Celebrate Arabic Language Day!
Caitlin Nicholson
Did you know that today (December 18th) is Arabic Language Day? In 2010, the United Nations created language days for each of their six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Their goal is to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity.
Why December 18th? In 1973, the General Assembly approved Arabic as an official UN language on this day. Where is Arabic Language Spoken? Arabic language is widely spoken across Western Asia, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. There are over 290 million Arabic language speakers worldwide. Today, Arabic language has official status in 27 states. Arabic is a top ten language for world Internet usage – these ten languages make up 80 percent of world users! Arabic Translation Challenges Arabic language reads right to left. The right to left format can present challenges for graphic applications such as design, editing, layout and formatting. This also applies to any digital or online content and applications. Arabic language has many dialects. Regarding written Arabic: Classical Arabic was used in the writing of the Qu’ran. Modern Standard Arabic is the standardized version used most frequently today. There are many different spoken An Arabic speaker in Iran may not understand a speaker from Egypt due to local dialect differences. However, most Arabic language speakers are able to communicate in Modern Standard Arabic. Additional Arabic Language Facts Arabic has contributed many words to the English language: Example: ليمون (laymoon) = lemon Example: سكر (succar) = sugar Also, regarding punctuation marks, Arabic language uses the same ones as English and other Western languages. However, like the text on the page, the symbols are inverted. Example: the comma ، Example: the question mark ؟ Arabic language is one with great culture and history. Arabic can be a particularly difficult language for translation for both structurally and culturally. But as one of the six most popular languages in the world, its global audience makes it a leading language for utilizing Arabic translation services.
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