World Arabic Language Day (December 18): History & Facts

World Arabic Language Day (al-Yawm al-ʿĀlamī lil-Lugha al-ʿArabiyya, اليوم العالمي للغة العربية) is celebrated on December 18 by the United Nations and UNESCO. It honours one of the world’s most widely spoken and historically influential languages — the language of poetry, science, philosophy and faith for more than fourteen centuries.

Overview
Date	December 18 every year
Organised by	United Nations and UNESCO
Established	2010 (UN language days); celebrated by UNESCO since 2012
Why December 18	On this day in 1973 Arabic became an official language of the UN General Assembly
Native speakers	More than 400 million
Official language in	Over 20 countries
Hashtags	#ArabicLanguageDay #اليوم_العالمي_للغة_العربية

Why December 18?

On December 18, 1973, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 3190 (XXVIII), making Arabic an official and working language of the General Assembly and its main committees. Arabic joined English, French, Russian, Chinese and Spanish as one of the six official languages of the United Nations. In 2010 the UN created a day for each official language, and UNESCO has celebrated World Arabic Language Day every December 18 since 2012.

The Six UN Language Days

Language	Day	Why that date
French	March 20	International Francophonie Day
Chinese	April 20	Guyu, honouring Cangjie, legendary inventor of Chinese characters
English	April 23	Traditional birthday and death day of William Shakespeare
Spanish	April 23	Death of Miguel de Cervantes (1616)
Russian	June 6	Birthday of poet Alexander Pushkin
Arabic	December 18	Arabic became a UN official language (1973)

👉 Another language day: Spanish Language Day

Arabic in Numbers

Fact	Detail
Letters in the alphabet	28 (all consonants; short vowels are optional marks)
Direction	Written right to left
Language family	Semitic, related to Hebrew and Aramaic
Countries where it is official	More than 20, from Morocco to Oman
Religious importance	Language of the Quran, used in prayer by Muslims worldwide
Scripts that use Arabic letters	Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Kurdish (Sorani), Uyghur, Sindhi and more

Classical, Modern Standard and Spoken Arabic

Form	Where it is used
Classical Arabic	The Quran and early literature
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)	News, books, official documents, speeches — shared across the Arab world
Dialects (ʿāmmiyya)	Everyday speech: Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, Maghrebi (Darija), Sudanese and others

A Language That Shaped Science

During the Islamic Golden Age (roughly the 8th–13th centuries), Arabic was the international language of learning. In Baghdad’s House of Wisdom and in libraries from Córdoba to Cairo, scholars translated Greek, Persian and Indian works and made new discoveries. Mathematician al-Khwārizmī gave us algebra and the word “algorithm”; Ibn Sina (Avicenna) wrote medical texts studied in Europe for centuries; Ibn al-Haytham laid foundations of optics and the scientific method.

English Words That Come From Arabic

English	Arabic origin	Meaning
Algebra	al-jabr	“the restoring” — from al-Khwārizmī’s book
Algorithm	al-Khwārizmī	Name of the mathematician
Zero / cipher	ṣifr	Empty
Coffee	qahwa	Coffee
Sugar	sukkar	Sugar
Cotton	quṭn	Cotton
Magazine	makhāzin	Storehouses
Sofa	ṣuffa	Bench, raised platform
Giraffe	zarāfa	Giraffe
Admiral	amīr al-…	Commander of …
Lemon	laymūn	Lemon
Alcohol	al-kuḥl	Fine powder (kohl)

The Art of Arabic Calligraphy

Because Islamic art traditionally avoids depicting people in religious settings, beautiful writing became one of its highest art forms. In 2021, UNESCO inscribed Arabic calligraphy on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, nominated by 16 Arab countries.

• Kufic — angular, the oldest major style, used in early Qurans and architecture
• Naskh — clear and rounded; the basis of most printed Arabic
• Thuluth — large, elegant curves used on mosque walls
• Diwani — decorative style of the Ottoman court
• Ruqʿah — simple, quick everyday handwriting
• Nastaʿlīq — flowing style used especially for Persian and Urdu

Useful Arabic Phrases

Arabic	Transliteration	English
مرحبا	Marḥaban	Hello
السلام عليكم	As-salāmu ʿalaykum	Peace be upon you (greeting)
أهلا وسهلا	Ahlan wa sahlan	Welcome
شكرا	Shukran	Thank you
من فضلك	Min faḍlak / faḍlik	Please
مع السلامة	Maʿa as-salāma	Goodbye
كيف حالك؟	Kayfa ḥāluk?	How are you?

Ideas for Celebrating

• Learn the Arabic alphabet or write your name in Arabic script.
• Read translated works by Naguib Mahfouz (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1988), Mahmoud Darwish or the poet al-Mutanabbi.
• Try a calligraphy workshop or watch a calligrapher at work.
• Listen to Umm Kulthum, Fairuz or modern Arabic music.
• Share an Arabic word you love with #ArabicLanguageDay.

👉 Same day: International Migrants Day — December 18

Frequently Asked Questions