One Arabic language, or Arabic languages?

An exploration of the vast diversity of Arabic languages and their practices. Through a journey between secular and sacred texts, this meeting delves into the centuries-old history and transmission of this global language, its interactions with philosophy, science, and literature, and its original narrative power.

First part: One Arabic language, or Arabic languages?

Used in writing and in official contexts, the so-called "literary" or "standard" Arabic coexists with an extraordinary diversity of dialectal languages, mostly oral. The mutual intelligibility of these languages in the Arab world is sometimes difficult, and the status of dialects is often undervalued. Where do these multiple languages come from? Is literary Arabic the origin of the dialects and languages derived from Arabic? Is there a new standard Arabic, the result of the explosion of a globalized popular culture (television series, social media)? This meeting invites you to better understand the vast diversity of Arabic languages and their practices.

Second part: The Arabic language and the world through founding texts

The literary Arabic language rests on two fundamental pillars: pre-Islamic poetry and the Quran. Through a journey between secular and sacred texts, this meeting explores the centuries-old history and transmission of this global language, its interactions with Western philosophy, science, and literature, and its original narrative power. From the Mouallaqat to the Quran, including Averroes, Kalila and Dimna, and One Thousand and One Nights, this session, supported by listening and projections, invites you to immerse yourself in a highly scholarly language spoken today by over 450 million speakers worldwide.

Hosted by Barbara Cassin, philosopher and academician