Arabic language

What would life be like without sugar or coffee, not to mention guitars, lemons, sofas, satin, chemistry, magazines, algebra, and the concept of zero? All are gifts from the Arab world, examples of words and foods, technologies and mathematical ideas we have inherited from that world. Many of these gifts were bestowed long ago, during Europe's Dark Ages, when Arab civilization was much more advanced that that of most of Europe, and the best-educated adults could read Arabic. Some of our greatest achievements have been built on these gifts. Arabic is too important an alphabet for it to remain foreign and unapproachable to our eyes. Soon you'll discover that it isn't so hard. Come meet the Arabic alphabet, which is actually a cousin of our English alphabet. In this unit you'll find: • The Arabic letter or letters that match that English letter • The way to draw each Arabic letter • Hints for learning the Arabic letter's sound and shape together