Familiar North Arabic Via Nabatean Script example essay topic

541 words
The Arabic Language The Arabic language is one of the worlds most widely used languages. It is spoken by almost two hundred million people in twenty-two countries. The countries range from Morocco to Iraq all the way south as Somalia and Sudan. In addition to these countries the language is also being used in other Non-Middle East / African countries that practice Islam. Islam is a religion that was originally written is Arabic. For a Muslim, one who practices Islam, the best way to understand the Qa " ran is in Arabic.

The originals of the Arabic language have been highly debated, but there are a few facts that most scholars accept as universal truths. The origins of Arabic go back all the way to the second millennium in the form of Aramaic script. From Aramaic the script language was modified into the familiar North Arabic via Nabatean script. The Nabatean people had business and social links to the Middle Eastern Tribes and this is what lead scholars to believe the Nabatean script is the root of North Arabic script. From the Nabatean scripts the language under went refinement into the Canaanite script and then the two best-known scripts, Kufic and Thu luth. "The earliest known example of Kufic script is to be found on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and is dated around 691-2".

Around this time period the Arabic langue was being to be put into script. For the most part the Arabic language was an oral tradition. It was not until the birth of Islam that steps were taken to develop a written form of Arabic. When the Qa " ran came out it was passed on oral from generation to generation. A written form of Arabic was created by Zaid ibn T habit to help keep the Qa " ran is a pure form. His alphabet was based on a North Semitic alphabet that used 22 consonants and was written from right to left.

The modern form of Arabic is still written the same way, but rather than having 22 consonants it was cut down to 17. The Arabic alphabet uses a system of three levels of symbols and dots to represent vowels and stresses. Here is a chart with consonants and some vowel symbols: The style of writing that Arabic is written is called calligraphy. The artistic nature of calligraphy arises from the Islamic belief that drawing human and animal for are haram, against God teachings. So as an alternative the text of the Qu " ran were used to decorate the Mosques. Due to Arabic being so intertwined with Islam the language spread as the religion spread and influenced the European languages.

Here are a list of words that are Arabic in origins: admiral hazard alcohol safari algebra saffron azure sandal calendar sugar cotton tambourine crimson tariff gazelle traffic giraffe zero The same applies Vic Vera. In the last 100 years Arabic has had to adapt the western world. Arabic does not a "p" or "v" sound and has had to modify it to incorporate these sounds.