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Exploring the Arabic Language

This quiz tests your knowledge of the Arabic language, its dialects, and its cultural significance across various regions.

#Arabic language #language learning #linguistics #Middle Eastern studies #cultural studies

1 Among them are commonly-used words like "sugar" (sukkar), "________" (quṭn) and "magazine" (maḫāzin).

2 It is spoken by almost 35 million people in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, ________, and Turkey.

3 [5] Classical Arabic has also been a literary language and the liturgical language of ________ since its inception in the 7th century.

4 Iraqi Arabic, spoken by about 29 million people in ________.

5 Universities around the world have classes that teach Arabic as part of their foreign languages, Middle Eastern studies, and ________ courses.

6 Central Asian Arabic, spoken in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and ________, is highly endangered.

7 What family does Arabic language belong to?

8 What region does Arabic language belong to?

9 ك /k/ usually retains its original pronunciation, but is palatalized to [tʃ] in many words in ________, Iraq and much of the Arabian Peninsula.

10 Yemeni Arabic, spoken in Yemen, southern Saudi Arabia, ________, and Somalia.

💡 Interesting Facts

  • although both Hebrew and Arabic texts are written from right to left, the question mark is mirrored in Arabic (؟) but not in Hebrew punctuation.
  • Kawkab America was the first Arabic-language newspaper published in North America.
  • the Eritrean Independent Moslem League was persuaded to support a union between Ethiopia and Eritrea, after receiving Ethiopian assurances on Arabic schooling and respect for Islamic traditions.
  • the Egyptian Communist Organisation was nicknamed "Mishmish", meaning apricot in Arabic.
  • three of the stars named after people, often thought to have traditional Arabic names, were in fact named for members of the Apollo 1 crew.
  • the star Alpha Persei is also known by the traditional name of Mirfak, Arabic for 'elbow', and the name Hinali'i, commemorating a tsunami in Hawaiian folklore.
  • al-Karmil, an Arabic language newspaper first published in Haifa in 1908, was founded with the express purpose of "opposing Zionist colonization".
  • Zeta Orionis, or Alnitak, 'the girdle', in Arabic, is the brightest O-type blue supergiant and one of the hottest bright stars in the sky.
  • Israeli writer Eli Amir called for more Israeli literature to be translated into Arabic to promote understanding.
  • Egyptian poet Farouk Shousha has described the decline in the quality of Arabic in Egypt as "an issue of national security".
  • Dunash ben Labrat, a medieval Jewish writer, introduced Arabic language poetic meter into Hebrew poetry.
  • Nabi Shu'ayb, Arabic for "the Prophet Jethro", is used in English to refer to the site where Druze tradition holds he was buried.
  • Ya'qub Bilbul, an Iraqi Jew who wrote in Arabic, is considered a pioneer of the Iraqi novel and short story.
  • "Bitaqat Khub" is the first and only Eurovision Song Contest to have been performed in Arabic, and also the first and only entry to have represented an African country.
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