The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) celebrated today December 18 the World Arabic Language Day, honouring a language that is conversed by more than 290 million people around the world. World Arabic Language Day celebrates the role Arabic performed in promoting the distribution of the sciences and philosophies of ancient civilisations such as the Greeks and the Romans, and in giving birth to the European Renaissance.
Arabic is a well-pronounced language, which shows in particular in the 15th letter of its alphabet Ḍād. The sound does not exist in any other language around the world and this is why Arabic is called the language of Ḍād. The language of the Quran, Arabic does not simply hold a symbolic value among Muslims but is spoken in many churches in the Arab world.
This year the topic of World Arabic Language Day is “Arabic Language Academies: Necessity of Luxury?” Audrey Azoulay, Unesco’s director-general, delivered a message describing Arabic as a “bridge between cultures and across borders,” according to an official statement. Unesco has further expressed its concern about the progressive decline of the use of Arabic in the academic field against global languages such as French and English, prompting the organization to call on academies to preserve the language.
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