The classification of Arabic and sociolinguistic variation in the pre-Islamic period

This chapter discusses the classification of Arabic as a Semitic language, and then turns to the varieties of Arabic attested in the pre-Islamic period, Old Arabic, with a focus on its geographic distribution, its status as a written language, and contact with other languages. The chapter will conclude with some remarks on the matter of pre-Islamic diglossia and sociolinguistic differences in the attested varieties of Old Arabic.