Diglossia in Arabic language

Abstract

Arabic has been described as one of the great languages of the world that is positively affecting more than one billion people in the Islamic world. About 800 million people use it as a religious language and another 300 million use it as their mother tongue. Being the language of the Qur’an, it is held in high esteem and honour among Muslims. This paper is an attempt to discuss the rich and deep historical roots and wonderful heritage that extended through centuries to the modern time and its resulting impact as a cultural component globally. This includes the co-existence of two forms of the same language, i.e. modern standard Arabic and Colloquial spoken Arabic, Arabic alphabet and writing system, Arabic grammar and elements of its structure, consonantal root systems, rudimentary calligraphic systems and how its calligraphic script has affected the Islamic culture in thought globally. The findings revealed that diglossia exists in every region of the world where Arabic is being spoken. The two forms which are regional spoken Arabic and the modern standard Arabic coexists simultaneously. The paper recommends the learning of modern standard Arabic for its importance in understanding the Qur’an and Hadith and to be a beneficiary of the invaluable scholarly works from Arabic and Islamic history. This paper harmonizes information from various resources on Arabic language and its development from classical Arabic(CA) to Modern Standard Arabic(MSA) concentrating on the major reasons for changes with the language. Among the findings of this paper is that while some Arabic speakers may find difficulties in the pronunciation of some specific sounds, others may find it easy without confronting the same difficulty. In conclusion, the paper ends with speculations concerning the future of Arabic language