Arabic is the largest living member of the Semitic language family
in terms of speakers. Classified as Central Semitic, it is
closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. Modern Arabic is classified
as a macro-language with 27 sub-languages. These varieties are spoken
throughout the Arab world, and Modern Standard Arabic is widely studied
and known throughout the whole world. MSA derives from Classical Arabic,
the only surviving member of the Old North Arabian dialect group. 
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Arabic has lent many words to other languages of the world, akin to the role
Latin has in most European languages. During the Middle Ages, Arabic was
also a major vehicle of culture, especially in science, mathematics and
philosophy, with the result that many European languages have also
borrowed numerous words from it. |
