What is Modern Standard Arabic?
In its written form, Modern Standard Arabic is the language of literature and the media. Books, newspapers, magazines, official documents, private and business correspondence, street signs and shop signs – all are written in Modern Standard Arabic.
Modern Standard Arabic is taught at schools, universities and colleges. There are no local varieties of Modern Standard Arabic. The language is exactly the same across the Arab world. The course on this website will teach you Modern Standard Arabic, and you can start learning it right away.
Modern Standard Arabic has developed out of Classical Arabic, the language of the Quran. During the era of the caliphate,Classical Arabic was the language used for all religious, cultural, administrative and scholarly purposes.
Where and when is Modern Standard Arabic spoken?
Since Modern Standard Arabic is a standardized language, its spoken form is used as a lingua franca across the Arab world.
Conversing in Modern Standard Arabic makes it possible for Arabs of different nationalities to understand one another. This way, they avoid the ambiguities and misunderstandings caused by dialectal differences.
Spoken Modern Standard Arabic is the language used on television, in government and parliament, and on official occasions, like conferences and seminars. It is also used in religious assemblies, sermons of the Friday prayers, etc.
But isn't Modern Standard Arabic difficult to learn?
Learning Modern Standard Arabic requires more effort than learning a spoken Arabic dialect, but it is an effort with a much bigger payoff.
Knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic opens the doors to the whole Arab World.
Modern Standard Arabic (and its roots in Classical Arabic) is the heart and soul of the Arabic language and the greatest treasure of the Arab culture.
Once you have basic knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic, learning a dialect becomes a lot easier, so why not start learning Arabic now?
