Modern Standard Arabic

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Modern Written Arabic (MWA)[3] is the variety of standardized, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,[4][5] and in some usages also the variety of spoken Arabic that approximates this written standard.[6] MSA is the language used in literature, academia, print and mass media, law and legislation, though it is generally not spoken as a first language, similar to Contemporary Latin.[5] It is a pluricentric standard language taught throughout the Arab world in formal education, differing significantly from many vernacular varieties of Arabic that are commonly spoken as mother tongues in the area; these are only partially mutually intelligible with both MSA and with each other depending on their proximity in the Arabic dialect continuum.

Quick facts: Modern Standard Arabic, Pronunciation, Region... ▼

Modern Standard Arabic
العربية الفصحى al-ʻArabīyah al-Fuṣḥā[lower-alpha 1]
al-ʻArabīyah written in Arabic (Naskh script)
Pronunciation	/al ʕaraˈbijja lˈfusˤħaː/, see variations[lower-alpha 2]
Region	Arab world Middle East and North Africa
Users	L1: 0 (2022)[1][lower-alpha 3] L2: 270 million (2022)[1]
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic Central Semitic Arabic Classical Arabic Modern Standard Arabic
Early forms	Old Arabic Classical Arabic
Writing system	Arabic alphabet
Official status
Official language in	27 states: Algeria Bahrain Chad Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mali Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Somaliland Sudan Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen Zanzibar (Tanzania) Western Sahara (disputed territory) International Organizations: African Union Arab League Organisation of Islamic Cooperation United Nations
Recognised minority language in	List Israel[2]
Regulated by	List Supreme Council of the Arabic language in Algeria Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo Iraqi Academy of Sciences Academy of the Arabic Language in Israel Jordan Academy of Arabic Academy of the Arabic Language in Libya Academy of the Arabic Language in Rabat Arab Academy of Damascus Bayt al-Hikma Foundation
Language codes
ISO 639-3	arb
Linguist List	arb-mod
Glottolog	stan1318
Sole official language, Arabic-speaking majority   Sole official language, Arabic-speaking minority   Co-official language, Arabic-speaking majority   Co-official language, Arabic-speaking minority
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Many linguists consider MSA to be distinct from Classical Arabic (CA; اللغة العربية الفصحى التراثية al-Lughah al-ʻArabīyah al-Fuṣḥā at-Turāthīyah) – the written language prior to the mid-19th century – although there is no agreed moment at which CA turned into MSA.[7] There are also no agreed set of linguistic criteria which distinguish CA from MSA,[7] however MSA differs most markedly in that it either synthesizes words from Arabic roots (such as سيارة car or باخرة steamship) or adapts words from foreign languages (such as ورشة workshop or إنترنت Internet) to describe industrial and post-industrial life.

Native speakers of Arabic generally do not distinguish between "Modern Standard Arabic" and "Classical Arabic" as separate languages; they refer to both as al-ʻArabīyah al-Fuṣḥā (العربية الفصحى) meaning "the eloquent Arabic".[8] They consider the two forms to be two historical periods of one language. When the distinction is made, they are referred to as فصحى العصر Fuṣḥā al-ʻAṣr (MSA) and فصحى التراث Fuṣḥā at-Turāth (CA).[8]