Arabic-speaking

Arabic
العَرَبِيَّة al-ʻarabiyyah
al-ʿArabiyyah in written Arabic (Naskh script)
Pronunciation	/ˈʕarabiː/, /ʔalʕaraˈbijja/
Native to	Countries of the Arab League, minorities in neighboring countries and some parts of Asia, Africa, Europe
Native speakers	313 million (2018)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic West Semitic Central Semitic Arabic languages Arabic
Early form	Proto-Arabic Old Arabic Classical Arabic
Standard forms	Modern Standard Arabic
Dialects	Western (Maghrebi) Central (incl. Egyptian, Sudanese) Northern (incl. Levantine, Mesopotamian) Peninsular (Gulf, Hejazi, Najdi, Yemeni)
Writing system	Arabic alphabet Arabic Braille Syriac alphabet (Garshuni) Hebrew alphabet (Judeo-Arabic languages) Greek alphabet (Cypriot Maronite Arabic) Latin script (Romanized Arabic alphabet, Lebanese Arabic, Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Libyan Arabic, Tunisian Arabic)
Signed forms	Signed Arabic (national forms)
Official status
Official language in	Modern Standard Arabic is an official language of 27 states, the third most after English and French List Algeria Bahrain Comoros Chad Egypt Eritrea Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar SADR Saudi Arabia Sudan Syria Tanzania (Zanzibar) Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen Organizations African Union Arab League Organisation of Islamic Cooperation United Nations
Recognised minority language in	List Brunei Ceuta Cyprus Iran Mali Melilla Niger Philippines Senegal South Sudan Turkey
Regulated by	List Arabic Language International Council Algeria: Supreme Council of the Arabic language in Algeria Egypt: Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo Israel: Academy of the Arabic Language in Israel Iraq: Iraqi Academy of Sciences Jordan: Jordan Academy of Arabic Libya: Academy of the Arabic Language in Jamahiriya Morocco: Academy of the Arabic Language in Rabat Saudi Arabia: Academy of the Arabic Language in Riyadh Somalia: Academy of the Arabic Language in Mogadishu Sudan: Academy of the Arabic Language in Khartoum Syria: Arab Academy of Damascus (the oldest) Tunisia: Beit Al-Hikma Foundation
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ar
ISO 639-2	ara
ISO 639-3	– inclusive code Individual codes:  – Algerian Arabic  – Algerian Saharan Arabic  – Babalia Creole Arabic  – Baharna Arabic  – Chadian Arabic  – Cypriot Arabic  – Dhofari Arabic  – Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic  – Egyptian Arabic  – Gulf Arabic  – Hadrami Arabic  – Hijazi Arabic  – Libyan Arabic  – Mesopotamian Arabic  – Moroccan Arabic  – Najdi Arabic  – North Levantine Arabic  – North Mesopotamian Arabic  – Omani Arabic  – Saidi Arabic  – Sanaani Arabic  – Shihhi Arabic  – South Levantine Arabic  – Standard Arabic  – Sudanese Arabic  – Sudanese Creole Arabic  – Taizzi-Adeni Arabic  – Tajiki Arabic  – Tunisian Arabic  – Uzbeki Arabic
Glottolog	arab1395
Linguasphere	12-AAC
Dispersion of native Arabic speakers as the majority (dark green) or minority (light green) population
Use of Arabic as the national language (green), as an official language (dark blue), and as a regional/minority language (light blue)
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Arabic (Arabic: العَرَبِيَّة‎) al-ʻarabiyyah [ʔalʕaraˈbijːah] ( listen) or (Arabic: عَرَبِيّ‎) ʻarabī [ˈʕarabiː] ( listen) or [ʕaraˈbij]) is a Central Semitic language that first emerged in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the west, in northwestern Arabia, and in the Sinai peninsula. Arabic is classified as a macrolanguage comprising 30 modern varieties, including its standard form, Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic.