In this video, we compare some of the common words between Sicilian (sicilianu) and Arabic (العربية) with Gaia, representing Sicilian, and Rita, as the Arabic speaker.

Starting in the 9th century, following the Abbasid conquest of Sicily, for over two centuries, the islands of Sicily and Malta were under Muslim rule, known as the Emirate of Sicily. During this period a variety of Arabic, known as Sicilian Arabic (Siculo-Arabic), was formed. A series of battles eventually led to the fall of Muslim rule and the re-establishment of Christian control over Sicily and Malta. However, Sicilian Arabic continued to be spoken under the new state for a few ensuing centuries until it eventually went extinct. The Sicilian language today still retains many Arabic words which had entered its lexicon centuries ago. Arabic continued to be influential for centuries following the Christian reconquest. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily in the early 13th century, was able to speak Arabic. In fact, in the ensuing years, a form of culture, known as the Norman–Arab culture (or at times referred to as the Norman–Arab–Byzantine / Norman–Sicilian culture) formed as a result of the mixing through the interactions that took place between the Arab, Latin, Norman, and Byzantine Greek cultures. The heritage of the Arabic language is also present in several Sicilian toponyms which are derived from Arabic.

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Arabic is a Central Semitic language and has official/national status in Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, SADR, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania (Zanzibar), Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Sicilian is a Romance language primarily spoken on the Italian island of Sicily.