How does a community's language reflect its values - Essay Example

As anyone visiting an Arab nation might notice, rules are… rigid, to say the least, as a result of its ties to Islam. Women are made to wear veils that leave only the eyes exposed. Alcohol, pornography and other such things are frowned upon, if not prohibited entirely. As for the language itself, some devout Muslims refer to it as the language Allah especially intended mankind to speak. Arabic is the most prevalent Semitic language in the world, spoken by over 500 million people worldwide. But its influence extends even beyond this; even some of the words we use daily, not to mention the conventional numbering system we use (Hindu-Arabic) has been shaped by the Arabic language.

Apart from being divided into classical, modern and colloquial, the Arabic language is further divided into a bunch of dialects than differ, sometimes immensely so, from one another. As such, different varieties of it are suited for different situations. As with any other language, it’s not uncommon to hear someone switch from colloquial Arabic to standard and then back again. Just as complicated, if not more so, are the rules on grammar, pronunciation and spelling. As with some other languages, Japanese among them, a small mistake in pronunciation and/or spelling can change the meaning of the word entirely.

As for writing, Arabic calligraphy was and is still considered a major art form. It is probably one of the only languages in which something can look beautiful, even if you cannot understand it. In my mind, the sophistication of the Arabic language reflects the sophistication of our community. Despite what some may think, not all Arabs nowadays are Muslims as well. Members of other faiths, such as Judaism and Catholicism, are many as well. And in relation to this, neither are Arabs automatically terrorists.

Far from supporting them, a good number of us actually condemn their actions as much as the next man; it is people