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4.4 The influence of Arabic on Persian and Urdu

Persian and Urdu are among the languages most affected by Arabic, and they still use the Arabic alphabet to the present day. Persian is spoken in Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Urdu is mostly spoken in Pakistan. Both languages contain thousands of Arabic loanwords. For example : Silāḥ سِلَاح - Taʾṯīr تَأثِير in Persian, and Ḥawḍ حَوض - Ṣaḥn صَحْن in Urdu.

Activity 8

15 minutes

Are there any words of Arabic origin in your mother tongue? Give examples.

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◄Contents►Next: 4.5 The contribution of Arab: Muslim scholars to different science fields

OpenLearn - Week 1: Introduction to the Arabic alphabet
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