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The Arabic language is now the most widespread language of the Semitic language family and one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Arabic is spoken by approximately 422 million people as a first or second language in 22 Arab countries and many other countries in Asia and Africa. As the fifth largest language in the world and language of Islam, the Arabic is considered to be a universal language.

The History of the Arabic language begins, strictly speaking, only with the onset of written tradition in Arabic. The earliest written document is the Qur'an text that was written down between the years 610 and 632. The creation of an official version came only in the era of the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan (644-656). The Pre-Islamic poetry, although is dating back to the 6th century, was only written in the 7th and 8th centuries by oral transmission. Those - Koran and poetry - were the essential sources of the Arabic language that formed the basis to the Arab philologists of the 8th and 9th century to create a training system with a high degree of awareness, the first to turn the Arabic language into a language of culture and education.

Literature

 * Ernst Axel Knauf: "Arabo-Aramaic and'Arabiyya: Fromen Ancient Arabic to Early Standard Arabic, 200CE-600ce" in Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, Michael Marx (Ed.): 'The Qur'ān in Context. Historical and Literary Investigations into the Qur'anic Milieu '. Leiden, 2011. pp 197-254.
 * Abdul Ghafur Sabuni:  Introduction to the Arabic.  Helmut Buske Verlag, Hamburg 1981, ISBN 3-87118-518-3.

Origin and propagation
The oldest evidence of Arabic reaches back to the 9th century. There are proper names in the Assyrian cuneiform texts. The dialectal diversity of the ancient Arabic language is well documented in the inscriptions. An inscription from the year 328 is the Arabic language in Nabataean Aramaic script. Under the influence of the trading empire of the Nabataeans is a standardized Arabic developed in the period between the fourth and sixth century Traffic language out.

As a fully trained classical Arabic literary language appeared around the middle of the 6th century. A wealth of poems thematically different contents and accurate as more complicated metrical schemes testifies to the richness and expressiveness that came to full fruition language.

With the advent of Islam and the Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries was accompanied by a massive expansion of the Arabic language. As a language of the Koran, it displaced the Sabaean in southern Arabia, Aramaic in Syria and Iraq, the Persian in Iraq, the Coptic in Egypt, the Berber dialects in North Africa and held up next to Spanish and Portuguese at least until the end of the 15th century in the Iberian Peninsula. From Tunisia from the archipelago of Malta has been Arabized, and of Oman from the Arabian came to Zanzibar and East Africa.

The complete identification of the Arabs and non-Arabs with Islam and their admiration for the "secrets of the Arabic language" to them clearly and deliberately were for the first time in the form of language of the Koran, has arosen linguistic cult of great aesthetic, religious and cultural significance, The new religion was the only motive and the driving force for the intensive study and codification of the Arabic language in accordance with the language of the Koran, the pure and to keep unchanged was it.

Today, the Modern Standard Arabic e is as a written language in 22 Arab States in use: from Mauritania to Iraq, and Yemen to Syria. Arabic also in the former Soviet Union (Uzbekistan), Cyprus, Turkey (southeast), Israel and Ethiopia is of minorities in Iran (Khuzestan, on the northern shore of the Gulf), Afghanistan (northwest), spoken. In addition, there is the ritual language of all non-Arab Islamic nations.



The Arabic within the Semitic family of languages
Arabic Language is the youngest genes table language of the Semitic family of languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Ethiopic, etc.). The Semitic languages are closely related to each other and have, inter alia the following common features:


 * Abjad without designation of the short vowels (except Maltese)
 * Guttural e and emphatic sounds
 * Dreiradikalige roots
 * Two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine
 * Three Numbers: Singular, Dual and Plural
 * Two case: nominative and accusative
 * Rectum-rain-compounds
 * Various of action s the verb: intensive, causative, reflexive, etc.
 * Late emergence of the concept of time in the verb (finished / unfinished)
 * Frequent occurrence of noun clause it (without set copula)
 * Using the paronomasia (for example: a meaningless said)
 * Tendency to parataxis (low-order) in the syntax

Writing and calligraphy


All commonly used today alphabet s go back ultimately to the Semitic consonantal script. The Arabic script is according to the Latin, the most widespread in the world. Its scope ranged from Central Asia to Central Africa and the Far East to the Atlantic. Written in Arabic script is now Persian, Urdu (Pakistan and northwest India) and the Berber languages and until recently the Turkic and Caucasian languages, Malay (Indonesia), Somali, Hausa and Kiswahili.

The origin of the Arabic script is not yet fully understood. There are many theories, some of which contain fundamental contradictions. The oldest inscription is said to come from the 3rd century. BC. It is thought that they evolved from the Nabataean script. The Arab Nabataeans served until then as a written language of Aramaic. However, the 22 letters of the Aramaic alphabet were not enough, the express 28 sounds of the Arabic language. Therefore, the Arabs developed further six letters.

Typical of the Arabic script, the writing direction is from right to left, the connection of letters to each other as well as the uniformity of some letters that are distinguished only by the diacritical points above or below lying. She is a consonantal script, in which the short vowels can be expressed by means of the suffix. The introduction of diacritical, vocal and other special characters is commonly attributed to the Arab lexicographers al-Khalil ibn Ahmad (d. 791).

With the spread of the Arabic language as a result of Islamization throughout the centuries created numerous font styles. It unfolded a separate art direction - the calligraphy.

Understood the Arab calligraphers »the art of writing as the geometry of the soul, expressed through the body." This art in its codified form goes back to Ibn Muqla (886-940). The fact that the Arabic script written along a horizontal line will form the basis for an unlimited range of graphic forms, which become apparent both on book pages as well as on the walls and other surfaces. The most important fonts are briefly described:


 * a) Kufi: So named for the city of Kufa in Iraq. A geometric design, based on square elements. This writing is the oldest. It was used mainly by Koran writer s and secretaries at royal courts. The oldest surviving inscription from the year 692 is located in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
 * b) naskh: A round shape, which replaced the Kufic script in the 11th century. It was used primarily for spelling of scientific and literary works. The Koran writers made use of this document.
 * c) Thuluth: A complex structure that has a solemn, liturgical value. It was used for the titles of the suras in the Quran and the architectural arabesques.
 * d) Ruqa: A strong, bold font with vertical lines and rounded hooks on the letter head. It has been developed by the Turks.
 * e) Diwani: A lively, cursive form, which was also developed and maintained in the 15th century by the Turks. Diwani was primarily the writing of the state administration and law firms.
 * f) Taʿlīq script: A not too demanding form in which some letters are elongated.
 * g) Nastaliq: A developed in the 15th century by the Persian script, which among other things in Persia and Pakistan is used in the design of letters, book covers and posters. Nastaliq is a combination of Naskh and Ta'līq script.

Until the invention of the paper was obtained from the marsh plant of the Papyrus as the most important material for writing up. Although he was known to the Arabs already in pre-Islamic times, but was only after the conquest of Syria and Egypt frequent use. Notably appropriated the papyrus for the correspondence of the Caliphs and even for administrative purposes, as a falsification of documents was excluded without damage to the papyrus.

The processing of the papyrus to write material was initially operated in Egypt, and later in Iraq, where the first factory in the year 836 in Samarra was founded. As early as the mid 10th century was made paper. In Damascus and Basra (Iraq) emerged paper mill n, which supplied the vast Islamic area with paper.

Besides papyrus since pre-Islamic times also leather, parchment, wood, branches of palm trees, stones, textiles, ribs and shoulder blades of camels and potsherds were used for writing. As a writing tool mainly used a reed pen, their handling during training a scribe special emphasis was placed.

The ink was used in two ways: The easy consisted of soot and honey, the other from oak galls and various additives such as camphor, aloes, and gum. The clerk put forth his ink itself, because he was trying to ensure that they contained no admixtures of decomposing effect. So leaving Islamic calligraphers special recipes for making ink.

Problem of writing


A major disadvantage of the Arabic script is probably in the absence of the letter for the short vowels, which are used among other things as a carrier of grammatical functions for making logical connections in the set. A word like "mlk ملك" for example, can be interpreted differently depending on the context in mind: malaka "own" mulk "rule" milk "property", malik 'king' or malak 'angel'. Often complicates the interpretation of this homography texts.

Another uncertainty is due to the similarity of some, only by diacritical points differentiated by their letter or number and / or position, which often leads to confusion (cf .: n and b, t and th, d and dh, dsch and kh, s and sh, etc.). As an additional complication is also proving the fact that the letters of the Arabic letters in contrast to the Latin of their position in the word (beginning, middle, end, isolated) depends.

Those mentioned peculiarities arise again in the mechanical reproduction of writing. Thus, for example, with only 88 types for an Arabic 137 types required, which, however, in the age of the computer plays no more role in contrast to the German typewriter. More noticeable these characteristics had an effect when printing, because inevitably increased by the significant number of printers' type (average 700) the cost of printing. Also this problem is as good as gone.

In view of the above peculiarities of Arabic writing the question arose whether they should not be replaced by the Latin alphabet. Some Arab intellectuals even argue that the backwardness of the Arab world in civilization and science proceeded from that same writing system. However prevails among Arab scholars hold the opposite view. Are shown in the Romanization of the Arabic alphabet, a loss of the spirit of the Arabic language, the loss of the soul of Arab culture, the destruction of the original grammar structures and the disappearance of calligraphy, that abstract art of Islam. So were all the efforts made to reform the Arabic script, fruitless. Because the linguistic history teaches that a font only a change or renewal undergoes when it is taken over by another, of tradition and habit unencumbered speech community. This case occurred in the use of the Arabic script for non-Semitic languages. For example, were also created new characters for the sounds in Persian, Urdu and Pashto that does not know Arabic.

Although the Arabic script in itself is a kind of shorthand, has the Arab over a shorthand (ikhtizal). This term first appears in Sulaiman al-Bustani (1856-1925). The youngest and most efficient shorthand was by André Baquni, professor of Daktylographie at the University of Damascus. He also created a shorthand that is based on simplified or abbreviated letters of the Arabic alphabet.

Language development


The object of the history of language, it is primarily to determine changes in a language and to clarify their causes. Applied to the history of the Arabic language, however, you get into trouble, because the Arab has changed hardly noticeable in its structure since its standardization in the 9th century.

What has changed over the centuries, shows up clearly only in the vocabulary, because new things and ideas require new terms that supersede earlier and finally let into oblivion. Words are interchangeable and therefore influence the structure of a language only slightly. A structural language shift occurs only if the syntax is undergoing changes and new directions. This can be excluded for all phases of development of the Arabic script language.

The natural history of a language is not confined to the language of the poet or the high language of the educated. Linguistic history is not only style story of the beautiful literature and the well-maintained linguistic culture. The dialect, which is the spontaneous spoken language of the various layers and groups, is also an essential part of a language. The high-level language is basically only a specific expression, which often rests only on a narrow spoke sociological basis.

Therefore can not be assumed that they represented the real voice of a state or time for language development is the only factor. The development history of Arabic dialects, however, is still in the dark, so we have to give up the fulfillment of the demands of the most talked historical perspective today.

It follows that the subject of the Arabic language history can not consist in the exploration of language change, but rather in the answer to a key question, namely: Why could the Arabic language despite its proliferation in the uttermost parts of the earth and its contact position with the various peoples, languages and cultures while exerting their influence, but only slightly to subject itself to external influences and thus to assert to the present day as a living language? One answer may lie in the following statement: "So far, the classic Arabiya has its leading position much owes to the fact that it served as a linguistic symbol of cultural unity of the Islamic world in all Arab countries and beyond. So far, the force of tradition has still proven stronger than all attempts to displace the classical Arabiya from this their all-dominating position. If not fool all expectations, they will claim in the future this position as an Islamic cultural language, as long as there is an Islamic cultural unity "

The question of why the Arabic script language has not changed much, have a link with the previous question can be easily answered by reference to the wealth of existing evidence: "The plans prepared by the Arab National grammarians with untiring diligence and admirable dedication rules have the classical language in all its aspects represented phonetically, morphologically, syntactically and lexically so comprehensive that their normative grammar has reached a state of perfection, which does not allow any further development. "

Pre- and Early Islam
Our knowledge of the language of the Arab state in pre-Islamic times based on the scanty traditions of Muslim authors. Although these publications do not allow firm conclusions, they convey useful information but by a vision of that era. These authors were of the unanimous opinion that the Arabic language was due to the dialect of Quraish, the tribe of the Prophet, because all tracks to Mecca and environment led as the birthplace of the Arab.

In fact took Mecca in the 6th century at the latest a central position on the Arabian Peninsula. As a site revered by many tribes sanctuary, the Kaaba, and as a major trading center in an extensive network of intensive trade relations it helped the tribe of Quraysh to power and prestige. Because of this primacy and her dialect in other Arab tribes became more important, the difference between the dialects of this language region must have been minor. Recurrent contacts between various Arab tribes in the markets in and around Mecca, especially in the market "ukase" on which held a lively cultural and linguistic exchange, favored this fact.

Until the advent of Islam, the Arabic language was dominated by poetry, which was already highly developed at the beginning of the 6th century. Their topics ranged from the lamentations over the deserted abode of the beloved, the perilous desert ride, the description of landscapes, animals and natural events through to self-praise, ridicule and diatribe poems.

In contrast, the prose in Vorislam obviously played only a minor role in the cultural life. It was limited to a few namely animal fables, legends and news about the tribal wars of the Arabs, on proverbs and sayings and various curses of tribal soothsayer, all of which were written in rhymed prose.

The linguistic and social situation in the Pre- and Early Islam is documented most reliable in the Qur'an (610-632). In it also reflects the economic, cultural, political and religious life of the Arabs.

The incurred by the new religion and the social conditions caused by the language of the Koran as a unifying force linguistic awareness created new values, which found their expression in an extensive vocabulary. From now on, the Quran was considered a language regulator and law equally and served the later standardization of the language as a foundation that influenced the fate of the Arabic language lasting to this day.

Rightly Guided Caliphs
After the Prophet's death (632) and during the era of Rightly Guided Caliphs (632-661) was the center of power still in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, although the Arab armies had conquered the largest centers of civilization, The Arabs were in all conquered territories numerically in the minority. Their language was confronted at once with the new needs of an ever-expanding empire. She had no expressions for management, policy, legislation and other areas that were needed in the world more open society of the conquered regions with their own language and cultural traditions.

This new situation posed a serious threat to the Arabic language, because the conquerors seemed to be subject to the influence of "progressive" conquered peoples. Whether in Egypt or Syria, Iraq or Iran - the Arabs saw the need to accept the language of the conquered for administrative matters: Greek in Egypt and Syria, Persian in Iraq and in the eastern provinces. A linguistic conquest of distant areas of the peninsula seemed unlikely in view of this situation, if not impossible. The language of the Quran was in danger of drowning or at least diluted by a multilingual society. In overcoming these difficulties ultimately is the strength of the Arabic language. This alone is the real "miracle" of the Arab-Islamic expansion.

A key to the survival of the Arabic language moment was the traditionally strong binding of the Arab in his language, which was also the language of divine revelation now. Language and religion were and still are one. If you wanted to understand the Quran, one had to preserve the language, or to understand the language, you had to keep the Koran. Marriage and adoption among Arabs and non-Arabs on the one hand and their close cooperation in the leading positions of the Islamic empire on the other hand promoted this process. The role of the first four caliphs should not be underestimated.

The farsighted Caliph Omar (634-644), the real founder of the Islamic empire, made sure that his compatriots perished in the conquered provinces as a minority. By having them stationed in camps before the big cities and forbade them the acquisition of land, he prevented that they were at home and kept them so before fragmentation and loss or defacement of their language. The third caliph Uthman (644-656) was the first official version of the Koran create, and the fourth Caliph Ali (656-661) ordered the standardization of the language, as they - in his opinion - threatened to degenerate.

For religious reasons, all four caliphs insisted to teach the language of divine revelation, distribute, maintain, and from and against any subversive foreign influences, what is manifestly succeeded.

Umayyad
The era of Umayyad - Dynasty (661-750) is characterized by the extensive Arab-Islamic conquests, which so far led to a change in lifestyle, as a mixture of the Arab conquerors began with the conquered population. Damascus as the seat of the new Caliphate seemed the peninsula, the mother country of the Arabic language, to leave fully enter into the shadows. But the interest in the language did not let up.

The Umayyads remained faithful to the language of their ancestors and the Koran. Numerous evidence suggests that some caliphs were of the opinion that the best education was to enjoy only in the desert. To learn To this end, the language training and the spirit of life in the desert, members of the ruling family were sent there.

On Kalifenhof was a neat language as a sign of nobility, correct Arabic and fluency were a precondition for higher positions. Thorough knowledge of Arabic grammar and even presented one of the preconditions for the throne.

The Umayyads were mainly with the traditional poetry, which spawned the desert, closely connected with the poet played a similar role in the pre- and early Islam. As the voice of the public, he supported the ruler or was their avowed opponent. In addition to poetry and rhetoric took a significant place. From the rhetorician was expected to express his thoughts in eloquent and sonorous language, what essentially based its success. So it is no wonder that the two governor Ziyad ibn ABiH (d. 676) and al-Hajjaj (d. 714) less because of their warfare rather than by their eloquence became famous. The sermons of Hasan al-Basri (d. 728) were contemporary and later speakers as a template. All in all, unfolded the prose into an important form of language, whose founder Ibn al-Muqaffa' (d. 757) was. His work has been exemplary for the subsequent Arabic prose and important part of the beautiful literature (adab).

In less than a century succeeded the Umayyads, to spread the language and to make it a means of literary expression. At the beginning of the 8th century took the Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (685-705), a number of measures to ensure the primacy of the Arabic language in the far-flung Islamic empire. As a state political act the Arabization began with far-reaching consequences for the spread of the language. Official registers and important files, especially those of the tax authorities, have been translated into Arabic. From then on it was, in all administrative operations of the Arab to make use of. Also in the state economic monopolies, such as in the Egyptian factories for the production of papyrus and other luxury materials, put the Arabization one seriously. New Gold coins with Arabic inscription, took the place of the Byzantine and Persian.

The Caliph Abdul Malik put some reforms to concretize the language. They consisted, inter alia, the reduction of diacritical points to distinguish identical letters and in the use of vowel signs to facilitate the learning of the language and to ensure a correct reading. This meant that many non-Arabic-speaking learned the language of the conquerors, and so got the opportunity to hold public office.

Now the Arabization stood on a firmer foundation and contributed significantly to the spread of the Arab over a wide area at. As the official and cultural language displaced Greek and Aramaic it in Syria and Palestine, in Egypt Coptic, Latin and Berber dialects in North Africa and Spain and Persian, and other languages in the eastern provinces. The Arabic language had acquired an adequate vocabulary in jurisprudence, rhetoric, grammar, administration, theology and other disciplines, however, was slightly retarded in the field of philosophy, medicine and science.

Due to the great performance that left the Umayyads as a legacy, the foundation for the later development of the Arabic language was placed under the Abbasids.

Abbasid
The Abbasids - Caliphate (750-1258) of Baghdad adopted a new era in the Arab language history began. The intellectual center of the culture shifted to the cities of Iraq. The Bedouin of thinking, that was the formerly ruling Umayyad so well acquainted, was in with the help of the Persians came to power Abbasid naturally not occupy the same status as them was a stranger that inner relationship to Arabism.

Characteristic of the early Abbasid period was the constant cultural competition between Arabs and Persians, although they accepted Islam and the Arab-dominated in both written and spoken, but both performed their new position at the court of the caliph and cultural life, full of pride. Their social advancement of the so-called clients ( mawali ) status to co-dominant layer they found often on display. The Arabs felt the invaders as a challenge and began to emphasize the rooted in the ancient Arab tradition values. From this rivalry Arabic benefited greatly and reached its peak in the 10th century.

The urban poetry came in particularly founded in the year 762 residential city Baghdad to full development. The severe forms of the ancient odes have been eased and extended to a new subject area. One of the first who turned away from conventional poetry, the poet Abu Nuwas was (d. 810), who stood high in the favor of the Caliph Harun ar-Rashid (786-809).

A wealth mainly from the Middle Persian-built translations favored not only the influx of new ideas and content into Arabic, but also created a new style. The Persians Ibn al-Muqaffa' (d. 757), known by his translation of the fable collection Kalila wa Dimna made use of an elegant and clear language.

Due to the increased penetration of the non-Arabs in the literary domain, the gradual transition from Beduinentum to urban culture took place.

When started at 800 papermaking in full, all piled up translations and imitations of Persian novels, who took first place in the cultural landscape for several decades. Under the heading of "proper behavior" (adab) found a new literary category of simple style and character unterhaltendem widespread and enjoyed widespread popularity in the urban society. In the form of anecdotes and novels, the adab literature focused mainly in the mediation of social manners and correct behavior to the address of the court officials, secretaries and administrators. One of the real creators and brilliant representative of modern Arabic prose was the versatile writer al-Gahiz (d. 868), which hardly left out a theme in his extensive work. His polished style was influenced imitation and the Arabic language and literature profoundly. The increasing number of foreign peoples converted to Islam made it necessary especially in the mixed culture of the cities of Iraq, to facilitate the learning of Arabic and misunderstandings of religious texts or avoid.

In Kufa and Basra was devoted to the study of grammar as a necessary auxiliary science in the areas of literature and theology. Both grammar schools, which often went their separate ways in the explanation of linguistic phenomena and later lost their importance as spiritual centers in favor of Baghdad, the Islamic Empire enjoyed high reputation and experienced by the end of the 12th century, their heyday. The Muslim grammarians were eager to determine language errors and deviations from the classical language, set the correct forms to collect the pure extensive vocabulary, proverbs and poems of the peninsula, so as to counteract the danger of degeneration process of the high-Arab.

Founded by the initiative of the Caliph al-Ma'mun (813-833) Translation Institute "House of Wisdom" in the numerous writings of Greek authors were translated into Arabic, and by acceptances and Islamic conceptions of the foreign nations adapted new methods and ways of thinking, is a multifaceted wealth of creative works of high scientific level emerged. Besides the so-called Arab sciences flourished among others, the disciplines of philosophy, astronomy, medicine, mathematics and the natural sciences, which were later mainly from Spain in Latin version of the way in the West. Classical Arabic was not only the language of poetry, but also the science that was able to express the most complicated situations accordingly.

Neither cost nor effort shunning and anxious to gain their reputation and prestige name by generous funding scientific efforts attracted the caliphs and nobles of the Empire as a selection of Arabic Persian scholars, Muslims, Christians and Jews in their circle.

Decline
It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to appoint a time or a factor that caused the decline of the Arabic language and culture. The roots may date back to the 10th century, when the Islamic empire was hopelessly divided. Despite the intellectual flowering of this time, the division moved in the 11th century serious consequences.

The rapid rise of the Arab of the language of poetry and the Koran to the language of science arose among other things the need for Arabs to linguistic unity on the basis of Islam. This need, however, was conceived in the 11th century on the wane. By the exaggerated dogmatism literary creation gradually lost momentum and slowly but surely headed against the decline. Never before has the Arabic language had a higher level of development achieved as in the moment when an impairment of any creative activity began. While the language of Arabic Muslim scholars continued to serve as a means for teaching and science, decreased the number of those who they used as a literary language, and was increasingly reserved exclusively those whose spirit was moving in narrow lanes and dedicated the often only religious questions. The rhyming prose, emphasizing the form at the expense of content, was widespread and has been safely used. An essential, to decline or to intellectual stagnation of the Arab culture contributing factor may also lies in the fact that East Asians invaded repeatedly in Muslim areas. The Seljuk Turks, a Turkic people, although accepted Islam, however, promoted the Persian as state language and literature in some eastern provinces. During the 13th century, the hordes of the Mongols brought in the Asian part of the Islamic world devastation and desolation. Baghdad, the center of intellectual life in Islam, was completely destroyed in 1258. Libraries and educational institutions were completely destroyed. Although this cultural temporarily shifted to Egypt, North Africa and Andalusia, clear signs of decay were even where the Islamic tradition still flourished, visible.

The attitude of Muslims to the secular sciences began to be felt to walk, and there was a return to the traditional sciences instead. Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), one of the outstanding historians and social scientists of his time, distanced himself strictly from philosophy and put it on a level with the Alchemy and astrology, in the solid conviction that all three disciplines of religion are detrimental.

This mental attitude is an unmistakable indication of how much the Arab had developed from the language of the Koran to the language of science and illustrates the prevailing spirit of piety and religiosity, which are interpreted as an escape from the always return the unrest and the uncertainty of the period mag. There was a lack of stability and peace, those conditions for intellectual interaction and creative work.

Already in the 14th century lamented the famous lexicographer Ibn Manzur (1233-1311), the Lisan al-Arab wrote the comprehensive reference book, the decadent state of the Arabic language, as well as the inclination of the people, a language to give preference.

After several setbacks and a systematic loss of the Arab identity of the decay could not be stopped until the Islamic world finally in the 16th century under the reign of Ottomans got that to most areas of the Islamic empire the end of the world War I managed and had to cede to the European powers during the 19th century a part. During this long period were studied and care of the Arabic language, which applied beautifully to intellectual production, pushed into the background. While the Arab retained his continued importance in the religious life, but made in the administration gradually the Turkish court, a fact that contributed to the fact that Arabic as a means of expression of new scientific and abstract ideas less and less suitable. The guard and searching mind had given way to superstition, which was from then on the link within the Islamic society. The apparent unity of Islam was less sustained by the power of the mind than that of the sword.

The Ottomans themselves were expressing itself in an exaggerated religiosity Ultra conservatism victim. Any, even the most useful innovation met with fierce resistance. Whether it acted to the introduction of printing technology in 1716 in Turkey or to the extension of a street in Cairo in the era of the mighty ruler Muhammad Ali (1769-1849), always the clergy resisted with determination, For these and similar companies a legal opinion (fatwa) had to be obtained from the Mufti. Permission to engage secular subjects in the curriculum of the Azhar University in Cairo was not granted until 1883. Language and literature contributed considerable damage them. The Arab lost of flexibility and accuracy. After nearly four hundred years of Ottoman rule, the letter was a rarity in Arabic. The style, sober and austere, let those vitality and expressiveness miss that characterized the language over the centuries. Instead, the administrative correspondence was only conducted in Turkish and classical Arabic supplanted by a variety of dialects that was spoken not only by the broad masses, but also by intellectuals.

The Arab people was itself be less and less aware of the fact that his language in the Middle Ages was one of the most important in the world and an inexhaustible source of literary wealth. Until the second half of the 19th century, the time of renewal, remained poetry and prose, unless they were kept colloquially, essentially nothing more than an imitation of archaic forms without content.

In poetry there was an even stronger tendency to mimic the ancient Arab poets. This condition lasted until the beginning of the 20th century, to some Arab authors took the test, the Arabic literary language to disengage from their torpor and loosen the traditional style forms by contemporary or replace, so the Arabic language has received new impetus to represent it in the Location replied to compete as the language of education, culture and science. It would be absurd to assume that the Arabic language and culture had reached a complete standstill during the period of decadence. Especially in this era emerged invaluable works, without which our knowledge would be extremely limited over the Arab thought.

Renaissance
The collapse of the Islamic empire in sectionalism had not only the immediate decline of the Arab culture result. Despite geographical distances, cultural exchanges never completely ripped off due to the common language. This deep attachment of the Arabs with their language and culture made even before the boundaries and is therefore not dependent on any ideological trend in the Arab world due account because they would not have been possible without the Renaissance.

However, the outgoing impulses of the Western world should not be underestimated. You think of the relationship, which maintained the Lebanon in the 17th century to Europe, but especially in the Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798, their impact was enormous, despite their purely military character at various levels. Undoubtedly the most radical and most far-reaching in its effect on the Arab world event was the introduction and use of printing in the 19th century. Its importance for the development, propagation and standardization of the written language can best be gauged by the fact when one considers that even today the Arab relies far less on the oral intercourse than on the printed literature, so that even now basically only the printed Arabic can be considered as a single language.

The pressure opened the first opportunity, the written word is no longer reserved for a select audience, but make it a wider readership. Egypt was compared with other Arab countries, in which publications were subject to massive restrictions, in a very happy how enviable position. Newspapers and magazines held by the dissemination of the latest events, current, historical and social themes that gave rise in intellectual circles to some animated discussion, the public informed. Many Syrians and Lebanese took it in search of freedom of speech to Egypt, where they saw secured their free development opportunities. They founded there newspapers and publishers. In the book market appeared a relatively wide range of different areas. In various parts of the Arab world is recorded clearly from the influence of the western world. Numerous political, social and scientific institutions were founded, established private and state schools. A valuable contribution to the dissemination of knowledge contributed to public libraries.

The western model seemed omnipresent and pressed himself parliaments and constitutions his stamp on. The urge to Europe and especially to America was unmistakably evident from the increasing number of Arab immigrants during the 19th century and deserves special attention insofar as living in exile Arabs Western way of thinking, customs and traditions into contributed to their homeland.

The incessant confrontation with Western culture or by their study took place in a number of Arab publications reflected and acted immediately on an Arabic language by gave rise to modern stylistic and phraseological variants. This was offset by the growing interest of western scholars of Arabic studies and the Arabic language, which gave the seemingly buried cultural consciousness of the Arabs renewed impetus. Lively discussions on the Old and New, language purity and foreign influences, were for decades an integral part of intellectual encounters, before a general discussion tiredness creeping in.

From the initially stark contrasts between language critics and modernists and by the constant conflict between the holding on handed down in the consciousness of its own glorious past on the one hand and the imitation of the most admired Western world on the other hand went out compromise solutions, which clearly reflected in the works of some writers and translators. Although they used the classical literary language, but adapted them using loan-translations, neologisms and foreign words to the needs of modern life to.

Arabic literature began to awaken from its torpor. Prose and poetry stripped off the shackles of old forms and styles. The authors once again attached more importance to the content rather than the form. On the breeding ground of self-criticism, accompanied by a sense of pent-up demand, broke at a time of productivity and creativity.

During the construction of universities, institutes and technical schools, improved infrastructure, and especially the distribution of newspapers, radio, film and television, the Arabic language came at a period of rejuvenation. It developed a kind Neuhocharabisch which moves between high and vernacular. This tendency manifests itself most strikingly in the today's popular commercial and newspaper language in which the influences of English and French are unmistakable. A crisis of language, however, so often want to have found some Arab and European linguists is non-existent. The crisis - if anything - lies in the way the present observation and description of the Arabic language.

Language reform


Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Arab world became entangled in the violent upheavals. The orientation towards the West has been accompanied by the confrontation western culture and thought good and the questioning of the own living conditions. New discoveries and developments in nearly all sectors heralding an age of universal upheaval. Reinforced with the abundance and variety of achievements invaded foreign terms in the language.

In the shadow of decades of academic and elitist discussions held in the Arabic language through translations, but above all by the press was so sustainably enriches that the creation of new terminologies moved as urgent task in the foreground. But as much as it was also generally aware of this need, in the choice of method, there was a disagreement. The purists call strongly opposed the inclusion of foreign words on the grounds that they would lead in the long run to an alienation of the language. Are shown in the formation of names by derivation from Arabic roots the only sure way to preserve the purity and integrity of the language.

This view face the reservations of a second group, which advocates the use of foreign words in their unmodified form as they think in this way the original meaning is preserved.

A third group is trying to tread a path between these two extremes. It represents a moderate position, by taking action to ensure that the acquisition of foreign words should be only a last resort whenever trying to find Arabic equivalents or to integrate them failed. This listing has been collected by the academies of Damascus, Cairo and Baghdad principle.

The efforts were not limited to the academies, but also went out of individuals earn respected in as much of the vocabulary was made up for almost every area, although no uniformity in the use of the newly formed words could be brought about. Thus, a Arabized form used for example in Syria and Iraq for the word physics, in Egypt, however, is a common Arabic equivalent.

Even in the future, this kind of differences will not leave you alone in the face of extensive Arabic-speaking avoid, quite apart from the fact that a language reform, which is constantly in flux, of course, is not conceivable without contradictions.

Language academies


Founded in 1918 "Academy of the Arabic Language in Damascus مجمع اللغة العربية بدمشق" is the oldest Language Academy in the Arab world. Since 1920 she regularly publishes a magazine. More significant are the academies founded in Cairo in 1932 and the "Iraqi Academy of Sciences", founded in 1947. Since 1976, a "Jordanian Academy for the Arabic language in Amman" exists.

Currently, the one launched in 1961 by the Arab League »Permanent Office for the Coordination of Arabization in the Arab homeland in Rabat," the most important institutions for the care of the Arabic language in the Arabic-speaking world. As a national academy whether it is the task of creating binding designations for the modern vocabulary in science and technology for the entire Arab world. His research reports appear regularly in the magazine he edited "The Arabic Language", which is distributed for free in high circulation.

Linguistics


The fact that on the one hand the Koran according to Islamic faith was untranslatable, on the other hand, the number in the course of the extensive conquests converted to Islam foreign non-Arabs increased, may have the Arabs led to the systematic study of their own language. But the existing contrast between the language level of the seal and the Quran on the one hand and the other hand, the dialects favored probably thinking about the Arabic language and the emergence of their grammar.

Based on the above reasons, therefore, was the establishment of rules is a need to facilitate the learning of Arabic, to ensure uniform possible interpretation of the Koran text and tradition and above all to avoid misunderstandings it or prevent such. Eben This explains the fact that the first linguistic studies were purely practical nature and that the Koran reader at the same time dealing with the grammar.

Grammar spelling
Around the middle of the 8th century emerged in the Iraqi cities of Basra and Kufa two rival grammar schools, the aufgingen later in the school of Baghdad. But methodology and mindset of the school of Basra were also prevalent in Baghdad.

The method of Basrier based on the principle of analogy, according to which the regularity of the language is in the foreground. Therefore, the Analogist tended to correct all of what he considered as an exception in the language. His understanding was classified by language substantially and systematically in models of rules.

The Kufaites as anomalists not denied that in word formation regularities exist, however, pointed out the various forms, for whose formation the analogy principle no explanations offered. For this reason, the exceptions and special forms was the particular interest of Kufaites. They developed an avid collector, a particular zugutekam lexicography.

The processing of the grammar was based at two schools primarily on the Koran, the attentive observation of the Bedouin language and the experience gained by grammarians evidence of pre-Islamic poetry, which was handed down orally until that time and were written down by this way the first time parts.

Arab sources say is for the school of Basra Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali (d. 688) cited as the first grammarian and the inventor of the vowel signs. But the systematic linguistic study of grammar began with al-Khalil ibn Ahmad (d. 787), who wrote the earliest Arabic lexicon. He is also regarded as the first classified the Arabic lute to their place of articulation and aufstellte the basic rules of Arabic metric for a system. His disciple, the Persian Sibawaih (d. 793), is one of the most famous representatives of the grammar basrischer embossing.

Sibawaih left the standard work "The Book", which was considered by later philologists as unassailable and unmatched. His merit consisted mainly in the systematic explanation of phonetic phenomena, the influence of his teacher al-Khalil is also unmistakable in this regard. He described very precisely the speech organs and the phonation, told the Arabic lute one according to the different places of articulation and articulation types and recognized the voicing and voicelessness of the consonant. He also explained impressively phonetic phenomena such as sound change, combination of sounds, vowel harmony, assimilation, affection - a phenomenon the way that was explained in the German language until the nineteenth century - and much more, which largely finds its confirmation in the modern experimental phonetics. In the royal capital Baghdad late 9th century came to the so-called mixed school, whose task was to bring about a synthesis of the two language systems. This fusion, which asserted itself definitively in the 10th century, the grammatical system of Arabic, which is present to us in a series of works of the later linguists emerged. Apart from some attempts in recent years to facilitate the traditional grammar, she preserved to the present day largely their original character and is still an integral part of the curriculum in schools and universities in all Arab countries.

Lexicography


The lexicography, the recording and explanation of the Arabic word good took, as an independent discipline within the Arab sciences an enormously important place. As the emergence of grammar reasons lead Arab historian the emergence and interpretation of lexicography on religious factors back, namely the need to preserve the Word of God and His Messenger. But the earliest works also have a wealth of linguistic material from the pre-Islamic poetry. In the Arabic lexicons is as common practice according to the principle of alphabetical or semantic arrangement. In the latter, the terms are listed according to their affiliation.

As in the Arabic language system not the word, but the root is at the center, all the derivatives appear below it. According to this principle, which holds naturally etymological considerations in themselves, almost all Arabic lexicons are written. It follows that the handling of an Arab reference work requires a thorough knowledge of the discharge system of Arabic grammar. To facilitate reference, some dictionaries were written after the European model in recent years.

Theories of language
"Sine linguis orientalis
 * nulla grammatica universalis"

The essence of a systematic science consists in the formation of theories that sometimes seem incomprehensible through their proper induced subtlety and are therefore sometimes criticized lightly. This applies to theories of language in general and in particular for the traditional, since in this case the time aspect plays a very crucial role. Consequently, the assessment of these theories can not be separated from time, place and other complex factors. What has been said can best be illustrated with the help of Western discussion about the origin and emergence of language.

That the language is not a concoction of God and not v about on a Saturday of the year 3761. Chr. Was put there by God in Adam, now appears to us quite naturally. But as Herder in 1772 dared to pull the belief in the divine origin of the language in question, as some thinkers felt that time so provoked that they sought to enforce cope with their fiery writings the head this innovator. The statement herders are at our present state of knowledge no doubt worthless, but in those days it was not without effect.

Naturally Similar disputes also occupied Muslim thinkers for centuries. In numerous Arabic works a wide range of fundamental questions of language was discussed, of which only some may understandably be touched during a launch. Since it seems little purpose to theorize at this point about theories of language, a selection of thoughts of Oriental and Occidental renowned linguist is provided below as a suggestion. The comparison of both ways of thinking to lead the reader important analogies or differences in a clear manner before our eyes.

Definition of the language

Origin of language



Origin of language



Language acquisition



Analogous



Character concept



Arbitrariness of the linguistic sign



Literature



Seal
The earliest monument of Arabic literature is the pre-Islamic poetry, which already had a fully developed system of meter and rhyme beginning of the 6th century. This only fragmentarily recorded in anthologies until the 8th century poems set in an impressive manner testimony of the nomadic life in the desert, which educates its residents for accurate and careful observation.

The poet "knower" enjoyed not only as an artist, the highest recognition for his tribe, but was also honored and feared as a seer with magical powers and supersensible knowledge. Through faith in his alliance with the demonic, of which he supposedly got his inspiration came to him a special position.

Until the advent of Islam, it seemed that would offer the Arabs of the desert solely poetry, with its precise metric and rhyme as the agent according to lend his creative expression statements, including its language challenged him outright.

Among the oldest surviving poem collection ( sofa) include seven Most Roden, the so-called "Attached", the prize according to the legend at the annual exhibition of "ukase" near Mecca after a competition and in to have been hung in golden letters on the walls of the Kaaba.

Diversity, precision and brilliant technique, coupled with a seemingly inexhaustible wealth of differentiated vocabulary and lush imagery, are essentials of ancient Arab Ode, whose development phases in detail are still unclear.

As a rule, the Ode of three parts, each verse generally includes a separate statement. The poet began with a prelude, the Lamentation at the orphan home of his mistress and the fateful separation from her, then went to describe his perilous desert Ritts over to her, described his exhaustion from the blistering heat, lamented his erlahmtes mount and finally came to the main part, the praise of the generosity of his host and patron, or to insult his opponents or the tribal leaders who had it lack of hospitality towards him. This course Bedouin virtues such as courage, generosity, courage and pride were highlighted.

With the advent of Islam, the ancient Arabic poetry moved into the background and only saw the end of the 7th century a new upswing. At that time arose in Mecca and Medina, the love poetry that influenced later poets under the Umayyads (661-750) sustainable.

Among the Abbasids (750-1258), the new capital of Baghdad was elevated to the center of literature and arts. The change in social life zeitigte new flows and foreign elements, which were reflected in the poetry thematically noticeably. Unusual figurative expressions and supple language featuring a new style, the philologists of his time pejoratively the "new and strange" called.

The beginning of the 9th century came to completion displaced prose poetry which was till then imprisoned in their own conventions. A first attempt to strip these conventions, undertook the Syrian poet Abu Tammam (d. 846), he combined by the archaic Bedouin poetry with the embellishments elements of the "new and strange" style. Was the collapse of the central government of Baghdad a shift of literary creation to the courts of influential princes result. This was the case for example in Aleppo, the capital of Hamdanids, in the great poets and writers gathered in a circle around the spacious, art-loving princes.

In the 11th century, diversity and originality of poetry gradually began to solidify. The outer form was maintained and emphasized at the expense of the inner design with all the linguistic means. Traditional motifs were treated superficially, Issues and diluted by repetition.

In Andalusia was created at the beginning of the 13th century a new form of dialectal love songs in rhyming verses that came from there over North Africa in the Arab East. Also Sicily, which was 965 to 1085 under Muslim rule, spawned a number of poets.

Ever since the conquest of Egypt and the holy sites of Mecca and Medina by the Ottomans in 1517, the Arab countries fell into a deep literary passivity, which lasted until the 19th century. During this time, the poetry came from a few in the regional dialects wrote poems, to a standstill. But this should not mean that the incoming cultural lethargy alone foreign rule can be blamed.

The restructuring of some Arab intellectuals in the second half of the 19th century Arabic literature awoke from their torpor. Translations of European works into Arabic had a positive effect on this new development and set in motion a process of rethinking, whose traces in the Arabic literature during the ensuing decades were becoming clearer. However, subject to the poetry to a lesser extent and at a later date than the prose the influence of Western thought. The earliest poets of this period drew primarily from classical poetry. Themes, motifs, rhyme and meter were directed more or less according to the traditional poetry. The sophisticated style of classical Arabic, which appeared sophisticated as contrived, was the poets as a model. But gradually also historical, social, religious, political and economic issues prevailed.

As one of the first modernists and romantics was the Lebanese Khalil Mutran (1871-1949), who already came to Paris as a young man and almost spent his whole life in Egypt. The highly productive Mutran, the aussparte hardly an issue at that time, succeeded the detachment of the rhyme and meter technology as they knew the traditional poetry. The foundation stone was laid for the renewal of poetry, helped the other poets to a new climax.

In this context, the poet of emigration should not go unmentioned that afforded by their expressive and imbued with idealism poetry a valuable contribution to the renewal. There were Christian Lebanese and Syrians, who saw their task in the role of mediator between the Eastern and Western culture. From their bilingualism new ideas and motifs emerged that enriched the Arabic language term.

The actual discussion on the renewal of Arabic poetry broke in the thirties of the critical literary theory in the work of the blind Egyptian scholar Taha Husayn (1889-1973) about the pre-Islamic poetry. Younger poets broke definitively with the old tradition and liberated in their poems from the rigid laws of classical metric.

The defeat of the Arabs in the Six Day War in 1967 inspired many poets to Lamentations, in which disappointment, despair, sadness and pessimism become acute.

Prose


Apart from the Koran as the first unique literary creation without the same prose as a literary means limited to the middle of the 8th century on office documents and instructions. The earliest known documents in prose are three epistles of a court secretary of the last caliph of the Umayyad Marwan II. (745-750).

As the Kalifenhof of Baghdad grew the interest in the Arab past, we began with the writing up of the ancient Arabian narrative substance, consisting of Bedouin feuds, proverbs or fables and in the Islamic period also legends about the life and victories of the Prophet and his companions. The term "fine education" (adab) showed a very own genre of literature, which dealt with different topics.

Originally from Persia Ibn al-Muqaffa' (d. 757), a Adab-writer of the first hour, passed through translations of works from Middle Persian to recognition and fame. He left a fable collection, writings on morality and ethics, short stories and proverbs.

The adab works of the writer coming from Basra Al-Jahiz (777-868), who played a leading role in the intellectual circles of Baghdad, Basra and Damascus are known. In his extensive writings over 150 works he studied with historical, political and theological issues, as did his interest topics from the field of botany, zoology, sociology and social psychology. Among his most famous books include the "Book of eloquence and exposition," a treatise on rhetoric, the "Book of skinflints" and the "Bestiary", in which the equipped with extremely critical observation author suggests the theory of evolution and the relationship between climate and Psyche points out. In many epistles he describes typical occupations, lifestyles and customs of certain population groups in an equally perfect as witty style.

As one of the most important writers have al-Isfahani (897-967), who left the twenty-volume encyclopedic collection "Book of Songs". This work provides insightful knowledge about the social life of that time. With the countless anecdotes about singers, composers and poets as well as the lively and vivid descriptions of various historical and social events this Encyclopedia remains unsurpassed to the present day without a doubt.

The Arabic rhymed prose, which was preferably used in the epistles and sermons and since the 10th century, was very popular, brought the new literary genre "maqama" (lecture) out of which form part of the drama comes close to some of the short story and the concept the picaresque novel is similar. But a century later, these artful prose rhyme came to full fruition. Originally from Basra al-Hariri (1054-1122) led an in intellectual circles and made them popular. Through his collection of 50 Maqamem full of wit and originality, he secured in the series of masterpieces of entertaining Arabic literature a permanent place.

The signs of decay, which took place within the classical literature, favored the emergence of a popular literature that was able to gradually assert. Under the title Arabian Nights appeared in the 12th century in Egypt, later belonging to world literature collection of oriental tales and anecdotes. They probably date back to an existing 10th century anthology of thousands of stories of different origin, containing the Iranian and Indian elements.

In the Islamized in the 14th century areas of Eastern Europe, Russia, China, India, Malaysia and Central Africa, the literature was limited to historical and theological topics.

In China Muslim authors written exclusively in Chinese, although they are studying Arabic writings devoted their works. In contrast, served Turkish authors of the Arab and left a considerable number of works.

In the subsequent period up to the 19th century excelled in the beautiful literature from a certain flattening. Apart from a few notable exceptions, the writers and their works slipped into mediocrity.

The conditions for the emergence of a modern prose and the free development of the writer in the Arab countries were early 19th century extremely unfavorable. Centuries of foreign rule and intellectual lethargy brought it about that the use of high-Arab was reserved as the only medium of literature by and large an elite.

The local dialects abounded, and that layer has to bear the spiritual life in a society that was still too small. But above all, lacked largely the audience that could not be addressed due to the widespread illiteracy everywhere.

But all these obstacles seem to have worked rather positively to the strengthening of national consciousness, a consciousness that naturally demanded for state independence and autonomy. In the second half of the last century, an awakening in the cultural sphere was in the offing. It was retrofitted and caught up and reached to the beginning of our century, the connection to the world literature.

Four Egyptian intellectuals who were pioneers of modernism and also submitted their impact and influence far beyond the literary creation, deserve special attention at this point. All four were marked by realism in its various forms, a realism that had incorporated many elements of the reformist spirit of modernity itself.

Tahtawi (1801-1873) is one of the Arab modernists of the first hour. 1826 brought him the first Egyptian study mission to France. After his return in 1831 he was responsible for the management of the state translation agencies and the school, he was also involved in the organization of general education. He called for the expansion of secondary education to all strata of the population. By translated works and own writings, he paved European ideas of culture and society the way in the Arab world and laid the foundation for the subsequent reform movements.

Afghani (1839-1879), founder of the Islamic modernism, lived in Cairo, where he was expelled in 1879 for political activities. His wandering life led him to his native Afghanistan, Turkey, India, Persia and Europe. In his writings and agitation he championed the liberation of the Islamic states of the European tutelage, called for the introduction of liberal institutions and promoted the unity of all Islamic states.

His pupil Abduh (1849-1905) was exiled after a short teaching in Cairo as well. After six years of exile he began in 1889 to reform the Azhar University and was appointed in 1899 to the Grand Mufti of Egypt. The essence of his teaching was to bring Islam to the innovations of the West in harmony. A writer and thinker was made of different stuff the Copt Salama Musa (1887-1958), who after his stay in London and Paris as the first Arabs published in 1913 a treatise on socialism. He was also the first socialist party founded in Egypt in 1920. In forty-five works Musa discussed political, economic, social and cultural issues. Strictly he refused to return to the cultural heritage of the ancestors and promoted the modernization of the Arabic language. His combative spirit manifests itself quite clearly in his autobiography published in 1947: "I am fighting against this rotten Orient, where the worms dig the tradition ... I am an enemy of those reactionaries who against science, modern civilization, the emancipation of women are and get caught up in mystification ". Already twenty years before he called for the alignment of the Orient to Europe by "Today and Tomorrow," stated in the preface of his book with a wildly provocative naivete: "We have to leave Asia and turn to Europe. I do not think much of the Orient, I believe in the West. "

Starting from this basic attitude, the other thinkers and writers of the 19th and 20th centuries - but in a more moderate form - represented, it is only reasonable that the narrative prose by English, French and Russian models even received suggestions. Thanks to the introduction of printing technology and founded by some Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in Egypt newspapers and magazines, the new ideas of Western writers such as Rousseau, Maupassant, Hugo, Dickens, Scott, Gorky, Tolstoy, and other more found their way to the relatively small circle of readers. In summary we can say about the modern prose, that the political upheavals and the social conflicts of the 20th century, the struggle with Western culture and the serious pursuit of a cultural renewal profoundly influence the Arabic prose literature, and they continue to fertilize sustainable. Realism, careful observation and sober analysis of the realities of the modern age are in the foreground, knights and heroes in the traditional conception are no longer in demand, and even become taboo, and especially the literary mystification and glorification of the glorious past have disappeared. The topics covered are therefore manifold; they reflect untarnished withstand the recent past and present.

In contemporary prose, although unfolds in different directions, but in the entire Arab-speaking world has surprisingly uniform characteristics, dive all possible content and shades of the modern world literature in a colorful oriental robe. But there are also borrowings from Western literature.

Dialects
When one speaks of "Arabic", it is essential to start from the following fact: In Arabic-speaking countries exist in addition to the normalized Writing numerous regional dialects which act as colloquial languages and are used by the educated and uneducated alike in everyday life. These dialects are not written and are each other more or less different.

The written language or the modern Arabic standard language is based on the classical Arabic and is very different from the spoken varieties of Arabic. In a nutshell, this linguistic situation can be described as follows: During the high-level language is written but not spoken, but spoken dialects are usually and not officially written. The situation is thus similar to that in the German-speaking Switzerland.

In Arabic-speaking countries exist in addition to the standardized written language regional dialect e, act as the spoken language s and are used by the educated and uneducated in everyday life. These dialects are not written. You are attested from the 9th century to the present day have retained much into what the written language has unified with their normative character. Therefore, knowledge of Arabic dialects - apart from its practical value - of utmost importance for understanding and researching the historical processes of written language.

On the Origin and Development of Arabic dialects are no secure evidence. Because more or less useful clues, two views emerged:


 * 1) The Dialects arose only after the spread of Islam outside the Arabian Peninsula and by contact with other peoples of the Arabs. The linguistic form of the pre-Islamic poet and the Koran was identical with the vernacular of the time.
 * 2) This Existed in Vorislam two mutually different forms of language: the language of poetry -Hochsprache- and the vernacular -Dialekte- where the auslautenden short vowels were not spoken.

Anyway, essential for the expression and development of individual dialects was undoubtedly the close contact of the Arabs with the inhabitants of the territories they conquered.

The sources for the study of Arabic dialects and their historical development are of course not limited to the dialects used at present, but it offers a wealth of material to which is. In the form of scattered remarks in the works of the Arab grammarians of 8 and 9 find century. In it are set out linguistic differences and special forms of various Arab tribes. The information regarding the pronunciation of the Koran readers that time shed light on the prevailing phonetic conditions.

Furthermore, the written since the 9th century writings of the Arab philologists about "the speech impediment of the people 'provide a treasure trove for the study of the former language state is. Important sources also form numerous writings that have been written mainly by Christian and Jewish authors, the possessed very inadequate knowledge of the classical language and whose writings were consequently interspersed with dialectal phenomena. The resulting form of language in this way is referred to as "Arabic means".

Finally, I refer to the reclining Arab and foreign words in other languages. As a rich source for this is, in particular the Spanish-Arab, the enlightening insights into the vowels and consonants and granted the pronunciation of some transformations in the theory of forms.

Outline
The Arabic dialects can basically be divided into those of "sedentary" (town and village) and the "Bedouin". Both terms are purely formal hand and say nothing about the status and lifestyle of the speaker.

Typologically they denote very roughly two dialect groups with specific characteristics, which manifest themselves most strikingly in the sound system. Of all the features lifts the preservation of the sounds th and from that in the Bedouin dialects, while in those of sedentary people have become partly to t and d, partly to s and z. Another characteristic applies to the city dialects the sound shift of q for voting paragraph, while in the Bedouin dialects q pronunciation or g prevails. Worth mentioning is also the pronunciation of the dj as g in the dialect of Cairo.

Geographically, the Arabic dialects are divided according to prevailing custom in five language areas. Taken individually they commonly form a unit and have among themselves a large measure of agreement on, so that usually no communication problems occur when speakers of different dialects. The five dialect groups are:

1. Peninsula-Arabic: The well-known in this language area dialect groups are: a) The North Arabian Bedouin dialects, which decompose in the dialects of the Syrian-Iraqi border region. These include the eastern dialects of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Gulf States.
 * b) Hijaz dialect e (Mecca).
 * c) South-West dialects (Yemen, Aden, Hadramaut, Zufar).
 * d) Oman dialects.

2. Mesopotamian Arabic: The Language area includes Iraq, the Southeast and a small area of northeastern Syria. In northern Iraq, Kurdish and even by a small minority of neuaramäische Aschuri dialect is spoken alongside Arabic. The Mesopotamian Arabic-can be divided into two dialect groups, which in turn are divided into several dialects:
 * a) Qeltu dialect e: These consist of the Anatolian dialects (Mardin, Diyarbakir, Siirt, Kozluk-Sason), the Tigris and the Euphrates-dialects.
 * b) Gilit dialect e: Of them only the rural dialect of Kwayrisch and the Muslim dialect of Baghdad city are known.

3. Syriac-Arabic: This includes the dialects of the nomads of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. The languages spoken in this area Bedouin dialects belong to the Arabic Peninsula. The Syrian Arab divides into three dialect groups:
 * a) Lebanese-zentralsyrische dialects (Damascus).

b) North Syrian dialects (Aleppo).
 * c) Palestinian-Jordanian dialects.

4. Egyptian Arabic: The Language area includes the dialects of Egypt and the eastern and central Sudan. This poorly understood language area only allows the division into Upper and Lower Egypt. For the latter one the dialect of Cairo. The Bedouin dialects of Egypt have characteristics of Maghribinischen or Arabic Peninsula.

5. Maghrebi Arabic: This is the current dialects of Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Malta. Historically belonged to the dialects of Andalusia and Sicily. The huge complex language is divided into two dialect groups:
 * a) Prähilalische dialects (all dialects of the nomads of this area).
 * b) Hilalische Bedouin dialect e (the area between Alexandria and the Tunisian Mejerda, also Algeria, Morocco, the Atlantic plains, the eastern and southern part of the Middle and High Atlas to the current Senegal).

In the Maghrib in addition to the Arabic dialects also several Berber dialects are spoken, in Tripolitania (coastal area), southern Tunisia and on the island of Jerba, in eastern Algeria and the Rif area in the Middle and High Atlas mountains of Morocco and the Central Sahara (Tuareg).

Diglossia and bilingualism
In diglossia refers to the struggle between high-level language and dialect. While the Arab high-level language is primarily written language and as such the language of literature, of science, of the press, but also in other media such as radio and television, in short, the language of the formal situation, make the Arabic dialects, the language of everyday life, which fall apart from all social classes, of significant nuances, is equally spoken.

What sets the dialect mainly on the high-level language, are certainly not the obvious, move to the surface the differences in phonetics and vocabulary, since the very essence of a language on the sentence construction is based. Simplified it can be said that the emphasis in the Arabic dialects of the word, in the high-level language is on the sentence structure. The main problem in the Arabic diglossia is no doubt that for the proponents of high-level language is not the content but the form of what is said matters. They represent the view of dialect conveyed a feeling, the high-level language other hand the intellect of what to decades of vehement discussions led.

This time seems now been overcome, since the difference between high-level language and dialect due to a relatively progressive education and education policies, as well as by the great sphere of the mass media is waning.

bilingualism, bilingualism, only occurs today strictly evident in the linguistic situation of the Maghrib countries, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. Exist in all three states, two languages of different cultures coexist: Arabic and French. In addition, the regional dialects and in Morocco and Algeria also the dialects of Berber.

Despite the enormous efforts in education and the incessant efforts to Arabization of the French language continues to exert a lasting influence. This linguistic situation is the result of a long foreign domination, which lasted 130 years in Morocco 45, 75 in Tunisia and in Algeria and their cultural and educational policy was directed in part to a full Frenchification some areas.

A similar situation also prevails in Lebanon, where French while still plays a not insignificant role as a cultural and educational language, the impact of bilingualism on cultural life, however, is much lower than in the Maghrib countries.

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