Yareb, the son of Kohtan,[167] is said to have been the first who spoke Arabic, and the Mohammedans contend that it is the most eloquent language spoken in any part of the globe, and that it is the one which will be used at the day of judgment. To write a long dissertation on this copious and energetic language, would be only to repeat what many learned men have said before; a few observations, however, may not be superfluous to the generality of readers. The Arabic language is spoken by a greater proportion of the inhabitants of the known world than any other: a person having a practical knowledge of it, may travel from the shores of the Mediterranean sea to the Cape of Good Hope, and notwithstanding that in such a journey he must pass through many kingdoms and empires of blacks, speaking distinct languages, yet he would find men in all those countries versed in Mohammedan learning, and therefore acquainted with the Arabic; again, he might cross the widest part of the African continent from west to east, and would every where meet with persons acquainted with it, more particularly if he should follow the course of the great river called the Nile of the Negroes, on the banks of which, from Jinnie and Timbuctoo, to the confines of Lower Egypt, are innumerable cities and towns of Arabs and Moors, all speaking the Arabic. Again, were a traveller to proceed from Marocco to the farthest shore of Asia, opposite the islands of Japan, he would find the Arabic generally spoken or understood wherever he came. In Turkey, in Syria, in Arabia, in Persia, and in India, it is understood by all men of education; and any one possessing a knowledge of the Korannick Arabic, might, in a very short time, make himself master of the Hindostannee, and of every other dialect of the former. The letters of this language are formed in four distinct ways, according to their situation at the beginning, middle, or end of words, as well as when standing alone; the greatest difficulty, however, to be overcome, is the acquiring a just pronunciation, (without which no living language can be essentially useful), and to attain which, the learner should be able to express the difference of power and sound between what may be denominated the synonymous letters, such as ط and ث with ت; ع with ا; ص with س; ض and ظ with د; ه with ح; ڧ and ك with خ; غ with ر.