Modern Standard Arabic

Modern Standard Arabic, or MSA is the language used in Arabic Literature and Media. MSA is also sometimes used in television and film. You will find that most books, newspapers, magazines and official documents are all written in MSA.

Modern Standard Arabic is derived from classical Arabic and the whole Arabic world understands it.

You will find that MSA differs from Classical Arabic (CA) in three main areas: Lexicon, Stylistics and certain modernisations on the periphery, something which is not strictly regulated by Classical Arabic authorities.

MSA is the literary standard across most of the Arab world and is also one of the official six languages of the United Nations. It is currently the official, or co-official language of the following countries:

• Algeria
• Bahrain
• Chad
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Morocco
• Oman
• Palestinian West Bank and Gaza
• Qatar
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Tunisia
• Mauritania
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen

In Politics, speakers will use a mixture of MSA and their own dialect. MSA is only used during formal speeches, such as lectures, news broadcasts etc.

MSA is not spoken at home, children learn their local dialect from birth and learn MSA at school. MSA is more of a written language, so it is rare to hear it spoken.

If you have studied Arabic at an undergraduate or postgraduate level, you will be familiar with MSA as MSA is the main focus of study within British institutions.

Modern Standard Arabic has several different styles and each style is used for a particular purpose or social setting.

Higher registers of MSA are used primarily within formal settings and are closer to Classical Arabic in both structure and vocabulary.

Lower registers of MSA are used in more informal contexts and will differ in some degree from country to country. This is due to the mixture of local dialects and MSA.

Modern Standard Arabic is a vast language, so we tailor our MSA courses to your needs. 

For example, if you wish to read the Qur’an, listen to the news or enjoy literature, we will focus on different aspects of the language. 

Our MSA courses cover all areas of language training – reading, writing, speaking and listening.

We teach all levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced. We use a variety of resources including our own books and materials from Oxford and SOAS universities. We also use contemporary Arabic media articles, language software and other technologies.