Learning the Arabic language, the lingua franca of the Arab world is one of the best professional decisions you could make.

The Middle-east and North African (MENA) region is growing at an incredible pace, and expected to continue growing. According to recent research, the region’s leading economies (Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) are outcompeted by other wealthy countries regarding government institutions, human capital, business sophistication and modern technological output. This isn’t but a sign of opportunity and untapped potential.

As the region’s leading economies move away from oil-dependency and invest resources in a technology-enabled future, stability and growth will create opportunities for collaboration for international business and academic institutions within and outside the region.

So, whether for academic, business or cultural purposes, an Arabic translation services provider will come in handy in the near future. And, of course, fluency in Arabic will become a key competitive advantage for job applicants at international enterprises, in the sectors where it isn’t already.

Learning a language isn’t just about grammar and vocabulary. Attaining fluency in Arabic also involves acquiring in-depth knowledge of the culture and history surrounding the language.

In the following infographic, by international language services provider Day Translations, we’ll explore ten interesting things you probably didn’t know, about the Arabic language, from its writing system to its influence on the English language.

Arabic language infographic
10 Things about Arabic Language in an infographic

10 fun facts from the infographic about the Arabic language

  1. The Arabic language has 422 million speakers
  2. Arabic is at least 1500 years old
  3. In Arabic the verb ‘to be’ is usually omitted in present-tense positive sentences
  4. Arabic has a wide lexicon just for camels
  5. The Quran is written in Arabic
  6. Arabic letters represent consonents no phonemes
    1. alphabet is written left to right (RTL)
    2. numbers written right to left (LTR)
  7. Arabic influence in the English language
    1. Laimun (lemon)
    2. Qahua (coffee)
    3. Al-Jabr (Algebra)
    4. Al-iksir (elixir)
    5. Al-Kuhl (alcohol)
  8. 88 weeks or 2200 class hours to learn the Arabic language.