Arabic is spoken by over 323 million people worldwide as a first language, which is about the same as the number of native English speakers.Classical Arabic is the official language of over 20 countries and is the only form of Arabic taught in schools at all stages. Each country also has its own local dialect (such as Egyptian, Syrian, and Algerian), and these dialects are used in day-to-day spoken language.Many of the English words you might use on a daily basis are of Arabic origin, such as coffee (‘qahwah’), sugar (‘sukkar’), and cotton (‘qutn’).Checks were introduced in Arab countries as written agreements to provide payment at a later date.
