Is Arabic a Language of Semitic Languages?

By Walfajri

Some people may ask: Is Arabic a language of Semitic languages? The Answer is yes, Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages, and also related to the South Semitic languages (e.g., Amharic in Ethiopia, Tigrinya in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and Mehri in Yemen and Oman) and the extinct East Semitic languages (e.g., Akkadian, first attested nearly 5,000 years ago).

Is Arabic a language which has influenced on other languages of the Islamic words? Arabic has lent many words to other languages of the Islamic world, like Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Malay, Hausa and Hindi. As a result, many European languages have also borrowed many words from it. Arabic influence is seen in Romance languages, particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and Sicilian, owing to both the proximity of European and Arab civilizations and 700 years of Muslim/Moorish rule in some parts of the Iberian peninsula.

Is Arabic a language which has been influenced by other languages? Arabic has also borrowed words from many languages, including Hebrew, Greek, Persian and Syriac in early centuries, Turkish in medieval times and contemporary European languages in modern times. However, the current tendency is to coin new words using the existing lexical resources of the language, or to repurpose old words, rather than directly borrowing foreign words.

Is Arabic a language being studied by all of Muslims over the world? Because the Quran is written in Arabic and all Islamic terms are in Arabic, millions of Muslims (both Arab and non-Arab) study the Arabic language. Arabic language has been taught worldwide in many elementary and secondary schools, especially Muslim schools. Universities around the world have classes that teach Arabic language as part of their foreign languages, Middle Eastern studies, and religious studies courses.