Levantine Arabic ( (Shami) and sometimes called
Eastern Arabic) is a group of
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
varietiesThe Arabic language is a Semitic language with many varieties that diverge widely from one another—both from country to country and within a single country. A distinction is to be made between Classical/Standard Arabic and these "colloquial" variants...
spoken in the 100 km-wide eastern-Mediterranean coastal strip known as the
LevantThe Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by...
, i.e. in western
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....
,
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
,
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
, Palestine,
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, and western
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
. This corresponds to the western wing of the
Fertile CrescentThe Fertile Crescent is a region in the Near East, incorporating the Levant and Mesopotamia, and often incorrectly extended to Egypt. Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of civilization and saw the development of the earliest human civilizations and is the birthplace of writing and the wheel.The...
, which clearly appears green on satellite photos.
To the East, in the Desert, the North Arabian Beduinic dialects are found.
Levantine Arabic ( (Shami) and sometimes called
Eastern Arabic) is a group of
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
varietiesThe Arabic language is a Semitic language with many varieties that diverge widely from one another—both from country to country and within a single country. A distinction is to be made between Classical/Standard Arabic and these "colloquial" variants...
spoken in the 100 km-wide eastern-Mediterranean coastal strip known as the
LevantThe Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by...
, i.e. in western
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....
,
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
,
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
, Palestine,
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, and western
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
. This corresponds to the western wing of the
Fertile CrescentThe Fertile Crescent is a region in the Near East, incorporating the Levant and Mesopotamia, and often incorrectly extended to Egypt. Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of civilization and saw the development of the earliest human civilizations and is the birthplace of writing and the wheel.The...
, which clearly appears green on satellite photos.
To the East, in the Desert, the North Arabian Beduinic dialects are found. In the North, between Aleppo and the Euphrates valley, there may be a transition zone towards North Mesopotamian
qeltu dialects (to be confirmed, since the Raqqah dialect in the Syrian Euphrates valley still seems to be quite close to South Iraqi and Beduinic dialects.)
Levantine Arabic can be divided into two major branches:
- North Levantine (Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus)
- South Levantine (Palestine, Israel, and Jordan)
South Levantine shows closer relationship with
Egyptian ArabicEgyptian Arabic is a variety of the Arabic language of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. It originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt around the capital Cairo...
(derived primarily from classical
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
i Arabic), whereas North Levantine, though also rooted in classical Yemeni Arabic, shows more relations with classical
NajdNejd or Najd is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.-Boundaries of Nejd:The Arabic word nejd literally means "upland" and was once applied to a variety of regions within the Arabian Peninsula...
i Arabic.
Northern Levantine can be sub-divided into the following branches:
- North Syrian
North Syrian Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken in Northern Syria. The dialect is spoken in a region extending from the city of Aleppo westward into the Idlib Governorate. It is a variant of Levantine Arabic.- Features :...
(AleppoAleppo is a city in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city and the capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population...
)
- West (coastal) Syrian
Syrian Arabic is a Levantine variety of Arabic spoken in Syria and Lebanon. Syria has three major dialectal zones. Central from Damascus to Hama and North in the Aleppo region. Varieties of Syrian Arabic are spoken in these zones....
(LatakiaLatakia or Latakiyah is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
to TripoliTripoli is the largest and capital city of Libya.Tripoli has a population of 1.69 million...
)
- Central Syrian
Syrian Arabic is a Levantine variety of Arabic spoken in Syria and Lebanon. Syria has three major dialectal zones. Central from Damascus to Hama and North in the Aleppo region. Varieties of Syrian Arabic are spoken in these zones....
(HamaHama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. The city is the location of the historical city Hamath...
to DamascusDamascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000...
)
- Lebanese
Lebanese or Lebanese Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in Lebanon. Lebanese Arabic is one of the Levantine varieties of Arabic. Lebanese dialect shares 80% of its vocabulary with Syrian Arabic, and about 75% with Jordanian and Palestinian Arabic dialects. French, Turkic, English and Persian...
(Mount LebanonMount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is the Lebanese mountain range, known as the Western Mountain Range of Lebanon. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the Mediterranean coast with the highest peak, Qurnat as Sawda', at . Lebanon has historically been defined by...
and BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which...
)
- Cypriot Maronite Arabic
Cypriot Maronite Arabic is one of the most divergent of Arabic varieties, spoken by Maronites in Cyprus. Most speakers are in Nicosia, but others are in the communities in Kormakiti and Limassol . All speakers are over 30 years of age...
(Cyprus)
The main difference between these three branches is the product of the standard long A vowel. It is predominantly in North Syrian (
Najdi shiftImāla , or Arabic ā raising, is a term used in the context of Arabic linguistics to describe the phenomenon of pronouncing the Arabic long vowel ā at a higher point in vowel space than a prototypical...
), in West Syrian (
Canaanite shiftIn historical linguistics, the Canaanite shift is a sound change that took place in the Canaanite dialects, which belong to the Northwest Semitic branch of the Semitic languages family. This sound change caused Proto-NW-Semitic *ā to turn into ō in Proto-Canaanite...
), and in Central Syrian.
There is a clear urban vs. rural contrast with regard to vowels in North Levantine. Rural dialects preserve the vowels and diphthongs of
Classical ArabicClassical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
unchanged; whereas urban dialects use vowels similar to those of the other modern varieties of Arabic.
South Levantine can be sub-divided as follows:
- Urban Palestinian
Palestinian Arabic is a Levantine Arabic dialect subgroup spoken by Palestinians and 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...
(South Lebanon, HaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
, NablusNablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 134,000...
, JaffaJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel on the Mediterranean Sea...
, NazarethNazareth is the capital and largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
, HebronHebron is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south, 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem. It is home to some 166,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Israelis living in and around the historic Jewish Quarter. Hebron lies 930 meters above sea level...
, JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
, ...)
- Rural Palestinian
Palestinian Arabic is a Levantine Arabic dialect subgroup spoken by Palestinians and 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...
(IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
down to BethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
), west JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
.
- Bedouin Palestinian
Palestinian Arabic is a Levantine Arabic dialect subgroup spoken by Palestinians and 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...
dialects in the southern Margins (IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
)
South Levantine sub-dialects differ in the following:
- Product of ( common in Lebanese)
- Products of short vowles (classical short vowles predominantly preserved in Lebanese and Urban Palestinian)
- Products of classical diphthongs ( and preserved in Lebanese)
- Realizations of the feminine ending -ah (-ih/-eh in Lebanese and Urban Palestinian)
- Realizations of ﻙ , ﻕ , and ﺝ .
- Conservation of interdentals ﺙ , ﺫ , and ﻅ ;
- Vocalism and consonnatism of suffix pronouns -at, -kum and -kunna
- The form of independent pronouns, huwa, hiya, hum and hunna
Differences between North and South Levantine:
- The use of ش for negation (in South Levantine)
- The vowel following the second radical in verbal forms (often a in South Levantine)
- The common form of the active praticiple (faln common in North Levantine)
- The realization of ق (more pharyngealized in North Levantine)
The table below shows how the variants are distributed.
| Dialect The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by scholars of language. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is 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...
|
| | |
|---|
| | |
|---|
| | |
|---|
| -ah | -kum | -kunna | hum | hunna | Not | We can |
|---|
| North Syrian North Syrian Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken in Northern Syria. The dialect is spoken in a region extending from the city of Aleppo westward into the Idlib Governorate. It is a variant of Levantine Arabic.- Features :...
|
urban |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -e |
-kon |
-kon |
hennen |
hennen |
m |
nder |
| rural |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -i |
-kun |
-kun |
hinni(n) |
hinni(n) |
m |
nidir |
| West Syrian Syrian Arabic is a Levantine variety of Arabic spoken in Syria and Lebanon. Syria has three major dialectal zones. Central from Damascus to Hama and North in the Aleppo region. Varieties of Syrian Arabic are spoken in these zones....
|
urban |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -e |
-kon |
-kon |
henne(n) |
henne(n) |
m, m |
ndor |
| rural |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -i |
-kun |
-kun |
hinni(n) |
hinni(n) |
m, m |
nidur |
| Central Syrian Syrian Arabic is a Levantine variety of Arabic spoken in Syria and Lebanon. Syria has three major dialectal zones. Central from Damascus to Hama and North in the Aleppo region. Varieties of Syrian Arabic are spoken in these zones....
|
urban |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -e |
-kon |
-kon |
henne(n) |
henne(n) |
m |
nder |
| rural |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -i |
-kun |
-kun |
hinni(n), hinnon |
hinni(n), hinnon |
m |
nidir |
| Lebanese Lebanese or Lebanese Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in Lebanon. Lebanese Arabic is one of the Levantine varieties of Arabic. Lebanese dialect shares 80% of its vocabulary with Syrian Arabic, and about 75% with Jordanian and Palestinian Arabic dialects. French, Turkic, English and Persian...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -i |
-kun |
-kun |
hinni |
hinni |
mi, mu, - suffix |
nedar, nedir |
| Palestinian Palestinian Arabic is a Levantine Arabic dialect subgroup spoken by Palestinians and 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...
|
urban |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -e, -i |
-kom, -kum |
-kom, -kum |
homme, hommi |
homme, hommi |
mi, mu, - suffix |
nidar |
| rural |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -e, -a |
-kem |
-ken |
hemme |
henne |
mi, mu, - suffix |
nidar |
| bedouin |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -a |
-kom |
-ken |
homme |
henne |
mi, mu, - suffix |
nigdar |
See also
- Jordanian Arabic
Jordanian Arabic is a dialect of Arabic language originated in Jordan. The current Jordanian Arabic is a mix of Bedouin and Palestinian dialects, with some new terms and ways of speech added by the current Jordanian citizens.- Types of Jordanian Arabic :...
- Lebanese Arabic
Lebanese or Lebanese Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in Lebanon. Lebanese Arabic is one of the Levantine varieties of Arabic. Lebanese dialect shares 80% of its vocabulary with Syrian Arabic, and about 75% with Jordanian and Palestinian Arabic dialects. French, Turkic, English and Persian...
- Palestinian Arabic
Palestinian Arabic is a Levantine Arabic dialect subgroup spoken by Palestinians and 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...
- Syrian Arabic
Syrian Arabic is a Levantine variety of Arabic spoken in Syria and Lebanon. Syria has three major dialectal zones. Central from Damascus to Hama and North in the Aleppo region. Varieties of Syrian Arabic are spoken in these zones....
External links