Basic Arabic Conversation Phrases
Arabic, a southern-central Semitic language, is spoken in a large area including North Africa, most of the Arabian Peninsula, and other parts of the Middle East. Classic or Literary Arabic is the language of the Qurʾān and Hadith and the religious language of all Muslims. Colloquial Arabic includes numerous spoken dialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible. The chief dialect groups are those of Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and North Africa. With the exception of the dialect of Algeria, all Arabic dialects have been strongly influenced by the literary language. Arabic, in its standard form, is the official language of 26 states. The liturgical language of 1.8 billion Muslims, and Arabic is one of six official languages of the United Nations. The sound system of Arabic is very different from that of English and the other languages of Europe. Arabic words always start with a single consonant followed by a vowel, and long vowels are rarely followed by more than a single consonant. Clusters containing more than two consonants do not occur in the language. Arabic uses a completely new alphabet.