Arabic

Literacy in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is important because all forms of media, religious talks and written communications are conducted in it. Although there are many different spoken dialects of Arabic, many of which are considered mutually unintelligible from each other, MSA is taught in schools, universities, and used in professional settings. Therefore, you can speak to any educated (and most uneducated speakers) in it and for the most part they will be able to understand you. Arabic is a Semitic language and has over 200 million first language speakers in the world. It is a UN language and is important for business, politics, diplomacy, and religious studies among many other reasons.