What is Arabic? Fun Facts about the Arabic Language

As a language filled with richness and a long literary tradition, Arabic is one of the most widespread languages in the world. Here, we present to you some fun language-related facts.

The Arabic language formed in the Arabian Peninsula, as is classified as a Semitic language, along with Hebrew, Amharic, Maltese and Tigrinya, amongst others. Along with the Arab conquest, the language spread as well, reaching into the north of Africa and the west of Asia.

Arabic is spoken by approximately 280 million people worldwide, and is the official language of 26 countries, making it the fifth most spoken language worldwide.

Arabic words have been incorporated into the daily vernacular of many other languages, with the Spanish words for chess, teacher and rug all being derived from the Arabic.

Arabic has 14 different words for love, with each word describing a specific phase of falling in love. For example, “hawa” refers to the first attraction towards someone, “huyum” the loss of reason that follows, and “ishq” a blind desire.

Contrasting with many other languages, Arabic is written from right to left, whilst numbers are written from left to right.

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