Arabic Language Resources

Learning Resources  -  Software  -  Books

Arabic is the largest living member of the Semitic language family and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. Modern Arabic is classified as a macrolanguage with 27 sub-languages. Standard Arabic, along with the variant is widely studied and known throughout the Islamic world.

Standard Arabic comes from Classical Arabic, the only remaining member of the Old North Arabian dialect group, which has been a literary language and the liturgical language of Islam since the seventh century.

Arabic has given many words to other languages of the Islamic world (as well as Spain), the same way that Latin contributed to most European languages.  In turn, it also borrowed from those languages, as well as Persian and Sanskrit from earlier contacts with their regions. In the Middle Ages, Arabic was a major language of culture, science, mathematics and philosophy, with the result that many European languages have also borrowed numerous words from it especially Spanish and Portuguese.

The term "Arabic" refers to either literary Arabic or other localized varieties of Arabic commonly known as "colloquial Arabic." Arabs believe literary Arabic is the standard language and tend to view everything else as dialects. Literary Arabic, refers both to the language of present-day books, TV, etc... and the Middle East and to the language of the Qur'an.  "Colloquial" or "dialectal" Arabic refers to the many national or regional varieties coming from Classical Arabic, used across North Africa and the Middle East. These sometimes differ enough that one cannot be understood from another. Most dialects are usually unwritten, although some amount of literature exists in many of them. Literary Arabic or classical Arabic is the official language of all Arab countries and is the only type of Arabic taught in schools.

The influence of Arabic has been most profound in Islamic countries. Arabic is a large source of vocabulary for languages as diverse as Berber, Kurdish, Persian, Swahili, Urdu, Hindi, Turkish, Malay and Indonesian, as well as other languages in countries where these languages are spoken. As an example, the Arabic word for book (/kitāb/) is used in all the languages listed, with the exception of Malay and Indonesian.  Additionally, Spanish and Portuguese have large numbers of Arabic loan words, and even English has quite a few.

Demand for Arabic speakers is high, largely due to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.  Both military and associated civilian business are in constant search of qualified Arabic speakers at all levels.  Check out the resources below and get started today!

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There is no time like the present, and never have so many resources been at your disposal for learning a foreign language.  Check out the links and descriptions below to find a program that fits your needs.

Arabic Learning Resources on the Web

Arabic Software

Rosetta Stone V3: Arabic, Level 1, 2 & 3

The excellent Rosetta Stone program (see Review).  Find out if Rosetta Stone products are right for your learning needs

Arabic Books

Coming soon!