To know Arabs and their culture, one must first learn their language, but with many opposing theories about its origins, this is no easy task.

To keep a language used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, ­December 18 is the selected UN Arabic Language Day.

The day was organized by the UN ­ Educational, Scientific and ­Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 2010 to “celebrate multilingualism and social diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its…