The Arabic Language - Arabic translation Services

Arabic Language (العربية Al Arabyia, or عربي arabī) is the 4th most widely spoken language in the world. Over 280 million Arabic-speaking people spanning 22 countries around the world with combined economies equaling over $1 trillion annually.¹

Arabic is a one of the Semitic languages, and is widely used in Arabic countries as a first language. Most Arabic-speaking countries are located in the Middle East, North Africa and the Arabic Gulf area. A total of 22 countries use Arabic as their official language and Arabic is also the liturgical language of Islam.

When considering the Arabic language, one must be aware of the very important distinction made between its written form and its numerous spoken forms. There are three different Arabic dialects or forms: Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic and Local dialects (Amya or Darja).

Classical Arabic is the language of "Qur'an" and the liturgical language of Islam and also known as literary language.

Modern Standard Arabic is derived from Classical Arabic, and is in current use as the official language for all Arabic countries for government and education. Modern Standard Arabic is used as the intra-country communication language for Arabic publications, newspapers, books, media, television and radio broadcasts across the Arabic world and is understood by educated Arabic speakers.

Arabic Local dialects (Colloquial Arabic) make up the spoken languages of people throughout the Arab world. Colloquial Arabic differs from country to country within the Arabic world. In many cases, the different forms of spoken Arabic are mutually unintelligible to one another. For a comprehensive listing of the all the different forms of spoken Arabic, see the following: http://www.omniglot.com/language/arabic_stats.xls

The main groups of local Arabic dialects are:

Maghreb Arabic
Egyptian Arabic
Sudanese Arabic
Levantine Arabic (Shami)
Iraqi Arabic
Gulf Arabic
Najdi Arabic
Yemeni Arabic

The Arab world consists primarily of the 22 different countries that make up the membership of the League of Arab States. These countries are:

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
The Kingdom of Bahrain
The Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The Arab Republic of Syria
The Republic of Iraq
The State of Palestine
The Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros
The Republic of Lebanon
The Arab Republic of Egypt
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania

The United Arab Emirates
The Republic of Tunisia
The Republic of Djibouti
The Republic of Sudan
The Republic of Somalia
The Sultanate of Oman
The State of Qatar
The State of Kuwait
The Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
The Kingdom of Morocco
The Republic of Yemen

Below are some brief but important facts about the larger markets within the Arabic-speaking world:

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Capital: Amman
Currency: Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Government Type: Constitutional monarchy
Population: 6,407,085 (July 2010 est.)
Internet Country Code: .jo
Internet Hosts: 42,412 (2010)
Internet Users: 1.5 million (2008)