ABSTRACT
ArabicistheofficiallanguageofMorocco,Algeria,Tunis,Libya,the UnitedArabRepublic,Sudan,Lebanon,Syria,Jordan,Iraqandthe statesoftheArabianpeninsula.Withinthesepoliticalfrontiersthe onlysubstantialbodiesofnon-ArabicspeakersaretheBerbersof NorthAfrica(mostofwhomarenowbilingualinArabicandBerber), speakersofKurdish(anIraniandialect)inthenorthofIraqandSyria, andthetribalpopulationsofthesouthernSudan.Outsideofthem, ArabicisusedinIsrael,inthesouth-westerncornerofIran,insome enclavesintheCentralAsianrepublicsoftheSovietUnion,andin someareasfringingthesouthoftheSahara.Asthelanguageofthe Qur'an,ArabicistosomeextentfamiliarthroughouttheMuslim world,ratherasLatinisinthelandsoftheRomanChurch;lesssoin Turkey,whereofficialpolicysince1923hasaimedatreplacingitby Turkish.
