Arabic is one of the world’s greatest languages, and it’s the official language in 22 different countries. It’s one of the oldest spoken languages that carries behind it, great history and massive civilizations. It has a very rich vocabulary that makes the language sound so graceful and magnificent, giving it a very unique character and distinctive flavor.
For those of you who are interested in learning it, you should know that Arabic is considered as the largest member of the Semitic language family; which includes Hebrew and Aramaic, and just like other Semitic languages it is written form right to left.
The Arabic language is classified under three different forms; classical/Quranic, which is more common in literature and writing and it’s considered as the ‘official’ language taught at schools and universities. Whereas the modern and dialectical Arabic is more of an informal language, that us Arabs use to communicate with each other during our daily lives.
The basics of the Arabic language are fundamentally the same, however, Arabic dialects are not mutually comprehensible, because each Arab country has its own different dialect. The different dialects are mainly among Egypt, the Levant, Iraq, and the Gulf, and yet, we all are able to understand each other.
On the other hand, for example, the North African dialects are more unique in their vocabulary structure which can stand as a real challenge for them to understand each other!
The most widely understood languages in the Middle East are Egyptian and Levantine Arabic, due to its massive media and TV dramas and comedies that have made it easier for us to access in homes and make us more familiar with it. And thanks to the satellite and the thousand TV channels, it has made it a lot easier for the popular shows and programs to host Lebanese celebs, which ultimately gave the Lebanese dialect something of an international fashion status.