Languages of Palestine

Languages of Palestine
Sign of a bank in Salfit, in Arabic and English
Official	Arabic
Recognised	Armenian, Domari
Vernacular	Palestinian Arabic, Northwest Arabian Arabic
Minority	Hebrew
Foreign	English, French
Signed	Palestinian Sign Language
Keyboard layout	Arabic keyboard

The primary language of Palestine is Arabic.

Overview

Palestinian Arabic is the main language spoken by Palestinians and represents a unique dialect. A variety of Levantine Arabic, it is spoken by Palestinian populations in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel (Palestinian citizens of Israel). ^[1] However, some Palestinian refugees in other parts of the world may speak a different dialect from Palestinian Arabic. In the West Bank, there are many Israeli settlements in which, since the early 20th century, Hebrew has become more common. Palestinian citizens of Israel are also likely to be bilingual in both Arabic and Hebrew. Russian and Amharic have also started to appear as a result of Aliyah from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, as have other European languages brought by Jewish settlers. ^[2]

Armenian is also a significant minority language in Palestine, as Armenians have inhabited in the region since the 4th century AD, considered to be the oldest Armenian community outside of Armenia. Around 2,000-3,000 Armenians lived in Palestine circa World War I, with the population peaking at over 10,000 prior to the 1948 war. ^{[3] [4]} The majority of Armenians in Palestine reside in the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem, but historically have lived in Haifa and Jaffa. Currently, the Jerusalem-Armenian population has declined, reducing the amount of Armenian speakers in the enclave and greater region. ^[5]

In ancient and medieval times, many other languages had also been spoken in Palestine for ceremonial purposes or otherwise, including Latin and other Italic languages, French, Germanic languages, Classical Arabic and Greek. However, they gradually faded away along with geopolitical shifts and the end of feudalism. ^[6]

Sign in Battir, West Bank, which is in Arabic and English.

Font at the seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with text in Arabic (top) and Armenian (below)

Census of 1922

The following graph is a recreation of details in the Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Find the original in Table XXI.

	Jerusalem	Jaffa	Haifa	Gaza	Hebron	Nablus	Safad	Lydda	Nazareth	Ramleh	Tiberias	Bethlehem	Acre	Majdal	Khan Yunis	Tulkarem	Ramallah	Beit Jala	Jenin	Be'erseba	Shafa Amr	Baisan	Total
Abyssinian	72	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	74
Arabic	22,307	26,626	16,733	17,395	16,134	15,784	5,753	8,072	7,035	7,235	2,570	6,062	6,199	5,096	3,888	3,272	3,056	3,051	2,308	2,230	2,281	1,917	185,009
Armenian	2,442	216	101	4	—	13	1	—	20	13	1	37	25	—	—	4	21	—	6	1	—	1	2,906
Albanian	—	—	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5
Bulgarian	29	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1	1	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	36
Circassian	3	3	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	—	—	15
Chaldean	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Dutch	2	1	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	7
English	986	189	276	16	7	—	20	—	135	2	17	17	10	—	—	15	15	—	46	23	3	2	1,799
Flemish	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3
French	261	70	123	2	1	120	—	—	72	2	6	46	3	—	—	—	4	2	—	—	3	—	715
German	281	270	561	—	—	3	3	—	42	—	15	8	9	—	—	—	—	1	—	2	—	1	1,196
Greek	760	161	205	4	1	6	1	1	12	20	1	29	11	—	—	2	1	4	10	1	—	—	1,230
Georgian	4	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6
Gipsy	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	13	7
Hebrew	32,341	19,498	5,683	44	425	15	2,937	6	43	27	4,280	—	13	—	—	21	7	—	2	86	—	—	65,447
Hindustani	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	8	—	—	2	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	59	—	—	—	72
Indian Dialects	769	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	770
Italian	209	22	88	—	—	1	—	—	12	—	5	51	1	—	—	3	—	11	1	—	1	—	405
Japanese	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Jhurkhali	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5	—	—	—	5
Kurdish	—	—	1	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7	—	—	—	10
Magyar	55	21	2	2	—	—	46	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	130
Mahratti	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	176	—	—	—	176
Maltese	4	2	21	—	—	—	—	—	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	33
Norwegian	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2
Persian	122	44	156	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	101	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	426
Polish	10	12	12	—	—	—	—	—	4	—	—	2	3	—	—	—	—	1	—	4	—	—	48
Portuguese	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Pushtu	4	26	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5	—	—	—	35
Romanian	36	—	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	44
Russian	407	63	74	2	—	1	—	—	2	—	4	2	—	—	—	2	—	8	—	5	—	1	571
Serbian	13	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	32
Sudanese	35	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	36
Spanish	174	49	39	1	1	—	—	—	10	2	2	16	1	—	—	—	—	19	—	—	—	—	314
Swedish	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	19
Syriac	38	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	369	25	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	408
Turkish	198	74	194	5	2	3	—	16	5	3	2	7	16	1	2	13	—	—	7	1	—	4	562
Welsh	—	—	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4
Yiddish	999	356	332	5	4	—	—	—	3	7	33	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	—	—	—	1,759

See also

• Demographics of the Palestinian territories

References

1. Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: L-R - Page 1492, James Minahan - 2002
2. Struggle and Survival in Palestine/Israel - Page 403, Gershon Shafir - 2012
3. Matossian, Bedross Der (2011-11-01). "The Armenians of Palestine 1918-48" . Journal of Palestine Studies. 41 (1): 24–44. doi:10.1525/jps.2011.XLI.1.24. ISSN   0377-919X.
4. "Armenians of Jerusalem". Institute for Palestine Studies. Retrieved 2025-02-22.
5. Kalaydijan, Mihran (2016-02-12). "The Armenian Community of Jerusalem: Challenges and Realities". The Armenian Weekly. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved 2025-02-22.
6. Naming Patterns in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 42, Iris Shagrir - 2003