Until the religion of Islam was established in the seventh century CE, Arabic was primarily an oral language. The Qur’an—the holy book of Islam—was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic, giving the language a religious significance. The Qur’an is one of the oldest surviving documents written in Arabic. Arabs consider this form of Arabic—Classical Arabic—to be the purest and most beautiful form of the language.

Arabic is written from right to left. It consists of 18 shapes, which—with the addition of dots above or below some of these shapes—results in 28 letters. Three letters are long vowels, and all the rest are consonants. Short vowels are sometimes indicated by diacritical marks, and other times omitted altogether. Many of the letters have equivalents in English. Some Arabic letters represent sounds that are written as two letters in English (“sh” and “th”, for example). Other letters represent sounds that are unfamiliar to English speakers, and conversely, some common sounds in English—such as “p” and “v”—don’t exist in Arabic.

Arabic letters are connected to form words in a “cursive” style; there is no way of “printing” Arabic. Neither are there capital or lowercase letters. The form of the letter changes depending on its position in a word (beginning, middle, end). Some letters connect on only one side, others on both.

• The Arabic alphabet

• Arabic alphabet poster

• English words of Arabic origin

Visit Other Internet Sites about Arabic 

Arabic Names and Their Meanings
http://www.ummah.org.uk/family
Site with listings of Arabic names and their meanings.

Arabic Calligraphy
http://arabiccalligraphy.com
In addition to showcasing the calligraphy of two contemporary artists, this site provides succinct information on the Arabic language, Arabic script (origin, development, and classical types), and Arabic calligraphy.

Islamic School
http://www.islamicschool.net/
This site features several online games that aid in the learning of Arabic. All require Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape Communicator 4.5 (or higher). Start with “Write Arabic” to learn what the letters sound like and how to write them.

All About the Arabic Language
http://humanities.byu.edu/AATA/whyarabic.html
The American Association of Teachers of Arabic (AATA) hosts this page of interesting information about the Arabic language.

The Art of Arabic Calligraphy
http://www.sakkal.com/ArtArabicCalligraphy.html
A series of four short articles about the development of different styles of Arabic calligraphy.

Arabic for Travelers
http://www.travlang.com/languages/
On the home page, click on “Arabic” (other languages are offered as well), then on a category. Sound files are provided for many useful words and phrases.