Varieties of Arabic

Varieties Of Arabic

The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. Some varieties of Arabic in North Africa, for example, are incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker from the Levant or the Persian Gulf Region. Within these broad regions further and considerable geographic distinctions exist, within countries, across country borders, even between cities and villages.

Another major distinction is to be made between the widely diverging colloquial spoken varieties, used for nearly all everyday speaking situations, and the formal standardized language, found mostly in writing or in prepared speech. The regionally prevalent variety is learned as the speaker's native language, while the formal language is subsequently learned in school. The formal language itself varies between its modern iteration (often called Modern Standard Arabic or MSA in English) and the Classical Arabic that serves as its inspiration, though Arabic speakers typically do not make this distinction.

Further substantial differences exist between Bedouin and sedentary speech, the countryside and major cities, ethnicities, religious groups, social classes, men and women, and the young and the old, to list only some. These differences are to some degree bridgeable. Often, Arabic speakers can adjust their speech in a rich variety of ways according to the context and to their intentions - for example, to speak with people from different regions, to demonstrate their level of education or to draw on the authority of the spoken language. This is particularly true at a time of increasing human development and globalization.