Arabic

Arabic (Arabic: العَرَبِيَّة‎‎, al-ʻarabiyyah or Arabic: عَرَبِيّ‎‎ ʻarabī is a Central Semitic language complex that first emerged in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. The modern written language (Modern Standard Arabic) is derived from Classical Arabic. It is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic (fuṣḥā), which is the official language of 26 states and the liturgical language of Islam.