in articulatory and functional terms was used. Avicenna introduced the concept of correlation to establish relationships between sounds. Cases of gemination were classified as the result of complete progressive or regressive contact assimilation. Partial and distant assimilation was described. Questions were studied about the interaction of consonants and vowels, about the replacement of consonants, about metathesis, about the loss of hamza, about elision, about the emergence of a connecting vowel, about palatalization, velarization, about sound symbolism.”

Pronunciation

In many Arab countries, efforts are currently being made to bring pronunciation closer to standard Arabic. The basis is the quotation norm (Ar. tilāwa تلاوة‎) of the Koran. This style of pronunciation is generally used only in religious contexts.

It is certain that the original pronunciation of High Arabic is not exactly known. For example, there is no consensus on the pronunciation of the ending un indefinite nouns ( kitabun etc. kitab). There are arguments in favor of two options, and since there were no vowel marks (vowel marks) in the ancient handwritten script, it is impossible to say with certainty how it was pronounced.

Writing

Arabic is written from right to left. Moreover, in Arabic, unlike languages ​​with Latin or Cyrillic graphics, there are no capital letters, so proper names are written like any other word, as well as the first word in a sentence.

Anthroponymy

Arabic names are traditionally written in literal order.

Grammar

Arab scholars usually divided grammar into syntax, morphology and phonetics and paid considerable attention to issues of word formation, and in connection with it etymology, thanks to which in the 11th century. The root theory has reached a high level. Syntax and morphology are the most original parts of Arabic grammar, having no sources in either Greek or Indian works and focused on the specifics of the Arabic language.

The task of syntax was the structural and semantic analysis of the sentence. It postulated subject-predicate relations between two names or between a name and a verb. There were small/elementary sentences and large ones forming a hierarchy; sentences are nominal, verbal and adverbial - depending on what word is at the beginning of the sentence, and accordingly there are different types of subjects and predicates. The secondary members of the sentence were identified and classified in detail (up to five types of additions, circumstances of different types, “applications”). There were different cases of formal and virtual implementation of inflections. The concept of an implied term was introduced to explain the construction. The relationships of coordination, control and adjacency were also analyzed.

In morphology, parts of speech and features of their formation that are not determined syntactically were considered. This included questions such as parts of speech (noun, verb and particles of up to 27 types), root structure, names and their multidimensional classification on different grounds (explicit names - nouns, adjectives, hidden names - personal pronouns, common names - demonstrative and relative pronouns, etc.), verbs (with a detailed classification of their forms and meanings), two-case and three-case names, the formation of relative names, the formation of composites, the formation of number and gender forms, the formation of deminitives, changes in the form of a word due to the presence of weak root consonants , pause forms, etc. The issue of masdar was also discussed here.

Particularly great successes were achieved in phonetics (Khalil ibn Ahmad; Abu Ali ibn Sina - Avicenna, 980-1037; Sibawayhi).

The Arabic language is characterized by highly developed inflection. (The inflectivity and similarity of inflection of Semitic and Indo-European languages ​​has been questioned by some researchers. The inflection of Indo-European languages ​​is a different phenomenon from the inflection of Semitic languages, since it implies a stronger interaction of inflection with the root. The Arabic language is characterized by agglutination. Some scientists, in particular, A. A. Reformatsky, believe that the fusion of Semitic languages ​​is a special form of agglutination, since the fusion of a Semitic word is a predictable process and follows relatively strict formulas, which Arabic authors like to present using the three-letter root فعل with the meaning do, and the vowels themselves forming a fusion are, as a rule, independent of the root. A similar, but not analogous, phenomenon has been observed in a number of non-Semitic languages, in particular Germanic. These are, for example, pairs of singular and plural words in English, such as foot - feet, tooth - teeth, or changes in root vowels in irregular English verbs or so-called strong verbs in German, but in Germanic languages ​​there is no regularity in the reproduction of so-called fusional formulas. Most words in Arabic can be traced back to the original form of the verb, which usually consists of three- or four- (rarely two- and five-) root consonants.

Although the root is indivisible for the speaker’s consciousness, some familiarity with parsing the root is useful for facilitating the memorization of such an extensive root vocabulary as the Arabic language is endowed with, and for the feasible interpretation of unfamiliar roots when reading without a dictionary.

Root of the word

The Arabic root is most often three-letter, less often two- or four-letter, and even less often five-letter; but already for a four-letter root there is a requirement that it contain at least one of the smooth consonants (vox memoriae (memory): مُرْ بِنَفْلٍ).

According to the famous domestic Arabist S. S. Maisel, the number of triconsonant roots in the modern Arabic literary language is 82% of the total number of Arabic roots.

Not just any consonants can participate in the composition of a root: some of them are compatible in the same root (more precisely, in the same cell; see below: b), others are incompatible.

Incompatible:

1. Laryngeal: غ ع خ ح (if ع and ء are compatible)
2. Non-glottal:

ب and فم

ت and ث

ث and س ص ض ط ظ

ج and ف ق ك

خ and ظقك

د and ذ

ذ and ص ض ط ظ

ر and ل

ز and ض ص ظ

س and ص ض

ش and ض ل

ص and ض ط ظ

ض and ط ظ

ط and ظك

ظ and غ ق

غ and ق ك

ق and كغ

ل and ن

This feature of the composition of the Arabic root makes the task somewhat easier for those reading the manuscript without dots; for example, the spelling of حعڡر ‎ should be جَعْفَر ‎

It should be noted that the translation of the cases الرَّفْعُ, الجَرُّ and النَّصْبُ is very conditional, since the genitive and accusative cases of the Arabic language include names that, when translated, can appear in any of the remaining three cases of the Russian language:

Zeid cut the rope with a knife (instrumental case).

We talked about studying (prepositional case).

قُلْ لِمُحَمَّدٍ - الجَرُّ Tell Muhammad (dative case).

The people fought against the colonialists (the instrumental case).

The signs by which case is recognized are different and they depend on the morphological features of the name.

Noun

A noun in Arabic is characterized by such morphological concepts as gender, number - singular, dual (very rarely used in dialects) and plural, case and state, as well as the categories of definiteness, uncertainty and neutral status.

Genus. There are only two genders in Arabic: masculine and feminine. Names with a characteristic ending [atun] are often feminine. In general, whether a name belongs to one gender or another is associated with meaning, for example, with gender.

For example, the noun أُمٌّ ["ummun]-(mother), despite its ending, is feminine. For many nouns denoting the name of a profession or type of activity, the feminine gender is formed simply by adding the ending [-atun] to the corresponding masculine noun. For example:

To convey feminine endings in a letter, ﺓ [tā’ marbuta], a letter that is not in the alphabet, is used. It is a graphic variant of the usual ت [t], which is called [tā’], or “stretched t”. By connecting the ends of the “stretched t” to each other, we get ﺓ [tā’ marbuta]. In Semitic languages ​​[t] is one of the main indicators of gender. When agreeing with names, ت is used in verbs, and ﺓ in names. [tā’ marbuta] is written only at the end of a word and can have two styles: without a connection - ﺓ ‎ and with a connection on the right - ﺔ ‎.

Verb

The verb is characterized by a great development of verb forms, called breeds: a unified conjugation system for all verbs; a developed system of tense forms (three simple and three complex tenses); two voices (active and passive); five

About 240 million people speak Arabic as their native language. It is distributed in more than 30 countries around the world. It is spoken in Afghanistan, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Chad, Somalia, Cyprus, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Kuwait, Syria, Oman, Qatar, Yemen and more many other countries.

As you can see, this is a very common language. Despite the fact that it is considered one of the most. But this, naturally, is from the point of view of Europeans, although it is not easy for the Arabs themselves.

The Arabic language seems unusual and incredibly complex to Europeans due to some of its features. The first thing that catches your eye is the writing is from right to left, and not vice versa, as is customary in our country. The letter itself, the so-called “Arabic script,” is also unusual.

It is interesting that Arabs write letters from right to left, but vice versa, from left to right. And the numbers themselves also differ from those we use. For the first time, when I came across the fact that in Arab countries they use other numbers, I was very surprised, because all my life I thought our numbers were Arabic, because that’s what they are called. But it turned out that the Arabs themselves use completely different ones and call them Indian. This is such a paradox.

Interestingly, each country has its own dialect. Therefore, Arabs from different countries may not understand each other at all.

The Arabic language has more than 30 dialects, including:

Maghreb dialects (the Maghreb includes: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Libya), Egyptian-Sudanese Arabic, Arabian dialects, Syro-Mesopotamian dialect, Central Asian dialects.

But there is classical Arabic, the language in which the Koran is written. This language differs from spoken dialects in that it has a more complex structure and is somewhat archaic. He was protected from modern changes, so he remained the same as he was thousands of years ago. Not everyone understands it, although, in theory, every Muslim should read the Koran in its original source.

There is also a standard literary Arabic language, which is understandable in all Arab countries. It is in this language that official documents are written, television programs are broadcast, and books are published.

The Arabic language has changed interestingly in Malta, where one of the Maghreb dialects has developed into a separate independent Maltese language. This happened in to a greater extent because it is not Islam, but Christianity that is the main religion there, so there is no such reverent attitude towards the “language of the Koran”.

Arabic has 28 letters and no capital letters, all letters are the same. Words cannot be tolerated. Punctuation marks are written from left to right. Short vowels are not written, but are indicated by dots. Abjad writing type of Arabic. Most letters change shape depending on where they are in the word.

Not so long ago, in many languages ​​(where Islam predominated) the Arabic script was used, then it was replaced by the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet. These are, for example, Turkish, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Tajik, Tatar, etc. At the beginning of the 20th century, Latinization and Cyrillization of languages ​​were carried out.

In all Arab countries, Arabic is the state language; there are countries, for example the Maghreb countries, where, along with Arabic, French is the state language. Arabic is also the official language of countries such as Israel, Chad, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Comoros, Somaliland.

Arabic is one of the six official languages UN. Well, and, of course, this is the language in which the Koran is written.