Editing Arabic (section)

== Classical, Modern Standard and spoken Arabic ==
{{Further|Classical Arabic|Modern Standard Arabic|Varieties of Arabic}}{{See also|List of Arabic dictionaries}}''Arabic'' usually refers to Standard Arabic, which Western linguists divide into [[Classical Arabic]] and Modern Standard Arabic.<ref name="Kamusella">{{Cite journal|last=Kamusella|first=Tomasz Dominik|year=2017|title=The Arabic Language: A Latin of Modernity?|journal=Journal of Nationalism, Memory and Language Politics |publisher=De Gruyter|volume=11 |number=2 |doi=10.1515/jnmlp-2017-0006 |doi-access=free |issn=2570-5857|hdl=10023/12443 |page=117|hdl-access=free}}</ref> It could also refer to any of a variety of regional vernacular [[Varieties of Arabic|Arabic dialects]], which are not necessarily mutually intelligible.[[File:Safaitic script with a figure of a camel on a red sandstone fragment, from es-Safa, currently housed in the British Museum.jpg|250px|thumb|alt=|[[Safaitic]] inscription]]Classical Arabic is the language found in the [[Quran]], used from the period of [[Pre-Islamic Arabia]] to that of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]. Classical Arabic is prescriptive, according to the [[syntactic]] and grammatical norms laid down by classical grammarians (such as [[Sibawayh]]) and the vocabulary defined in classical dictionaries (such as the [[Ibn Manzur#Lisān al-ʿArab|''Lisān al-ʻArab'']]).{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) largely follows the grammatical standards of Classical Arabic and uses much of the same vocabulary. However, it has discarded some grammatical constructions and vocabulary that no longer have any counterpart in the spoken varieties and has adopted certain new constructions and vocabulary from the spoken varieties. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial]] and [[Post-industrial society|post-industrial era]], especially in modern times.<ref name="auto">Abdulkafi Albirini. 2016. ''Modern Arabic Sociolinguistics'' (pp. 34–35).</ref>

Due to its grounding in Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic is removed over a millennium from everyday speech, which is construed as a multitude of dialects of this language. These dialects and Modern Standard Arabic are described by some scholars as not mutually comprehensible. The former are usually acquired in families, while the latter is taught in formal education settings. However, there have been studies reporting some degree of comprehension of stories told in the standard variety among preschool-aged children.<ref name="auto"/>

The relation between Modern Standard Arabic and these dialects is sometimes compared to that of [[Classical Latin]] and [[Vulgar Latin]] vernaculars (which became [[Romance languages]]) in medieval and early modern Europe.<ref name="Kamusella"/>

MSA is the variety used in most current, printed Arabic publications, spoken by some of the Arabic media across North Africa and the Middle East, and understood by most educated Arabic speakers. "Literary Arabic" and "Standard Arabic" ({{lang|ar|فُصْحَى}} ''{{transliteration|ar|fuṣḥá}}'') are less strictly defined terms that may refer to Modern Standard Arabic or Classical Arabic.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Some of the differences between Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are as follows:{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
* Certain grammatical constructions of CA that have no counterpart in any modern vernacular dialect (e.g., the [[energetic mood]]) are almost never used in Modern Standard Arabic.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
* [[Grammatical case|Case]] distinctions are very rare in Arabic vernaculars. As a result, MSA is generally composed without case distinctions in mind, and the proper cases are added after the fact, when necessary. Because most case endings are noted using final short vowels, which are normally left unwritten in the Arabic script, it is unnecessary to determine the proper case of most words. The practical result of this is that MSA, like English and [[Standard Chinese]], is written in a strongly determined word order and alternative orders that were used in CA for emphasis are rare. In addition, because of the lack of case marking in the spoken varieties, most speakers cannot consistently use the correct endings in extemporaneous speech. As a result, spoken MSA tends to drop or regularize the endings except when reading from a prepared text.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
*The numeral system in CA is complex and heavily tied in with the case system. This system is never used in MSA, even in the most formal of circumstances; instead, a greatly simplified system is used, approximating the system of the conservative spoken varieties.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
[[File:Arabic Swadesh list 1-100.webm|thumb|Arabic [[Swadesh list]] (1–100)]]

MSA uses much Classical vocabulary (e.g., ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|dhahaba}}'' 'to go') that is not present in the spoken varieties, but deletes Classical words that sound obsolete in MSA. In addition, MSA has borrowed or coined many terms for concepts that did not exist in Quranic times, and MSA continues to evolve.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Kaye|1991|p=?}}</ref> Some words have been borrowed from other languages—notice that transliteration mainly indicates spelling and not real pronunciation (e.g., {{lang|ar|فِلْم}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|film}}'' 'film' or {{lang|ar|ديمقراطية}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|dīmuqrāṭiyyah}}'' 'democracy').{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

The current preference is to avoid direct borrowings, preferring to either use [[loan translation]]s (e.g., {{lang|ar|فرع}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|farʻ}}'' 'branch', also used for the branch of a company or organization; {{lang|ar|جناح}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|janāḥ}}'' 'wing', is also used for the wing of an airplane, building, air force, etc.), or to coin new words using forms within existing [[Semitic root|roots]] ({{lang|ar|استماتة}} ''{{transliteration|ar|istimātah}}'' '[[apoptosis]]', using the root {{lang|ar|موت}} ''m/w/t'' 'death' put into the [[Arabic verbs#Formation of derived stems ("forms")|Xth form]], or {{lang|ar|جامعة}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jāmiʻah}}'' 'university', based on {{lang|ar|جمع}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jamaʻa}}'' 'to gather, unite'; {{lang|ar|جمهورية}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jumhūriyyah}}'' 'republic', based on {{lang|ar|جمهور}} ''{{transliteration|ar|jumhūr}}'' 'multitude'). An earlier tendency was to redefine an older word although this has fallen into disuse (e.g., {{lang|ar|هاتف}} ''{{transliteration|ar|hātif}}'' 'telephone' < 'invisible caller (in Sufism)'; {{lang|ar|جريدة}} ''{{transliteration|ar|jarīdah}}'' 'newspaper' < 'palm-leaf stalk').{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

''Colloquial'' or ''dialectal'' Arabic refers to the many national or regional varieties which constitute the everyday spoken language. Colloquial Arabic has many regional variants; geographically distant varieties usually differ enough to be [[mutual intelligibility|mutually unintelligible]], and some linguists consider them distinct languages.<ref>"Arabic Language." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009.</ref> However, research indicates a high degree of mutual intelligibility between closely related Arabic variants for native speakers listening to words, sentences, and texts; and between more distantly related dialects in interactional situations.<ref>Trentman, E. and Shiri, S., 2020. The Mutual Intelligibility of Arabic Dialects. Critical Multilingualism Studies, 8(1), pp.104–134.</ref>[[File:Epitaph Imru-l-Qays Louvre AO4083.jpg|thumb|The [[Namara inscription]], a sample of [[Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean script]], considered a direct precursor of Arabic script<ref name="The National-2016">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-15|title=Examining the origins of Arabic ahead of Arabic Language Day|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/examining-the-origins-of-arabic-ahead-of-arabic-language-day-1.199916|access-date=2021-04-20|website=The National|language=en|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420022852/https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/examining-the-origins-of-arabic-ahead-of-arabic-language-day-1.199916|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=linteau de porte|url=https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010123278|access-date=2021-04-20|website=Musée du Louvre|date=328|language=en|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420022907/https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010123278|url-status=live}}</ref>]]The varieties are typically unwritten. They are often used in informal spoken media, such as [[soap opera]]s and [[talk show]]s,<ref name="Jenkins">{{Citation |last=Jenkins |first=Orville Boyd |url=http://strategyleader.org/articles/arabicpercent.html |website=Strategy Leader Resource Kit |title=Population Analysis of the Arabic Languages |date=18 March 2000 |access-date=12 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318105008/http://strategyleader.org/articles/arabicpercent.html |archive-date=18 March 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as occasionally in certain forms of written media such as poetry and printed advertising.

[[Hassaniya Arabic]], [[Maltese language|Maltese]], and [[Cypriot Arabic]] are only varieties of modern Arabic to have acquired official recognition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Morocco 2011 Constitution |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Morocco_2011?lang=en |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Constitute |language=en}}</ref> Hassaniya is official in Mali<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sgg-mali.ml/JO/2023/mali-jo-2023-13-sp-2.pdf |title=Journal officiel de la republique du mali secretariat general du gouvernement – decret n°2023-0401/pt-rm du 22 juillet 2023 portant promulgation de la constitution |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=22 July 2023 |website=sgg-mali.ml |access-date=26 July 2023 |quote=Article 31 : Les langues nationales sont les langues officielles du Mali.}}</ref> and recognized as a minority language in Morocco,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Morocco 2011 Constitution, Article 5|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Morocco_2011?lang=en|access-date=2021-07-18|website=www.constituteproject.org|language=en}}</ref> while the Senegalese government adopted the Latin script to write it.<ref name=HassaniyaAlphabet/> Maltese is official in (predominantly [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]) [[Malta]] and written with the [[Maltese alphabet|Latin script]]. Linguists agree that it is a variety of spoken Arabic, descended from [[Siculo-Arabic]], though it has experienced extensive changes as a result of sustained and intensive contact with Italo-Romance varieties, and more recently also with English. Due to "a mix of social, cultural, historical, political, and indeed linguistic factors", many Maltese people today consider their language Semitic but not a type of Arabic.<ref name="Čéplö">{{Cite journal |last=Čéplö |first=Slavomír |date=2020-01-01 |title=Chapter 13 Maltese |url=https://www.academia.edu/43201849 |journal=Arabic and Contact-induced Change}}</ref> Cypriot Arabic is recognized as a minority language in Cyprus.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/14664208.2011.629113 |last1=Hadjioannou |first1=Xenia |last2=Tsiplakou |first2=Stavroula |last3=Kappler |first3=Matthias |year=2011 |title=Language policy and language planning in Cyprus |journal=Current Issues in Language Planning |volume=12 |issue=4 |page=508 |publisher=Routledge |hdl=10278/29371 |s2cid=143966308 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>