Baghdad Arabic
Encyclopedia
Baghdad Arabic or the Baghdadi Arabic is the Arabic variety
spoken in Baghdad
, the capital of Iraq
. During the last century, Baghdad Arabic has become the lingua franca
of Iraq, and the language of commerce and education. It is a subvariety of Iraqi Arabic
.
An interesting sociolinguistic feature of Baghdad is the existence of three distinct dialects: Muslim, Jewish and Christian Baghdadi Arabic. Muslim Baghdadi belongs to a group called gilit dialects, while Jewish Baghdadi (as well as Christian Baghdadi) belongs to qeltu dialects.
Baghdadi gilit Arabic, which is considered the standard Baghdadi Arabic, shares many features with Gulf Arabic
and with varieties spoken in some parts of eastern Syria
. Gilit Arabic is of Bedouin
provenance, unlike Christian and Jewish Baghdadi, which is believed to be descendant of Medieval Iraqi Arabic
. Until the 1950s Baghdad Arabic contained a large inventory of borrowings from English
, Turkish
, Persian
or Kurdish language
.
During the first decades of the 20th century, when the population of Baghdad was less than a million, some inner city quarters had their own distinctive speech characteristics, maintained for generations. From about the 1960s, with the population movement within the city, and the influx of large numbers of people hailing mainly from the south, Baghdad Arabic has become more standardized, and has come to incorporate some rural and Bedouin features.
Distinct features of Muslim Baghdadi Arabic is the use of 'ani' as opposed to the fusha 'ana' meaning 'I am'. Also, they add 'ich' when directing females; 'ani gilitlich' meaning 'I told you' whereas maslawi
s would say: 'ana qiltolki'.
Varieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
spoken in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, the capital of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. During the last century, Baghdad Arabic has become the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
of Iraq, and the language of commerce and education. It is a subvariety of Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic is a continuum of mutually intelligible Arabic varieties native to the Mesopotamian basin of Iraq as well as spanning into eastern and northern Syria, western Iran, southeastern Turkey, and spoken in respective Iraqi diaspora communities.-Varieties:Iraqi Arabic has two major varieties...
.
An interesting sociolinguistic feature of Baghdad is the existence of three distinct dialects: Muslim, Jewish and Christian Baghdadi Arabic. Muslim Baghdadi belongs to a group called gilit dialects, while Jewish Baghdadi (as well as Christian Baghdadi) belongs to qeltu dialects.
Baghdadi gilit Arabic, which is considered the standard Baghdadi Arabic, shares many features with Gulf Arabic
Gulf Arabic
Gulf Arabic is a variety of the Arabic language spoken around the shore of the Persian Gulf such as in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman...
and with varieties spoken in some parts of eastern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. Gilit Arabic is of Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
provenance, unlike Christian and Jewish Baghdadi, which is believed to be descendant of Medieval Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic is a continuum of mutually intelligible Arabic varieties native to the Mesopotamian basin of Iraq as well as spanning into eastern and northern Syria, western Iran, southeastern Turkey, and spoken in respective Iraqi diaspora communities.-Varieties:Iraqi Arabic has two major varieties...
. Until the 1950s Baghdad Arabic contained a large inventory of borrowings from English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
or Kurdish language
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
.
During the first decades of the 20th century, when the population of Baghdad was less than a million, some inner city quarters had their own distinctive speech characteristics, maintained for generations. From about the 1960s, with the population movement within the city, and the influx of large numbers of people hailing mainly from the south, Baghdad Arabic has become more standardized, and has come to incorporate some rural and Bedouin features.
Distinct features of Muslim Baghdadi Arabic is the use of 'ani' as opposed to the fusha 'ana' meaning 'I am'. Also, they add 'ich' when directing females; 'ani gilitlich' meaning 'I told you' whereas maslawi
Maslawi
A Maslawi is a person who is from the city of Mosul, Iraq. A Maslawi does not indicate ones ethnicity, religion or religious sector, as a maslawi can either be an Arab, Kurd, Turkoman or Assyrian .Maslawi as a term is also used to show the affiliation of any person, object, concept or etc.to Mosul...
s would say: 'ana qiltolki'.