HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF IMPACT OF ARABIC LANGUAGE IN PRESERVATION AND TRANSMISSION OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE CONTEMPORARY AGE

Abstract

The Arabic language has historically been more than a medium of communication. It has functioned as a powerful vehicle for the preservation, enrichment, and transmission of knowledge across civilizations. During the Islamic Golden Age (8th–14th centuries), Arabic was elevated as the universal language of science, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. Arabic remains the liturgical and cultural language of over 400 million speakers worldwide and one of the six official languages of United Nations. It continues to serve as a vehicle for education and research in many Muslim-majority countries. However, its capacity to transmit modern scientific and technological knowledge faces major challenges. The paper adopted theoretical approach in the presentation. Among other things, the research discovered the dominance of English and French in global academia, insufficient development of standardized Arabic Scientific terminology, the digital divide limiting access to Arabic manuscripts and weak institutional policies supporting Arabic in higher education as threats to Arabic language modern development. The research recommends among other things, that with vision, commitment and collective efforts of all stakeholders, Arabic could be a language of enlightenment and global development again.