5 Myths About The Arabic Language: Even Arabs Don’t Know This

Dina Sarayra 7/12/2021

About Arabic language

Today we are not going to learn Arabic, but we will learn about Arabic.

So with every culture, language, and country comes a bunch of myths. Where do they come from? We have no idea. But we surely know they exist. Luckily, we are here to bring down 5 myths that are exactly that: myths. Because a language is more than just words, some of these myths include the cultural aspect of the Arabic language.

Watch out; even Arabic speakers don’t know some of these.

Let’s Discuss A Few Things First

So Middle East culture is similar but different. How? Well, there are areas such as the Gulf region where language is evidently different. If you go back in history, you will notice that Arabic myths seem to rise from the difference in the past. This includes various Arabic stories, Arabic books and even Arab text. Let’s look at everyday Arabic in a new light.

Myth 1: Middle East People Equals Arabs

Unpopular to common belief, not all Middle Eastern countries are Arab ones. Yes, this may come as a surprise but it is the ultimate truth. Arab countries include Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. More to that list is Saudi Arabia, all the small Persian Gulf countries, and North African countries such as Egypt and Morocco. However, countries like Iran are not an Arab. This also includes Afghanistan, Turkey, and Kurdistan.

There were Arab interactions, but they don’t even speak the same language nor can they understand each other!

Myth 2: Middle East People Equals Muslims

Well, this is quite a challenging one as the media does not help. Unfortunately, many non-Arabs view Arab countries through Western media. Is that fair? Not really. You see, a good reason why these myths exist is because of miscommunicated ideas.

The majority are Muslim, but a great percentage is a mix of Christians, Zoroastrians, Baha’is, and Jews who do not reside in occupied Palestine. Christians include Assyrian Christians in Iraq and Iran, Palestinian and Lebanese Christians, Armenian Christians, which are in Iran as well, and Coptic Christians in Egypt.

You will find a Zoroastrian temple in Iran and an endless Christian churches in Jordan and Lebanon. Some countries will have more than others.

Myth 3: Muslims Who Are Mostly Arabs and They Live in The Middle East

Well, we already debunked the “Muslims are Arabs” part. It is true that the majority of Middle Easterners are Muslim and are Arab. But Muslims in general are not mostly Arab.

In fact, it is quite the opposite. There are just over 1 billion Muslims worldwide. Do you know how many of them are Arabs? A fifth of them are.

Countries like Indonesia have over 200 million Muslims. You read that correctly. The United States of America actually has 5 million Muslims. That’s more than some of the Arab countries themselves.

Myth 4: Arabic Words Have Too Many Sounds That Don’t Exist In Other Languages

Well this true, but not true. Arabic does have sounds like /Dh’a/ /ض/ and /A’in/ /ع/. However, it is as simple as that. There are only two or three sounds which are different. Otherwise, all other sounds are pretty much the same.

Placing of the sounds next to other sounds and emphasizing different syllables is different of course. But the sounds themselves are exactly the same.

Myth 5: Arabic Grammar Gives Complicated A New Definition

Unlike English, Arabic has a root system. This does not only make life easier, but it makes learning easy too. With English there are about a million tense. With Arabic, it is just the past, and the opposite of that: the non-past. Literally, that is your verb system in a few words.

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