Arabicspeaking

Arabic-speaking refers to people and communities that use Arabic as a primary language of communication. Arabic is a Semitic language in the Afro-Asiatic family and the liturgical language of Islam. The term encompasses a continuum of varieties from Modern Standard Arabic to numerous regional colloquial dialects. In daily life, speakers may use different varieties in different settings, and multilingualism is common in many communities.

Geographically, Arabic-speaking communities are concentrated in the Arab world, comprising 22 member states of the Arab League across North Africa and the Middle East. In these countries, Arabic is official or predominant and used in education, government, media, and daily life. Dialects differ markedly, with major varieties such as Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Maghrebi, and Iraqi Arabic. Mutual intelligibility is limited between some dialects, which helps sustain Modern Standard Arabic as a formal common variety.

Arabic is written in the Arabic script. Modern Standard Arabic follows standardized orthography, while dialects are typically written only in informal or transliterated forms. In many regions, education and media rely on MSA, whereas everyday speech uses local dialects. Some Arabic-speaking communities also use other languages at home or in public life, depending on history and location.

Estimates of speakers vary, but there are well over 300 million native Arabic speakers and more than 400 million people who speak Arabic as a second language or learner. Arabic-speaking communities also form significant diasporas in Europe, North America, and Australia, where Arabic is used in schools, media, and community life.