Robert Hetzron

Modern Standard Arabic.
As a language of poetry and scholarly literature, Classical Arabic coninues to the present day. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, new elites that emerged under the influence of Western civilization and power revitalized Classical Arabic and thus formed a linguistic medium, usually called Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), appropriate for all subjects of modern life. Through modern communication media, MSA has a broad effect on the public and is now the official language of all Arab countries including Somalia and, with Hebrew, israel. It is also in wide use as a second language throughout the muslim world, in particular among the religious representatives of islam. MSA is first of all a written language. However, in formal situations such as academic education, political interviews etc., it gains increasing importance as a spoken language too. Since the speakers of MSA do not always observe the intricate rules of Classical Arabic grammar and tend to give way to colloquial expressions, this sort of language is samotimes called Imtermediate Arabic.

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