Modern Standard Arabic (MSA; Arabic: اللغة العربية الفصحى al-luġatu l-ʿarabiyyatu l-fuṣḥā "the most eloquent Arabic language"), Standard Arabic, or Literary Arabic is the standard and literary variety of Arabic used in writing and in most formal speech.
Most western scholars distinguish two standard (al-)fuṣḥā (الفصحى) varieties of the Arabic language: the Classical Arabic (CA) (اللغة العربية التراثية) of the Qur'an and early Islamic (7th to 9th centuries) literature, and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) (اللغة العربية المعيارية الحديثة), the standard language in use today. The modern standard language is based on the Classical language. Most Arabs consider the two varieties to be two registers of one language, although the two registers can be referred to in Arabic as فصحى العصر fuṣḥā l-ʿaṣr (MSA) and فصحى التراث fuṣḥā t-turāṯ (CA).
Read more about Modern Standard Arabic: Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, Formal Spoken Arabic, Common Phrases
Famous quotes containing the words modern and/or standard:
“I am not afraid of the priests in the long-run. Scientific method is the white ant which will slowly but surely destroy their fortifications. And the importance of scientific method in modern practical life—always growing and increasing—is the guarantee for the gradual emancipation of the ignorant upper and lower classes, the former of whom especially are the strength of the priests.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“A dwarf who brings a standard along with him to measure his own size—take my word, is a dwarf in more articles than one.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)