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Most spoken languages, CIA, 2022; Language Percentage of world population (2022) English: 18.8% Mandarin Chinese: 13.8% Hindi: 7.5% Spanish: 6.9% French: 3.4% Arabic: 3.4% Bengali: 3.4% Russian: 3.2% Portuguese: 3.2% Urdu: 2.9%
LanguageFamilyBranchFirst-language (l1) SpeakersEnglish (excl. creole languages )380 millionMandarin Chinese (incl. Standard Chinese, ...939 millionHindi (excl. Urdu )345 millionSpanish (excl. creole languages )485 millionFrench comes in at third, thanks to its prestige standing in international diplomacy. Rounding out the top five are Spanish and Arabic. The top six languages – even if the diplomacy opportunity is ignored – also happen to be the official languages of the United Nations.
- 422 Million Speakers and Growing Fast
- Official Language in 22 Countries
- There Are 30 Distinct Dialects
- Sounds Not Found in English
- Many English Words Have Arabic Origins
- There Are No Capital Letters in Arabic
- Arabic Contains only 3 Vowel Sounds
- Arabic Is Written Entirely in Script
- Arabic Is Written and Read from Right to Left
- But… Arabic Numbers Are Written from Left to Right
Arabic – including Modern Standard (sometimes called Classical) plus a range of colloquial dialects- is spoken by millions of people around the world today. Estimates range anywhere between approximately 280 to 422 million total, including native and non-native speakers. Arabic became one of the six official languages of the United Nations (UN) in ...
Arabic is the official language in at least 22 countries today, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere in the Middle East / North Africa (MENA) region. Sources vary on the exact number of Arabic-speaking countries and often jump that number up to 26, depending on whether they include countries where Arabic is a co-official language a...
Arabic speakers use a variety of dialects, often cited as at least 30. Each of these dialects is distinct enough that users must often resort back to formal Arabic to understand each other.
Unusual sounds are found in Arabic that English native speakers aren’t familiar with. Because of this, native English speakers often find it difficult to comprehend and pronounce certain Arabic constructs words. For example, the ‘ح’ requires something similar to an “h” soundbut the sounds of this Arabic alphabet are more like when breathing on a wi...
The Arabic language has influenced the English language in both direct and indirect ways. Many English words have identifiable Arabic origins. These words include alcohol, algebra, candy, cotton, giraffe, guitar, lemon, and sugar. As one of the world’s oldest languages, it’s no wonder that Arabic has influenced many other Semitic languages as well.
Surprisingly, the same language does not use any capital letters. Instead, quotation marks serve as a way to place emphasis on particular words.
The Arabic language only contains 3 vowels in its 28 consonant letter make-up. Yet, it’s not actually that simple. Each of these three vowels has five variations and appears only as symbols are written either downwards or upwards and surrounded by consonant letters.
Arabic is written entirely in the script, that is, a distinct connected format that English speakers might compare to cursive. This makes it one of the most visually distinctive written languages on the planet.
The majority of popular languages are written left to right. Not so with Arabic, which is written (and read) from right to left. This in itself confuses non-native speakers and is an obstacle that must be overcome early on in training. The reason for the right-to-left orientation is that in ancient times, people used carving to write. As such, they...
Unlike Arabic words, numbers in Arabicare written from left to right. However, there are two different numbering systems that are found in Arabic text. The Latin (1,2,3) numerals which, confusingly are called Arabi or Arabic numbers in Arabic, and also what is known as the Hindu-Arabic numbers (١٬٢٬٣٬٤٬٥٬٦٬٧٬٨٬٩٬) which are based on a numbering sys...
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Jul 6, 2018 · Arabic is spoken in most Arab nations. It is the primary language of the Arab World mostly found in Asia, Middle East, and North Africa. Of the total world population, approximately 420 million speak Arabic, and this makes it the fifth most popular language in the world.
4 days ago · Arabic language, Semitic language spoken in a large area including North Africa, most of the Arabian Peninsula, and other parts of the Middle East. (See also Afro-Asiatic languages.) Scholars have struggled to define Arabic as a language.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sep 25, 2023 · Maya. Updated: Sep 25, 2023 9:04 AM EDT. The Fundamentals of Arabic. Arabic frequently ranks as one of the top six languages in the world. It is also the language of the Qur'an, Islam's holy book, an important and influential document known throughout the Muslim world.
May 18, 2023 · The number of people ages 5 and older who speak Arabic at home in the U.S. rose from 215,000 in 1980 to 1.4 million in 2021, making it the nation’s seventh-most common non-English language spoken at home. Arabic speakers represent several nationalities and include both immigrants and those born in the U.S.
