During the opening of the 40th edition of Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), the first 17 volumes of the ‘Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language’ was launched.

During the opening of the 40th edition of Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), the first 17 volumes of the ‘Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language’ was launched by His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, and President of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah.

Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) at Expo Centre Sharjah, the launch saw the biggest Arabic linguistic knowledge and information project that documents the history of Arabic language lexicons and their usage.

The dictionary not only provides history, origins, meanings, and explanations of words, but it also documents the history of the nation, preserves its civilisation, and celebrates the achievements of the Arabs. It describes the words, the definition of the semantics of words according to their historical contexts and their etymology.

Sheikh Sultan also announced that the dictionary will be available on a dedicated website and app shortly.

Through the Arabic Language Historical Dictionary, the new generation will be introduced to the history of their grandparents, their regions, and historical events in which may pave to carry out larger and deeper historical and linguistic studies.

The dictionary will connect the new generation with the history of the nation through the precious language, preserving the tradition, values, and history of the nation.

During the launch, the Sharjah Ruler in his address noted, “Arabic is one of the longest living languages. We are here to celebrate Arabic language experts who gathered to work for years to document the roots and meanings of the Arabic language alphabet. We have started to work hard and bridge the gaps that were existing in the documentation of the language. Finally, the sun has risen on this beautiful Corpus, which is the fruit of the efforts of several Arabic language institutions across the region.”