Arabic

Arabic is a language belonging to the Semitic family, part of the Afroasiatic branch. It is an official language in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and is written in Arabic script, which runs from right to left. Millions of people speak it, and it is one of the official languages of the United Nations.

Arabic holds great religious significance because the Quran is written in it. For this reason, many non-Arabs, including Somalis, have learned it for purposes of worship and education. Somalia and Djibouti are members of the Arab League, and Arabic has official status in both countries in their constitutions and educational systems.

Linguistic varieties

Arabic exhibits two distinct levels existing simultaneously (diglossia). The first level is Modern Standard Arabic, used in media, books, government, and schools. The second level consists of local dialects spoken at home and in the marketplace, such as Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, and Maghrebi dialects. Some of these dialects are difficult to understand mutually when speakers are far apart.

Script and sounds

Arabic script consists of connected letters whose form changes according to their position within a word. Vowel marks (diacritics) are usually not written in ordinary text, except in the Quran and educational books. Arabic has many pharyngeal and emphatic sounds, such as certain velar sounds, which are rare in many other languages.

Word formation

The word system is built on roots (usually three letters) to which patterns (verb forms) are applied. For example, the root k-t-b yields words related to writing. This system allows new words to be formed systematically, enabling Arabic to adopt modern scientific terminology.

Influence on Somali

Somali has borrowed many words from Arabic, particularly those related to religion, commerce, law, and education. This connection stems from Red Sea trade and Indian Ocean commerce and the spread of Islam along the East African coast. Arabic script was also used to write Somali (in the script of religious scholars) before the Latin alphabet was adopted in 1972.