The Characteristics of the Arabic Language
The Characteristics of the Arabic Language
The Characteristics of the Arabic Language
Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages of the Semitic group of languages. Scholars believe that the Arabic language originated in the 8th century BC and it has evolved over a period of more than a thousand years and established itself as a stable, universal, and dignified language in the Islamic era. This language is a completely different language from English or other European languages. The features of this language can be discussed from several angles as mentioned below.
Phonology
The phonology of the Arabic language is unique. It consists of a series of six difficult consonants (Kh-gh-h-h) and some strong consonants (t – d – s – z) that strongly influence the pronunciation of the vowel. It has three short and three long vowels like- (a – i – u). Arabic words begin with a consonant and are followed by a vowel. But long vowels are followed by more than one consonant and never more than two consonants together.
Morphology
An Arabic word has two parts —- (1) the main part which usually contains the consonant and gives the basic lexical meaning of the word and (2) the structural part which usually contains the vowel which is interconnected with the original consonant and gives a more specific grammatical meaning of the word. Thus the word ‘Kitab’ has a root (Ktb) which means written object. The word is associated with ‘Katib’, which means – one who writes, that is, a ‘clerk’.
Conjugation
Arabic root form is always regular and has two tenses. By adding a suffix the past tense or past participle tense is formed. Again an incomplete action is meant by adding a prefix. Sometimes by adding the suffix indicating number and gender the present or future tense is formed. In addition to having two tenses in Arabic, it also has imperative forms, active participles, passive participles, and nouns formed from verbs. Arabic verbs have three numbers- singular, dual, and plural, and it has two genders- masculine and feminine. Note that in classical Arabic there is no dual form of the first person and no gender differences but all the dual forms have been lost in modern Arabic for indirect utterances.
Pronouns
The declension of classical Arabic nouns had three factors: nominative, genitive, and executive. But in modern Arabic, nouns are not declined. Pronouns are used as suffixes and as separate words.
Syntax
The Arabic language obeys a dichotomy in the case and mood. This is why Arabic is more flexible than other Semitic languages. Sentences in this language are usually short, although strong in expressing meaning. The Arabic phrases contribute to the logical arrangement of words and the generalization of abstract nouns. Another notable feature of the Arabic language is that, with all its richness, it is relatively free from becoming blended with other languages. Although Classical Arabic borrowed some words from other languages, they were Arabicized. Of course, to a lesser extent, this trend continues till today.
Rich Vocabulary
The Arabic language has a huge vocabulary. An Arabic verb can take more than a dozen forms. In Arabic, there are sixteen words to mean the ‘moon’, thirty words for ‘rain’, twenty-one words for ‘travel’ and ‘light’, fifty-two words for ‘darkness’, fifty words for ‘cloud’, and ninety-one words for ‘length’. There are different words to denote the hour of the night and more than a dozen words to denote ‘bow’. Thus the vocabulary of the Arabic language is enviably richer than the other languages of the world.
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For all those linguistic features Arabic is considered to be one of the most respected languages in the world. 0 0 0.
The Characteristics of the Arabic Language
Read More: A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Early Islamic Period (622 AD-661 AD)
The Characteristics of the Arabic Language
N.B. This article ‘The Characteristics of the Arabic Language’ originally belongs to the book entitled ‘A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Pre-Islamic Period (500 AD-622 AD) by Menonim Menonimus. The Characteristics of the Arabic Language
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Books of Literary Criticism by M. Menonimus:
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- A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Pre-Islamic Period (500 AD-622 AD)
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