In my previous post, I wrote about the different varieties and levels of colloquial Arabic (العامية). It is worth mentioning at this point that there are two varieties of Standard Arabic (الفصحى) as well. The first variety is called Classical Arabic (فصحي التراث). This is the traditional variety of Arabic that exists in classical books. The main characteristic of this variety is that it is fixed, and it has lost connection with today’s world. Some people think that religious scholars use this variety, but my personal observation shows that religious scholars nowadays use a more modern variety that shows the ability to evolve and cater for more modern concepts.

A good example of Classical Arabic can be found in Pre-Islamic poetry (الشعر الجاهلي). Most people nowadays cannot understand it without explanation or the use of a dictionary, e.g.

لهُ أيطلا ظبيٍ وساقا نعامة                وإرخاء سرحانٍ وتقريبُ تنفلِ

كأن على الكتفين منه إذا انتحى           مَداكَ عَروسٍ أوْ صَلاية حنظلِ

The more modern descendant of this variety is what we use nowadays and call Modern Standard Arabic (فصحي العصر). This is the variety used in newspapers and books nowadays; it is characterized by its connection to today’s world and its ability to change, evolve and accommodate to new concepts and technologies. This variety is used by news readers, and in different media outlets.

Examples of this can be found in modern media outlets, e.g.

http://www.youtube.com/user/aljazeerachannel?blend=2&ob=4

http://www.bbcarabic.com/