• home >
• Arabic Translation Services >

Arabic Translation Services

The term "Arabic" embraces both Arabic literature and text and the many localized varieties of spoken Arabic. The term covers the largest element of the Semitic language family and is related to Hebrew and Aramaic. In ISO 639-3, modern Arabic is classified as a “macro-language” with 27 distinct sub-language categories. These are spoken in varying forms throughout the Arab world and across the whole of North Africa from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Sinai Peninsula in the east.

Modern Arabic has developed from Classical Arabic: it has been a literary and cultural language since the 7th century and is the textual language of Islam.

During the Middle Ages, Arabic became a major vehicle for spreading knowledge, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy: hence many European languages have adopted numerous words from Arabic and its influence in the Iberian Peninsula can be seen to have been strong.

Arabs consider literary Arabic to be the standard language and the rest as derivatives there from. Literary Arabic includes media channels such as television and radio, and most written matter including books, newspapers, magazines and documents. Colloquial Arabic embraces the many regional and national sub-dialects derived from Classical Arabic. Literary Arabic is the official language in every Arab country and is the only form of Arabic taught throughout their schools.
Educated Arabs can be assumed to speak to one another in their local dialect and in their school-taught literary Arabic. When there is a conversation between different nationalities engage e.g. a Saudi conversing with a Moroccan, both will use Literary Arabic to understand one another.

The influence of Arabic is at its most significant in Islamic countries and is a major source of vocabulary for languages including Berber, Kurdish, Persian, Swahili, Urdu, Hindi, Turkish, Malay and Indonesian. Spanish and Portuguese have adopted many Arabic words, also English has acquired some Arabic words. Some words in English and European languages are derived from Arabic, such as "sugar" (sukkar), "cotton" (qutn) and "magazine" (mahāzin). Other English words with an Arabic origin include algebra, alcohol, alchemy, alkali and zenith.

The major dialect groups are:
Egyptian: spoken by about 79 million people in Egypt and perhaps the most widely understood variety, due to the popularity of Egyptian-made films and TV shows
Maghrebi: includes Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Malta and western Libya Levantine: includes Western Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, western Jordan
Iraqi: includes the dialects of the south and the more conservative dialects of some of the northern cities
East: includes Eastern Saudi Arabia, Western Iraq, Eastern Syria, Eastern Jordan and parts of Oman
Gulf: includes Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and Oman
Other variations include Sudanese, Hijazi, Najdi and Yemeni.

Four examples of Arab national economies

Saudi Arabia
The economy is oil-based generating over 75% of government revenues and 90% of export earnings, about 45% of gross domestic product. Saudi Arabia oil reserves comprise about one quarter of the world's proven total petroleum reserves, a percentage of the total dependant upon the market price for crude.

The country is promoting non-oil growth within the private sector by privatizing industries such as power and telecom companies. Water supplies and rapid population growth constrain efforts to develop the agricultural sector.
To decentralise the economy, Saudi Arabia is building a new city on the west coast and is being named "King Abdullah Economic City. Construction began at the end of 2005, including the largest port in the kingdom and will include petrochemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers, tourist and leisure facilities, finance and banking activities as well as promoting education and research facilities. The city is expected to be completed by 2020. The government plans five other new industrial-based cities to further diversify the economy.

The main urban areas are centred around Riyadh and Jeddah.

United Arab Emirates
The UAE has developed one of the most highly industrialized and developed economies in the world. Per capita GDP is in the top 10 in the world and in the top 5 in the Middle East.

The UAE is reducing its dependency on natural resources such as petroleum and natural gas export which still comprise an important element in the economy. A huge construction programme is underway and is based upon expanding luxury tourist facilities, new residences; an expanding manufacturing base and a successful service sector are helping the UAE diversify its economy. Substantial construction projects include the Burj Dubai, which is expected to become one of the world's tallest buildings The Dubai World Central International Airport will be one of the most expensive, most modern and largest airports in the world. The Three Palm Islands project will create one of the largest artificial islands in the world. Other key construction projects include the Dubai Mall which will become the world's largest shopping centre. A man-made archipelago called The World will satisfy at least some of the demand created by Dubai's rapidly growing tourism industry. In the entertainment sector one major development is the construction of Dubailand, which is projected to be twice the size of Disney World. The Dubai Sports City which will provide homes for national and local sports teams including future Olympic opportunities.

Bahrain has the fastest growing economy in the Arab world and has the freest economy in the Middle East. Within the economy of Bahrain, petroleum production and processing account for over 50% of exports, over 60% of government revenues, and over 25% of GDP. Bahrain enjoys world class communication and transport facilities and has become an international home to many multinational firms. There are many major construction projects in progress including several major industrial projects.

Egypt
The national economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, centred in the very fertile alluvial soils of the Nile, also upon petroleum exports and on invisibles such as tourism as well as revenues from traffic passing through the Suez Canal. Over many years, the government has promoted economic reform, commercial flexibility and initiated substantial investments in communications, transport and the physical infrastructure. Egypt has a well developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. The country has large coal deposits in north-east Sinai. Oil and huge gas reserves are the basis for extraction and production in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta.
Foreign inward direct investment into Egypt has been one positive consequence of the recent economic liberalization measures.

Examples of Egyptian companies which have expanded regionally and globally include the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, with many new start-ups including outsourcing businesses servicing clients based in North America and Europe, such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations.

Syria
The country boasts an average middle-range developed economy based on agriculture, oil extraction, manufacturing industry and tourism. However, Syria's economy faces serious impediments to development, including a large and poorly performing public sector; declining rates of oil production; wide scale corruption; weak financial and capital markets; and high rates of unemployment tied. As a result of, Syria has low levels of investment and low levels of industrial and agricultural productivity. The two main elements of the economy are agriculture and oil. The country seeks to attract new investment in the tourism, natural gas and service sectors so as to diversify its economy. The country has begun to institute economic reforms to free up markets. The privatization of government-owned enterprises has been rejected. Thus major elements of the economy including refining, ports operation, air transportation, power generation and water distribution, remain in the public sector.

Oil comprises heavy-grade crude from oil fields in the northeast. In the 1980s, light-grade, low-sulphur oil was discovered in eastern Syria. Syria's rate of oil production has been decreasing steadily and market observers agree that Syria will become a net importer of petroleum in the next few years. By contrast Syria has greater reserves of gas with estimated reserves of about 9 trillion cubic feet.

Translation projects undertaken in all the main versions of Arabic include web site content, sales and marketing material, documentation requirements for engineering and manufacturing.
Total Language Solutions are translation specialists in all the main versions of Arabic in DTP, print ready and electronic forms of material, integrating text and diagrams and more besides. Total Language Solutions are translation experts in ensuring that text, drawings, colours and layout presentation and localisation meet consumer expectations and norms, without causing offence.

Translation projects undertaken in Arabic include web site content, sales and marketing material, documentation requirements for engineering and manufacturing.

Total Language Solutions are translation specialists in DTP, print ready and electronic forms of material, integrating text and diagrams and more besides into and out of Arabic.

Total Language Solutions are translation experts in the relevance of text, drawings, colours and layout presentation and localisation to meet consumer expectations and norms, without causing offence.

Price Tariff For Total Language Solutions

Our language translation prices are from the translation service to or from English and is based on price per 1,000 words (pro rata).