There are two main versions of Arabic: written and spoken.

The spoken version (called vernacular) comes in many different regional dialects. There is no definitive way to count these dialects. A country as small as Bahrain, for example, has at least three different dialects. But it is possible to draw a reasonablly accurate schematic showing divisions and subdivisions. The broadest of the demarcation lines is that dividing the Western (North African) dialects from the Eastern (Middle Easter) dialects.

The written language is an altogether different language. It is universally used throughout the Arab World, yet nobody is raised speaking it. One becomes exposed to it when one begins learning to read and write. For today's children, that usually means the age of 5 or 6. Because the written language is vastly different from the spoken language, learning to read and write Arabic for an Arab child is a totally different experience from learning to read and write English for an English child. The Arab child does not learn how to read and write the langauge he/she has been speaking all along, but a different, albeit strangely similar, language. In Arabic this language is called AL-FUS-HA. Nobody speaks Al-Fus-ha as a first language. For Arabs who can read and write, it is at best a second or third language.

Al-Fus-ha has developed through the centuries just like any other language, but has not diverged much from its early roots, compared with, say, the English language. The difference is mostly stylistic.

The style of Arabic used in writing today is commonly referred to in English as "Modern Standard Arabic." A good reader can tell the difference between something written today versus something written in the 7th, 10th, or 15th century. It is possible, for example, to tell which parts of Nahj Al-Balagha are authentic and which parts are apocryphal, written several centuries after the death of the purported author.

The term "Classical Arabic" is sometimes used to indicate earlier styles of Arabic. The designation is not a precise one, since there is no point in time where one can draw a line between what is classical and what is not. To some people, "Classical" indicates the style of the pre-Islamic "classics" (such as Al-Mu`allaqat"), the Qur'an, and the Hadith. Some people extend the style to the end of the polity in Medina. Some extend it to the end of rule of the dynasty of Umayya in Damascus.

In general, the fall of the Abbasi dynasty in Baghdad is viewed as the end of the "Golden Age" of Islamic civilization, so some people are willing to extend the "Classical" designation to that point in time. Yet, the transition to modernity does not occur until Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798. So there is quite a bit in between that is neither classical nor modern.

There is no way to tell what your client wants exactly or what they mean by "Classical Arabic." Are they asking you to translate material from earlier periods? Or are they asking you to translate some material inot Arabic. If the latter, perhaps they simply meant "written Arabic" rather than "vernacular Arabic"? To find out for sure, you definitely need to check with them. It is possible they are themselves misinformed or not quite sure how to express themselves.

Assuming they can clarify what they want, you will need to have their language and style specification accurately conveyed to your translator to make sure the job is done correctly.

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Note added at 2003-09-15 16:14:35 (GMT)
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Typo corrections:

reasonably

Middle Eastern

into Arabic

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Note added at 2003-09-15 18:04:35 (GMT)
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The difference between spoken and written Arabic is crucial for stage or screen adapters of fiction, who often (but not always) need to \"translate\" or \"localize\" the dialog from written Arabic to vernacular Arabic, unless it was already written in the vernacular in the original work.

Classical or Standard Arabic is the language learnt at schools. The colloquial dialects are what one learns at home. In other words, Arabic has evolved into the dialects. But Classical Arabic has been preserved in its almost original form in order to serve as a unifying cultural force for Arabs.

If one looks at Arabic from a historical point of view, it is a very old language comparing it to English, French. Arabic has been used since 900 B.C. its poetry composed on sixth century is still understood by an average Arab educated person. During the nine-century Arabs were more advanced than the Europeans. Arabic had served them very well in medicine, chemistry, mathematics etc. A lot of European scholars explained Europe renaissance to Arab contribution to that, social, educational and economic development during that period.

I have taken this subject in the British General Certificate of Education Exam. from the University of London in 1973 and it deals with translation .