Efforts to Preserve Standard Arabic in the Arab World:
From the 20th Century to the Present
This study presents a holistic perspective on the institutional, legal, and
academic struggle carried out from the 20th century to the present day
to protect Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) against structural and functional
erosion caused by modernization, globalization, the proliferation
of digital mass media, and the pressure of regional dialects. The first
section of the book examines the establishment, essential functions,
and terminology-building efforts of language academies (maca’mi’u’llugha),
starting with the first academy established in Damascus in 1919
and spreading to centers such as Cairo, Baghdad, Amman, Rabat, and
Algiers. In parallel, it evaluates the international diplomatic processes
that secured official language status for Arabic within the Arab League,
the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and
ultimately the United Nations in 1973, alongside the role of organizations
like ICESCO. The second section analyzes the accelerated institutionalization
steps of the 21st century, focusing on the founding of
the International Council for the Arabic Language, as well as joint legal
frameworks providing normative protection for the standard language—
such as the Beirut Charter (2012), the International Arabic Language
Law (2013), and the Model Draft Law (2022). Finally, it presents a
comparative analysis of the specific legal, administrative, and academic
protection policies enacted by individual Arab states—including Bahrain,
the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman,
Mauritania, and Yemen—within their domestic legislation and public
spheres, thereby filling a significant gap in the literature.
Keywords: Standard Language; Arabic; Arabic World; Language Law;
Academy