阿拉伯语是世界主要语言之一。从阿拉伯半岛开始，穿过“肥腴月湾”（即西亚一些讲阿
拉伯语的国家，这些国家所在的地区，形同新月，因此得名。）一直延长到大西洋的广阔
地带，都讲这种语言。它是下列国家的官方语言：沙特阿拉伯、也门、南也门、阿曼、科
威特、巴林、卡塔尔、伊拉克、叙利亚、约旦、黎巴嫩、埃及、苏丹、利比亚、突尼斯、
阿尔及利亚和摩洛哥。把阿拉伯当作母语的有一亿一千多万人左右。此外，其他一些国家
还有数百万伊斯兰教教徒也程度不同地懂得一些阿拉伯语，因为它是伊斯兰教和神圣《古
兰经》的语言。一九七四年，阿拉伯语被列为联合国的第六种工作语言。
大语言来源于大帝国，阿拉伯语也不例外。与希伯来语关联密切的这种闪米特语言，它的
使用范围一直到公元七世纪还局限在阿拉伯半岛内，但是当伊斯兰教在七世纪取得了引人
注目的胜利后，这种语言的使用就远远超过了它原来的疆界，几乎全部取代了伊拉克、叙
利亚、埃及和北非从前使用的语言。随着伊斯兰教在以后几百年内取得进一步的胜利，阿
拉伯语便在东部远至阿富汗、西部远至西班牙的广阔地区通行。

阿拉伯语的字母表相信是来源于一个叫做纳巴特安的古老民族，但这个字母表到底是什么
时候、在什么地方、以及到底是如何产生出来的，这仍然是一个有争议的问题。穆罕默德
早期曾经采用过两种手写体：一种叫纳斯基（Naskhi），这是书籍和通信中常用的草体；
另一种叫做库菲克（Kufic），这是一种楷体文字，主要是装饰用。现在二十八字母的字母
表基本上由辅音组成，元音符号由加在字母上方或下方的符号来表示。但是这些符号通常
是省去的，它们只在小学课本和《古兰经》的一切版本中才会出现。同其它闪米特语言一
样，阿拉伯语的书写方式也是由右至左，阿拉伯语的文字还用语其它许多语言，比如波斯
语，普什图语，乌尔都语和信德语。

口头的阿拉伯语依国家的不同而不同，但是古典阿拉伯语这种《古兰经》的语言从七世纪
以来却基本没有发生什么变化，它是使阿拉伯语发展和规范化的强大统一力量。当来自各
国受过教育的阿拉伯人碰到一起时，他们一般都用古典阿拉伯语进行交流，在阿拉伯半岛
的南部海岸地区，人们讲阿拉伯语的若干方言，这些方言总称为南阿拉伯语，但是这些方
言与北部的阿拉伯语之间的差别是如此之大，以至人们常常把南阿拉伯语看作独立的语言
。

阿拉伯语为由于提供了许多词汇，其中不少是以阿拉伯语的定冠词al-开头的，例如algeb
ra（代数）、alcohol（酒精）、alchemy（炼金术）、alkali（碱）、alcove（壁龛）、
alfalfa（苜蓿）以及albatross（信天翁）。其它的有mosque（清真寺）、minaret（伊斯
兰教寺院的尖塔）、sultan（苏丹——某些伊斯兰教国家最高统治者的称号）、elixir（
长生不老药、炼金药）、harem（伊斯兰教国家中的后宫）、giraffe（长颈鹿）、gazell
e（瞪羚）、cotton（棉花）、amber（琥珀）、sofa（沙发）、mattress（褥垫）、tari
ff（关税）、magazine（杂志）、arsenal（□□库）、syrup（糖浆）、sherbet（果子露
）。coffee（咖啡）也是一个阿拉伯词，它是通过土耳其语和意大利语的途径进入英语的
，assassin（谋杀者）一词是从一个类似的阿拉伯语词来的，这个词的意思是“对麻醉品
上瘾的人”。

大不列颠百科全书的定义：

Arabic language　

Southern-Central Semitic language spoken in a large area including North Afric
a, most of the Arabian Peninsula, and other parts of the Middle East. (See Afr
o-Asiatic languages.)

Arabic is the language of the Qur''an (or Koran, the sacred book of Islam) and　
is the religious language of all Muslims. Literary Arabic, usually called Clas
sical Arabic, is essentially the form of the language found in the Qur''an, wit
h some modifications necessary for its use in modern times; it is uniform thro
ughout the Arab world. Colloquial Arabic includes numerous spoken dialects, so
me of which are mutually unintelligible. The chief dialect groups are those of
Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and North Africa. With the exception of the diale
ct of Algeria, all Arabic dialects have been strongly influenced by the litera
ry language.

The sound system of Arabic is very different from that of English and the othe
r languages of Europe. It includes a number of distinctive guttural sounds (ph
aryngeal and uvular fricatives) and a series of velarized consonants (pronounc
ed with accompanying constriction of the pharynx and raising of the back of th
e tongue). There are three short and three long vowels (a, i, u; a, i, u). Ara
bic words always start with a single consonant followed by a vowel, and long v
owels are rarely followed by more than a single consonant; clusters containing
more than two consonants do not occur in the language.

Arabic shows the fullest development of typical Semitic word structure. An Ara
bic word is composed of two parts(1) the root, which generally consists of t
hree consonants and provides the basic lexical meaning of the word, and (2) th
e pattern, which consists of vowels and gives grammatical meaning to the word.
Thus, the root ktb combined with the pattern -i-a- gives kitab ("book"), wher
eas the same root combined with the pattern -a-i- gives katib ("one who writes
," or "clerk"). The language also makes use of prefixes and suffixes, which ac
t as subject markers, pronouns, prepositions, and the definite article.

Verbs in Arabic are regular in conjugation. There are two tensesthe perfect,
formed by the addition of suffixes, which is often used to express past time;
and the imperfect, formed by the addition of prefixes and sometimes containin
g suffixes indicating number and gender, which is often used for expressing pr
esent or future time. In addition to the two tenses there are imperative forms
, an active participle, a passive participle, and a verbal noun. Verbs are inf
lected for three persons, three numbers (singular, dual, plural), and two gend
ers. In Classical Arabic there is no dual form and no gender differentiation i
n the first person, and the modern dialects have lost all dual forms. The clas
sical language also has forms for the passive voice.

There are three cases (nominative, genitive, and accusative) in the declension
al system of Classical Arabic nouns; nouns are no longer declined in the moder
n dialects. Pronouns occur both as suffixes and as independent words.

With the spread of literacy and the increase in higher education in the Arab w
orld, the influence of Classical Arabic on the colloquial dialects has become　
greater.