Since 2012, International Arabic Language Day has been commemorated annually on December 18, and the global celebration of the Arabic language for the year 2023 is titled: “Arabic: The Language of Poetry and the Arts.”
On December 18, 1973, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Arabic as the sixth official language, alongside English, Russian, French, Spanish and Chinese.
Since 2012, the International Arabic Language Day has begun to be commemorated annually on the eighteenth of December, and the global celebration of the Arabic language for the year 2023 bears the title: “Arabic: The Language of Poetry and the Arts . ”
Celebrating Arab culture through two basic elements, namely the poetic fabric and the artistic repertoire, in addition to highlighting the Arab identity, provides an opportunity to highlight the role that poetry played on the social and political levels in Arab societies.
Poetry and other Arab art forms, both literary and visual, served purposes ranging from the strength of belonging to the promotion of values, love, pride, popular revolutions and conflict, as well as urging societies to change their fate.
Arabic and the contexts of development
Today, the Arabic language is spoken by more than 400 million people in a geographical area extending from the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula to North Africa and Asia.
It is the language of the Qur’an as a “divine message,” which Arabic expanded in word and meaning, until it became important to more than a billion Muslims around the world. It is also the language of the main sciences, and one of the pillars of human civilizations.
The Arabic language contains unique contradictions that constitute a source of its strength and distinction. Its linguistic rules are complex but extremely precise, and its alphabet is difficult but artistic.
This internal strength of Arabic is what prompted the Abbasid rulers, who made Baghdad their capital, to support thinkers to contribute to the intellectual development of the empire with works in Arabic and before that, with translations into it.
For this reason, systematic efforts were made to collect tens of thousands of books on a huge range of topics, including arithmetic, philosophy, physics, engineering, music, chemistry, and medicine, and translated them into Arabic.
Arab scholars used these translated texts as a starting point that enabled them to produce their own research. Following this, Caliph Harun al-Rashid established the “ House of Wisdom” or (Treasures of Wisdom), to be a gathering point for researchers and to continue scientific research, develop and preserve it.
This huge effort, which was enriched by Caliph Al-Ma’mun, resulted in the expansion and spread of Arab sciences.
The libraries of the Islamic capitals contained a relic of manuscripts, the most prominent of which were the libraries of Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba, Fez, Kairouan, and others, and included hundreds of thousands of works in multiple specializations in science and literature.
Likewise, the experimental approach adopted by Arab scholars and the correction of previous scientific and geographical statements was reflected in the advancement of scientific research and the improvement of daily life, especially in the fields of medicine and agriculture. The Arabic language became the focus of attention of scholars and students from all over the world.
With the advent of the tenth century AD, the flow of information increased from East to West, and translations of Arab scholars gradually began to reach the West, which opened new horizons in the field of science in Europe.
The dialectics of development and stagnation
Looking at language as a social entity governed by the law of natural determinism, which stipulates that language develops and changes with time, leads us to realize the influence of social, cultural and economic factors on the decline of the Arabic language’s cultural contribution after its golden ages.
While Europe was active scientifically, culturally, and intellectually, specifically in the sixteenth century AD, Arab scientific production faced the danger of collapse. As a result of political transformations in the Arab cultural and linguistic field.
To reach a clear conclusion about the causal relationship between “linguistic stagnation” and “civilizational development,” we can say that there is a mutual interaction between language and thought. Cultural, scientific, and philosophical progress nourishes language and elevates it to true development.
In other words, while both science and thought use language to perform their own functions, they also enrich language, and, conversely, shortcomings in areas of research, lack of methodology and knowledge lead to its degradation.
Although the relative growth and development that the Arab world witnessed in the past century had a positive impact on the status of the Arabic language, this impact was limited and far below the desired level.
Arabic Language Today website
Colonialism and globalization are the greatest challenges that the Arabic language has faced in the modern era. The psychology of defeat and the dominance of colonial languages over local languages has caused a change in the status of the Arabic language in favor of English and French. One of the most clear examples of this is the linguistic reformulation of the peoples of the African countries that were colonized by France. And the consecration of French in many areas, especially cultural and economic ones, among the elites who became Francophone.
One of the reasons that led to the marginalization of the Arabic language today lies in imported education and its strong focus on the English language, and the resulting shift of the Arabic language into the consumption of science instead of its production.
For example, in 1989, the United States published the equivalent of 10,481 scientific papers, while the entire Arab world published only four papers. In addition, there is a severe weakness in the Arabic language’s contribution to information technology.
The Arab role is limited to passive consumption of technology only, and the lack of understanding between twenty-first century technology and the Arabic language has made the possibility of producing computer programs that accurately read Arabic texts and translate them into a digital form a difficult task to achieve.
As the digital divide and its repercussions increase, users of the Arabic language will remain in a backward position in the race to develop artificial intelligence, which relies on feeding its data to data produced in a specific language, to be able to “think” with it.
They will not have sufficient ability to take advantage of the opportunities available in our modern era, due to limited access to information, except that which is provided in the English language.(trt)
Sheikh Meshal Al-Sabah is sworn in as Emir of Kuwait
On Wednesday, Sheikh Meshal Al-Sabah was sworn in as Emir of Kuwait, before the National Assembly. In his speech, he pledged to work to confront the challenges and crises facing his country.
On Wednesday, Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was sworn in as Emir of Kuwait before the National Assembly (Parliament), succeeding the late Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber.
The National Assembly said, through its account on the “X” platform, that the Emir of the country, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, delivered “the supreme speech after taking the constitutional oath.”
On December 16, Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah died following a health crisis, and on the same day, the Council of Ministers called Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Emir of Kuwait.
After taking the constitutional oath, the Emir of Kuwait said in a speech broadcast on state television: “I meet with you today in light of these sad atmosphere, painful circumstances and difficult times,” according to what the Ministry of Information reported through its account on the “X” platform.
He added: "I remember with all meanings of pride and pride the distinguished achievements that the late Emir of the country presented to his honorable people for the benefit of the nation and the citizens."
He continued: "I express my highest thanks, appreciation and pride to the loyal Kuwaiti people. Thanks and appreciation extend to all the leaders and leaders of brotherly and friendly countries and to everyone who attended and offered their condolences, and we seek an excuse for those who did not attend."
The Emir of Kuwait said: “I pledge to God Almighty, and then I pledge to the loyal Kuwaiti people, that I will be a loyal citizen of his country and its people, keen to take care of the interests of the country and its people.”
He added: "He warned us on many occasions that crises, challenges and dangers surround us," stressing that "wisdom requires us to realize the greatness and magnitude of responsibility and adhere to national unity."
On Saturday, the Kuwaiti government announced 40 days of mourning for the death of the Emir of the country, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and the closure of official headquarters for 3 days.
Arab countries also mourned the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and some of them declared mourning for between 3 and 7 days and lowering flags at half-mast.
After the Emir takes the constitutional oath, the new Crown Prince is expected to be appointed.
The system of government in Kuwait is an emiri, democratic, hereditary, constitutional system that derives its legitimacy from the constitution and allows the transfer of power within the ruling family from the descendants of Mubarak Al-Sabah. The title of the ruler is the Emir, and after him the Crown Prince assumes the reins of government.
Good
ReplyDelete