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Lebanese or
Lebanese Arabic is a
varietyThe 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...
of
Levantine ArabicLevantine Arabic is a broad variety of Arabic spoken in the 100 to 200 km-wide Eastern Mediterranean coastal strip...
, indigenous to and spoken primarily in
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, with significant linguistic influences borrowed from other
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an languages, and is in some ways unique from other varieties of Arabic. Due to natural multiculturalism and multilingualism within Lebanon, it is not uncommon for Lebanese people to usually mix French, English, and other languages into their daily spoken Arabic, a phenomenon similarily exhibited within
MaghrebThe Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
Arab countries as well.
Differences from Standard Arabic
Lebanese Arabic (also sometimes referred to as the "Lebanese language") shares many features with other so-called modern varieties of
ArabicArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. Lebanese, like many other spoken Levantine varieties, exhibits a very different syllable structure from Modern Standard Arabic. While Standard Arabic can have only one consonant at the beginning of a syllable, after which a vowel must follow, Lebanese commonly has two consonants in the onset.
- Syntax: simpler, without any mood and case markings.
- Number: verbal agreement regarding number and gender is required for all subjects, whether already mentioned or not.
- Gender: plural inanimate nouns are treated as feminine.
- Vocabulary: significant borrowings from other languages, most prominently Phoenician, Aramaic
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
-SyriacSyriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
, Ottoman TurkishThe Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
, GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, and FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, as well as, less significantly, ArmenianThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, EnglishEnglish 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...
, ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and Persian FarsiPersian 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...
.
Examples
- The following example demonstrates two differences between Standard Arabic (Literary Arabic) and Spoken Lebanese: Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, Literary Arabic: /ˈqahwa/; Lebanese: [ˈʔahwe]. The voiceless uvular plosive /q/ corresponds to a glottal stopThe glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...
[ʔ], and the final vowel ([
Lebanese or Lebanese Arabic is a varietyThe 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...
of Levantine ArabicLevantine Arabic is a broad variety of Arabic spoken in the 100 to 200 km-wide Eastern Mediterranean coastal strip...
, indigenous to and spoken primarily in LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, with significant linguistic influences borrowed from other Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern and EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an languages, and is in some ways unique from other varieties of Arabic. Due to natural multiculturalism and multilingualism within Lebanon, it is not uncommon for Lebanese people to usually mix French, English, and other languages into their daily spoken Arabic, a phenomenon similarily exhibited within MaghrebThe Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
Arab countries as well.
Differences from Standard Arabic
Lebanese Arabic (also sometimes referred to as the "Lebanese language") shares many features with other so-called modern varieties of ArabicArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. Lebanese, like many other spoken Levantine varieties, exhibits a very different syllable structure from Modern Standard Arabic. While Standard Arabic can have only one consonant at the beginning of a syllable, after which a vowel must follow, Lebanese commonly has two consonants in the onset.
- Syntax: simpler, without any mood and case markings.
- Number: verbal agreement regarding number and gender is required for all subjects, whether already mentioned or not.
- Gender: plural inanimate nouns are treated as feminine.
- Vocabulary: significant borrowings from other languages, most prominently Phoenician, Aramaic
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
-SyriacSyriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
, Ottoman TurkishThe Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
, GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, and FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, as well as, less significantly, ArmenianThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, EnglishEnglish 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...
, ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and Persian FarsiPersian 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...
.
Examples
- The following example demonstrates two differences between Standard Arabic (Literary Arabic) and Spoken Lebanese: Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
({{lang|ar|قهوة}}), Literary Arabic: /ˈqahwa/; Lebanese: [ˈʔahwe]. The voiceless uvular plosive /q/ corresponds to a glottal stopThe glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...
[ʔ], and the final vowel ([
Lebanese or Lebanese Arabic is a varietyThe 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...
of Levantine ArabicLevantine Arabic is a broad variety of Arabic spoken in the 100 to 200 km-wide Eastern Mediterranean coastal strip...
, indigenous to and spoken primarily in LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, with significant linguistic influences borrowed from other Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern and EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an languages, and is in some ways unique from other varieties of Arabic. Due to natural multiculturalism and multilingualism within Lebanon, it is not uncommon for Lebanese people to usually mix French, English, and other languages into their daily spoken Arabic, a phenomenon similarily exhibited within MaghrebThe Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
Arab countries as well.
Differences from Standard Arabic
Lebanese Arabic (also sometimes referred to as the "Lebanese language") shares many features with other so-called modern varieties of ArabicArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. Lebanese, like many other spoken Levantine varieties, exhibits a very different syllable structure from Modern Standard Arabic. While Standard Arabic can have only one consonant at the beginning of a syllable, after which a vowel must follow, Lebanese commonly has two consonants in the onset.
- Syntax: simpler, without any mood and case markings.
- Number: verbal agreement regarding number and gender is required for all subjects, whether already mentioned or not.
- Gender: plural inanimate nouns are treated as feminine.
- Vocabulary: significant borrowings from other languages, most prominently Phoenician, Aramaic
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
-SyriacSyriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
, Ottoman TurkishThe Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
, GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, and FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, as well as, less significantly, ArmenianThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, EnglishEnglish 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...
, ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and Persian FarsiPersian 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...
.
Examples
- The following example demonstrates two differences between Standard Arabic (Literary Arabic) and Spoken Lebanese: Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
({{lang|ar|قهوة}}), Literary Arabic: /ˈqahwa/; Lebanese: [ˈʔahwe]. The voiceless uvular plosive /q/ corresponds to a glottal stopThe glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...
[ʔ], and the final vowel ([{{IPAlink) commonly written with {{transl|ar|DIN|tāʾ marbūtah}} ({{lang|ar|ة}}) is raised to e.
- As a general rule of thumb, the Voiceless uvular plosive /q/ is dropped from the words in which it appears, and is replaced instead with glottal stop
The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...
[ʔ], e.g., /daqiːqa/ "minute" becomes [dʔiːʔa]. Dropping of q is a feature shared with most dialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s of Egyptian ArabicEgyptian Arabic is the language spoken by contemporary Egyptians.It is more commonly known locally as the Egyptian colloquial language or Egyptian dialect ....
.
- The exception for this general rule is the Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
of Lebanon who, like the Druze of SyriaSyria , 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....
and IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, have retained the pronunciation of q in the centre of direct neighbours who have substituted the q for the ʔ (example: "Heart" is /qalb/ in Literary Arabic, becomes [ˈʔaleb] or [ʔalb], which is similar in SyrianSyrian Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken in Syria.-History:Syrian Arabic proper is a form of Levantine Arabic, and may be divided into South Syrian Arabic, spoken in the cities of Damascus, Homs and Hama, and North Syrian Arabic, spoken in the region of Aleppo. Allied dialects are spoken in...
, PalestinianPalestinian Arabic is a Levantine Arabic dialect subgroup spoken by Palestinians and the majority of Arab-Israelis. Rural varieties of this dialect exhibit several distinctive features; particularly the pronunciation of qaf as kaf, which distinguish them from other Arabic varieties...
and EgyptianEgyptian Arabic is the language spoken by contemporary Egyptians.It is more commonly known locally as the Egyptian colloquial language or Egyptian dialect ....
. The use of q by Druze is particularly prominent in the mountains and less so in urban areas.
- Unlike most other 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...
, Lebanese has retained the classical diphthongs [aɪ] and [aʊ] (/aj/ & /aw/), which were monophthongised into eː and oː elsewhere. This has changed over time, and, today, in everyday conversation, eː has replaced the /aj/ and sometimes medial /aː/, also e replaced final /i/. The oː has replaced the /aw/; o replaced the short /u/. In singing, the /aj/, /aw/ and medial /aː/ are maintained for artistic values.
Regional Lebanese Arabic dialects
Although there is a common Lebanese dialect mutually understood by most Lebanese, there are regional distinct variations in various parts of the country with at times unique pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
Widely used regional dialects include:
- Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
i dialects, further distributed according to various quarters, the notable ones being AchrafiehAchrafieh, , is one of the oldest Christian districts of East Beirut, Lebanon.-Overview:It is located on a hill in the eastern part of Beirut alongside the shore. Achrafieh is both a residential and commercial district characterized by narrow winding streets and prestigious large apartment and...
dialect, Basta dialect, Ras Beirut dialect, etc
- Northern dialects
North Governorate is one of the governorates of Lebanon. Its capital is Tripoli.-Districts:The North Governorate is divided into districts, or aqdya...
, further distributed regionally, the most notable ones being TripoliTripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in Lebanon. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Geographically located on the east of the Mediterranean, the city's history dates back...
dialect, ZghartaZgharta, or Zghorta is a large town in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 70,000.Zgharta is about 150 metres above sea level and lies between the rivers of Jouit and Rashein...
dialect, BsharriBsharri , is a Lebanese town at about 1,450 m of altitude, near the Kadisha Valley. It is located at , in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate. Bsharri is the town of the only remaining Original Cedars of Lebanon...
dialect, KouraKoura or El Koura is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon.Koura is one of the 36 districts of Lebanon, which is very popular for the olive tree cultivation. It is known by its dark green color....
dialect, AkkarAkkar is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon. It covers an area of and has a population of 198,174. The capital lies at Halba....
dialect
- Southern
Southern Lebanon is the geographical area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. These two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s...
dialects
- Beqaa
The Beqaa Valley is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. For the Romans, the Beqaa Valley was a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region...
dialects, further divided into various dialects, the notable ones being ZahléZahlé is the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 50,000 inhabitants, it is the fourth largest city in Lebanon, after Beirut, Tripoli and Jounieh...
dialect, BaalbekBaalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire...
-HermelHermel is a Shia Muslim town in Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. It's the capital of the Hermel District. Hermel is home to a Lebanese Red Cross First Aid Center.-Hermel plains:...
dialect
- Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
dialects, further divided into various regional dialects like the KeserwanKeserwan is a district in the Mount Lebanon Governorate , Lebanon, to the northeast of the Lebanon's capital Beirut...
dialect, the DruzeThe Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
dialect, etc.
Spelling reform
Lebanese is rarely written, except in novelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s where a dialect is implied or in some types of poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
that do not use classical Arabic at all. Lebanese is also utilized in many Lebanese songIn music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s, theatrical pieces, local television and radio productions, and very prominently in zajalZajal is a traditional form of oral strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect with ancient roots in a number of Mediterranean cultures. The form is similar to Muwashshah. The origin of zajal is Al-Andalus...
.
The Lebanese language has been popularized throughout the Arab WorldThe Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
, in particular through Lebanese pan-Arab singers including FairuzNouhad Wadi Haddad , famously known as Fairuz is a Lebanese singer who is widely considered to be the most famous living singer in the Arab world and one of the best known of all time...
, SabahSabah , Wadi Chahrour, Lebanon is a Lebanese singer and actress.She has released over 50 albums and has acted in 98 movies, as well as 20 stage plays...
, Wadih El SafiWadih El Safi is a Lebanese singer songwriter, and actor of Assyrian/Syriac background. He is a Lebanese cultural icon, and is often called the "Voice of Lebanon"...
, Nancy AjramNancy Nabil Ajram is a multi-platinum Lebanese singer and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. With the support of her father, Nancy began performing as a child and released her first studio album by the age of 15...
, and many others.
Formal publications in Lebanon, such as newspapers, are typically written in Modern Standard Arabic, FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, or EnglishEnglish 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...
.
While Arabic script is usually employed, informal usage such as online chatInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
may mix and match Latin letter transliterationsThe Arabic chat alphabet, Arabizi, Arabish or Araby, , is an alphabet used to communicate in the Arabic language over the Internet or for sending messages via cellular phones when the actual Arabic alphabet is unavailable for technical reasons...
. The Lebanese poet Saïd AklSaid Akl is a Lebanese poet, writer, and playwright. He is considered one of the most important modern Lebanese poets. He is also a staunch advocate of Lebanese identity and nationalism and the Lebanese language, designing a Latin-based Lebanese alphabet made up of 37 letters.-Early life:Akl was...
proposed the use of the Latin alphabet but did not gain wide acceptance. Whereas some works, such as Romeo and Juliet and Plato's Dialogues have been transliterated using such systems, they have not{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} gained widespread acceptance. Yet, now, most Arabic web users, when short of an Arabic keyboard, transliterate the Lebanese words in the Latin alphabet in a pattern similar to the Said AklSaid Akl is a Lebanese poet, writer, and playwright. He is considered one of the most important modern Lebanese poets. He is also a staunch advocate of Lebanese identity and nationalism and the Lebanese language, designing a Latin-based Lebanese alphabet made up of 37 letters.-Early life:Akl was...
alphabet, the only difference being the use of numbers to point at the Arabic letters not found in the Latin alphabet.
In 2010, The Lebanese Language Institute has released a Lebanese keyboard layout and made it easier to write Lebanese in a Latin script, using unicode-compatible symbols to substitute for missing sounds. For example:
Marḣaba, kiifak? : Hello, how are you?
Ana ismi Ḱaliil. Inta chu ismak? : My name is Khalil, what is your name?
External links
{{Varieties of Arabic}}