BA in Asian Studies - Arabic in Charlotte United States | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The Middle East's political and economic shifts, along with the globalization of numerous industries and careers, have elevated Arabic language skills—comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing—to greater importance. Ranking as the world's fifth most common language, serving as an official UN language, and functioning as the sacred tongue for a quarter of humanity, Arabic boasts a profound literary and cultural legacy worthy of dedicated study.
As a Semitic language connected to Hebrew and various ancient Near Eastern tongues, Arabic differs structurally from English and other Indo-European languages. This divergence poses challenges for English speakers while simultaneously providing valuable linguistic perspectives. The 28-letter Arabic alphabet, featuring specific diacritical marks and written right-to-left, serves multiple languages like Persian and Urdu (neither Semitic in origin) and underpins Arabic calligraphy—a crowning artistic tradition of Islamic cultures.

Arabic exhibits diglossia, meaning educated native speakers command two variants: Modern Standard Arabic for formal contexts like speeches and writing, and colloquial forms for everyday conversation. Given Arabic's widespread use across diverse Middle Eastern and North African regions, numerous dialects exist. At UNC, Arabic students master both Modern Standard Arabic and a spoken dialect—either Egyptian or Levantine—concurrently.