Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Arabic Language Can Disappear

Arabic is one of the most ancient languages in the world and it is still a living one. This privilege does not give it immunity from disappearance. Most Arabic Muslims think that Arabic is an eternal language because The Qur'an stated that the Muslim holy scriptures will be conserved for eternity. Also, Prophet Muhammad said that the language of the dwellers of the Garden of Eden would be Arabic. The Qur'an can be preserved but Arabic language may disappear. Latin, for example is a dead language but many chef-d'oeuvres were written in Latin and are still preserved. Khalil Gibran stated in his book The New and the Marvellous that Arabic would face the same fate of Latin; it would disintegrate into many languages. The local dialects would emerge and replace it. Although it may be true that Gibran's prophecy was not fulfilled, one cannot deny that Arabic is in need for revitalization. Said Akl want far to promote for the Latinization of the Lebanese-Arabic letters. We find the latter process in Turkish, Kurdish, and in other languages. The Arab Christians have produced wonderful poetry, novels and dictionaries because they stripped Arabic from its sacredness. The Arabic Muslims have to do the same thing. The Arabic language's relation to The Qur'an is a blessing and an obstacle at the same time. Muslims have a tendency not to change Arabic or add new words because in their subconscious mind it is related to something sacred.

1 comment:

Karin said...

I honestly don't think there''s even a remote danger for the Arab language to fade into oblivian! Arabic is a wonderful language! I love to listen to it and plan, one day, to study it!

Thanks so much for joining my blog - I really appreciate it! :-)