Arabic language By Mohammed Mahbboob Hussain Aazaad

https://www.academia.edu/4565422/Arabic_language?nav_from=a5588a16-98b6-4acd-a187-2adedc6daa08 At the beginning of the 7th century, the Arabic language was a minor language confined to the Arabian Peninsula. To the north, Syriac, an Aramaic dialect, was spoken widely by the common people west of the Euphrates River. Greek and Latin were spoken by the Byzantine governing classes. It was only in 630 that the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius had exchanged Latin for Greek as his official language. East of the Euphrates, Aramaic, in Syriac or Assyrian dialect, was commonly spoken in what is now Iraq. Persian and some Greek were spoken by the rulers. But then, the Arab conquerors quickly spread their own language and replaced the native tongues. Arabic, a language that some have argued lends itself easily to overstatement, to polemic, is a major unifying factor in the present day Arab world, and a key to identity. Along with the religion, the language was historically a crucial element in the process of advancing Islamic culture. Then, as now, the manner of expression, as much as the meaning, was a distinctive Arab characteristic. And in the language lies much of today's Arab spirit of unity. ...