On the issue of the national character of the Modern Standard Arabic (through the prism of the ideology of Arab nationalism)

Zakryzhevskiy Maxim Shakirovich

This article is devoted to the role of the literary language in Arabic-speaking societies, its interaction with the colloquial language, as well as its place in the theoretical concept of pan-Arab nationalism, formulated in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, and to a large extent, that determined the views of these societies on their native language. The idea of this concept was to unite all Arabs with the idea of belonging to a common Arab homeland, thereby provoking the rise of Arab national sentiment in the fight against external forces: the borders between Arab countries were erased, and the Arab nation was to become one based on history, traditions and language. Literary Arabic was to be a key factor in the process of consolidating the Arab community. The purpose of this article is to find out what role the literary Arabic language plays in Arab society today, and to answer the question whether it managed to unite the Arabs into a single nation, as theorists of Arab nationalism such as Sati al-Husri and Michel Aflak suggested.

Keywords:Arab nationalism, ideology, Modern Standard Arabic, colloquial Arabic, diglossia.