Classification of Arabic languages
| Arabic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Arabia, Arab world |
| Linguistic classification | Afro-Asiatic |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
The Arabic language family consists of
- the living varieties of Arabic
- a number of closely related extinct dialects of pre-Islamic Arabia, summarized as Ancient or Old North Arabian (ISO 639-3 xna), including
- Safaitic
- Dedanitic/Lihyanitic (Dedanite/Lihyanite)
- Thamudic
- Hasaitic
SIL 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.
| Ancient North Arabian | |
|---|---|
| Region | Arabia |
| Extinct | marginalized by Classical Arabic from the 7th century |
| South Arabian alphabet | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xna |
Ancient North Arabian is known from fragmentary inscriptions in Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, dating to between roughly the 6th century BC and the 6th century AD, all written in scripts derived from Epigraphic South Arabian. These dialects appear to be predecessors of Classical Arabic.
Ancient North Arabian uses h- rather than al- for the definite article.
Literature
- F. Scagliarini, The Dedanitic inscriptions from Jabal 'Ikma in north-western Hejaz, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 29 (1999), ISBN 2-503-50829-4, pp. 143-150
- H. Lozachmeur, (ed.), 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, 1995. ISBN 286538 2540.
- Ancient Records from North Arabia (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1970)