When Did Arabic Start | Ahmad Al-Jallad

Classical Arabic, MSA, and Fusha — all names that the Arabic language goes by. This conversation with Professor Ahmad Al-Jallad takes us through the origins and evolution of the Arabic language. Tracing back to the pre-Islamic and Nabatean Aramaic history through to the modern day, this episode is for grammar-nerds and Arabic speakers alike. We learn about where Arabic “came“ from, what it means to define a language, and how it remained so stable despite instability in the region. 00:00 Introduction 01:36 First Traces of the Arabic Language 05:19 Earliest Attestations of Arabic 07:08 Scientific Classification of Arabic 09:19 Innovations and Features of Arabic 15:20 Ancient Arabic Inscriptions 19:53 Explosion of Arabic Writing 24:58 Stability and Evolution of Arabic 30:36 Modern Arabic Dialects and Contact 32:11 Understanding Ancient Texts 34:15 MSA, Classical Arabic & Modern South Arabian 42:02 The Nabataeans and Their Language 50:35 Arabic’s Linguistic Family Tree & Beirut’s Dialect Professor Ahmad Al-Jallad is a philologist, epigraphist, and historian of language. His work focuses on the languages, writing systems, history, and cultures of pre-Islamic Arabia and the ancient Near East. Some of the areas he has contributed to include Quranic studies and the history of Arabic, including recent work he has done on the Safaitic and Paleo-Arabic scripts. He is currently professor in the Sofia Chair in Arabic Studies at Ohio State University. Connect with Professor Al-Jallad 👉 media majlis museum at Northwestern University Qatar ongoing until December 5, 2024 👉 Read more about the exhibition: “The limits of my language are the limits of my world“ 👉 media majlis museum at Northwestern University in Qatar is the first media museum in the Arab world. It is dedicated to exploring journalism, communication and media. Through exhibitions, publications, programs and online resources we engage with themes that connect audiences to an ever-changing media landscape. Our interactive exhibition space uses digital technologies to challenge standard narratives and provide 360-degree views on global, regional and local stories. We aspire to represent the diversity of voices, perspectives, events and people that contributes to the evolving media world that surrounds and affects us all.