Arabic languages

Arabic languages
Geographic distribution:	Arabia, Arab world
Linguistic classification:	Afro-Asiatic Semitic Central Arabic languages
Subdivisions:	Ancient North Arabian Arabic language
Glottolog:	arab1394

The Arabic language family consists of

• Classical Arabic and its descendants, including
  • The various varieties of Arabic
  • The various Judeo-Arabic languages
  • Maltese
• Old or Ancient North Arabian, a number of closely related extinct dialects of pre-Islamic Arabia:
  • Oasis North Arabian
    • Dumaitic
    • Taymanitic
    • Dadanitic
    • Dispersed Oasis North Arabian
  • Safaitic
  • Hismaic
  • Thamudic
  • Hasaitic

Ethnologue unites Canaanite and Arabic in a South Central Semitic group together with Aramaic forming Central Semitic, but it is more common to unite Aramaic and Canaanite as Northwest Semitic.

Literature

• Cantineau, Jean (1955). "La dialectologie arabe", Orbis 4:149–169.
• Fischer, Wolfdietrich, & Otto Jastrow (ed) (1980). Handbuch der arabischen Dialekte, Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz.
• Kaye, Alan S., & Judith Rosenhouse (1997). "Arabic Dialects and Maltese", The Semitic Languages. Ed. Robert Hetzron. New York: Routledge. Pages 263–311.
• Lozachmeur, H., (ed.), (1995). Presence arabe dans le croissant fertile avant l'Hegire (Actes de la table ronde internationale Paris, 13 Novembre 1993) Paris: Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations. ISBN 2-86538-254-0
• Macdonald, M.C.A., (2000). "Reflections on the linguistic map of pre-Islamic Arabia" Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 11(1), 28–79
• Scagliarini, F., (1999). "The Dedanitic inscriptions from Jabal 'Ikma in north-western Hejaz" Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 29, 143–150 ISBN 2-503-50829-4
• Sobelman, H., (ed.) (1962). Arabic Dialect Studies, Washington, D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics and the Middle East Institute.
• Winnett, F.V. & Reed, W.L. (1970). Ancient Records from North Arabia, Toronto: University of Toronto

See also

• Arab (word)
• Arab (disambiguation)