Celebrating World Arabic Language Day

13th December 2021

Each year, the 18th of December celebrates World Arabic Language Day. The Arabic language is known as a pillar of the cultural diversity of humanity and is spoken daily by more than 375 million people in 25 countries.

On the 18th of December 1973, 48 years ago, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Arabic as the sixth official language of the United Nations.

The 18th of December allows us to celebrate the richness and global importance of the Arabic language. The language has played a significant role in culture, arts and science throughout history. This language holds a special significance in the world because it influences several other global languages, including Greek, Spanish, Persian, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi and Pashto amongst others.

This year’s World Arabic Language Day theme, “Arabic – the Language of Poetry and Arts” aims to pay tribute to the poetic and artistic brilliance of the Arabic language.

The theme highlights the role of Arabic in shaping knowledge, and societal transformations through poetry and its impact on the arts while fostering cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.

This year’s celebration coincides with the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of Arabic as one of the six UN official languages.

If you are interested in celebrating the Arabic language day, join a free, online event organised by UNESCO. Register here.

12 facts about the Arabic language:

  1. Arabic is the sixth most spoken language in the world.
  2. Arabic is written from right to left.
  3. It has heavily influenced European languages like Spanish and Portuguese – some words sound the same.
  4. Arabic has at least 11 words for love, each of them expressing a different stage in the process of falling in love. For example, “hawa” describes the initial attraction towards someone, “huyum” the loss of reason that follows, and “ishq” a blind desire.
  5. Arabic is the official language of 22 countries in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, including Algeria, Egypt, Israel (along with Hebrew), Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE.
  6. The Arabic language has no capital letters.
  7. In Arabic, verbs come before the subject.
  8. Many English words were influenced by Arabic. Words such as sugar, alcohol, candy, lemon, caravan and cotton are all derived from Arabic.
  9. The language is written entirely in script or cursive writing where all the letters connect.
  10. There are many different dialects of the Arabic language, some of which are not understood by other Arabic speakers.
  11. Arabic has sounds that don’t exist in other languages making it difficult to pronounce some of the words.
  12. The Arabic language is often used in poetry, philosophy and songs.

Arabic Language Translation

Foreign Tongues provide professional Arabic Language Translation. For more information, please contact us here or submit the 20-minute, no obligation, quote request.

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