Peninsular Arabic | |
---|---|
Arabian Arabic | |
Region | Arabian Peninsula |
Native speakers | 77 million (2018–2023) [1] |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
Dialects | |
Arabic script | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously: abv – Bahrani Arabic adf – Dhofari Arabic avl – Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic afb – Gulf Arabic ayh – Hadhrami Arabic acw – Hejazi Arabic ars – Najdi Arabic acx – Omani Arabic ayn – Sanʽani Arabic ssh – Shihhi Arabic acq – Taʽizzi-Adeni Arabic |
Glottolog | arab1393 |
Peninsular Arabic are the varieties of Arabic spoken throughout the Arabian Peninsula. This includes the countries of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Southern Iran, Southern Iraq and Jordan. [2]
The modern dialects spoken in the Arabian Peninsula are closer to Classical Arabic than elsewhere in the Arab world. [3] [4] Some of the local dialects have retained many archaic features lost in other dialects, such as the conservation of nunation for indeterminate nouns. They retain most Classical syntax and vocabulary but still have some differences from Classical Arabic like the other dialects.
Ingham [5] and Holes [6] both note the existence of two peninsular dialect groups:
The following varieties are usually noted:
The following table compares the Arabic terms between Saudi dialects of urban Hejazi and urban Najdi in addition to the dialect of the Harb tribe [7] with its tribal area (Najdi, urban Hejazi and bedouin Hejazi groups) which shows a correlation and differences between those dialects:
Term | Standard Arabic | Urban Hejazi | Ḥarb tribe (Hejazi -Urban groups) | Ḥarb tribe (Hejazi -Bedouin groups) | Ḥarb tribe (Najdi) | Urban Najdi |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"water" | ماء māʼ | موية mōya | ما mā or موية mōya | موية mōya | ||
"what?" | ماذا māḏā | إيش ʾēš | ويش wēš or وش weš | وش wiš | ||
"I want" | أريد ʼurīd | أبغى ʼabḡa or rarely أبى ʼaba | أبى ʼaba | أبي ʼabi | ||
"bread" | خُبْز ḵubz | خُبْز ḵubuz or عيش ʿēš | عيش ʿayš | خِبْز ḵibz | ||
"run" | يَرْكُض yarkuḍu or يَجْرِي yajrī | يِجْري yijri | يَجْرِي yajri | يَرْكُض yarkiẓ (يَرْكِظ) | ||
"now" | الآن alʼān | دحين daḥīn or daḥēn | ذحين daḥīn | هالحين hal-ḥīn | الحين il-ḥīn | |
"also" | أيْضًا ʾayḍan or كَذَٰلِكَ ka-ḏālika | كمان kamān or برضه barḍu | كمان kamān or برضه barẓu (برظه) | كَذَٰلِكَ ka-ḏālik | بَعَد baʿad | |
"coffee" | قَهْوَة qahwa | قَهْوَة gahwa | قْهَوَة ghawa | قْهَوَة ghawa or قَهْوَة gahwa | ||
"they said" | قالوا qālū | قالوا gālu | قالوا gālaw | قالوا gālaw or قالوا gālu | ||
"cows" | بَقَر baqar | بَقَر bagar | بُقَر bugar | بِقَر bigar | ||
"neck" | رَقَبة raqaba | رَقَبة ragaba | رْقُبة rguba | رْقَبة rgaba | ||
"little" | قَليل qalīl | قَليل galīl | قِليل gilīl | |||
"strong" | قَوِيّ qawiyy | قَوي gawi | قُوي guwi | |||
"talked to you" | كَلَّمَكَ kallamaka | كَلَّمَك kallamak | كَلَّمْك kallamk | |||
"take!" | خُذْ ḵuḏ | خُذْ ḵud (خُد) | خُذْ ḵuḏ | خِذْ ḵiḏ | ||
"all" | كُلّ kull | كُلّ kull | كِل kill | |||
"got bigger" | كَبُرَ kabura | كِبِر kibir | كِبَر kibar | |||
"he drank" | شَرِب šarib | شِرِب širib | شِرَب širab | |||
"I said" | قُلْت qult | قُلْت gult | قِلْت gilt | |||
"tomb" | قَبْر qabr | قَبُر gabur | قبر gabir | |||
"palace" | قَصر qaṣr | قَصُر gaṣur | قَصِر gaṣir | |||
"poverty" | فَقْر faqr | فَقِر fagir or فَقُر fagur | فَقِر fagir | |||
"it dried" | يَبِس yabis | يِبِس yibis | يِبَس yibas | |||
"say!" | قُل qul | قول gūl | قِل gil or rarely قول gūl | |||
"go!" | اِذْهَب iḏhab | روح rūḥ | رح riḥ or rarely روح rūḥ | |||
“he found” | لقي laqiya | لقي ligi | لقى liga | |||
“she forgot” | نَسِيَت nasiyat | نِسْيَت nisyat | نست nisat | |||
"where?" | أين ʼayn | فين fēn | وين wēn | |||
"early morning" | ضُحَى ḍuḥā | ضَحى ḍaḥa | ضَحى ẓaḥa (ظَحى) | |||
"we were" | كُنَّا kunnā | كُنَّا kunna | كِنَّا kinna | |||
"he inhabited" | سَكَن sakan | سَكَن sakan | سِكَن sikan | |||
"he told the truth" | صَدَق ṣadaq | صَدَق ṣadag | صِدَق ṣidag | |||
"he knows" | يَعْرِف yaʿrif | يِعْرِف yiʿrif | يْعَرِف yʿarif | |||
"he wrote" | كَتَبَ katab | كَتَب katab | كِتَب kitab | |||
"he enters" | يَدْخُل yadḵul | يِدْخُل yidḵul | يَدْخُل yadḵul | يَدْخِل yadḵil | ||
"he writes" | يَكْتُبُ yaktub | يِكْتُب yiktub | يَكْتِب yaktub | يَكْتِب yaktib or يْكَتِب ykatib | ||
"she sits" | تَقْعُد taqʿud | تِقْعُد tigʿud | تَقْعُد tagʿud | تَقْعِد tagʿid | ||
"he woke up" | صَحِيَ ṣaḥiya or صحا ṣaḥā | صِحِي ṣiḥi | صَحَا ṣaḥa | |||
"dig" | اِحْفِرْ iḥfir | اَحْفُر aḥfur | اِحْفِرْ iḥfir | |||
"leave!" | خَلِّ ḵalli | خَلِّي ḵalli | خل ḵall | |||
"big" | كَبير kabīr | كَبير kabīr | كِبير kibīr | |||
"truth" | حَقيقة ḥaqīqa | حَقيقة ḥagīga | حِقيقة ḥigīga | |||
"we" | نَحْن naḥnu | احنا iḥna or نحنا niḥna | حنا ḥinna | |||
"them" | هُم hum | َّهُم humma | هُم hum | |||
"this" | هذا hāḏā | هذا hāda (هدا) | هذا hāḏa | |||
"we count" | نَحْسِبُ naḥsibu | نِحْسِب niḥsib | نْحَسِب nḥasib | نْحَسِب nḥasib or نِحْسِب niḥsib | ||
"piece of wood" | خَشَبَة ḵašaba | خَشَبَة ḵašaba | خْشِبَة ḵšiba | خْشِبَة ḵšiba or خَشَبَة ḵašaba | ||
"camel" | جَمَل jamal | جَمَل jamal | جِمَل jimal | جِمَل jimal or جَمَل jamal | ||
"like" | مِثْل miṯl or كما kama | زَي zay | مِثْل miṯl or كما kima or زَي zay | مِثْل miṯl or زَي zay | ||
"he" | هُوَ huwa | هُوَّ huwwa | هو hū or huw or huwah or اهو ihwa | هو hū or huw |
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Najdi Arabic is the group of Arabic varieties originating from the Najd region of Saudi Arabia. Outside of Saudi Arabia, it is also the main Arabic variety spoken in the Syrian Desert of Iraq, Jordan, and Syria as well as the westernmost part of Kuwait.
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Bedouin Arabic refers to a typological group of Arabic dialects historically linked to Bedouin tribes, that has spread among both nomadic and sedentary groups across the Arab World. The group of dialects originate from Arabian tribes in Najd and the Hejaz that have spread since the 10th century until modern day. Bedouin dialects vary by region and tribe, but they typically share a set of features which distinguish them from sedentary-type dialects in each region.
Varieties of Arabic are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. Arabic is a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family that originated in the Arabian Peninsula. There are considerable variations from region to region, with degrees of mutual intelligibility that are often related to geographical distance and some that are mutually unintelligible. Many aspects of the variability attested to in these modern variants can be found in the ancient Arabic dialects in the peninsula. Likewise, many of the features that characterize the various modern variants can be attributed to the original settler dialects as well as local native languages and dialects. Some organizations, such as SIL International, consider these approximately 30 different varieties to be separate languages, while others, such as the Library of Congress, consider them all to be dialects of Arabic.
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Pre-classical Arabic is the cover term for all varieties of Arabic spoken in the Arabian Peninsula until immediately after the Arab conquests and emergence of Classical Arabic in the 7th century C.E. Scholars disagree about the status of these varieties.
Gilit Mesopotamian Arabic, also known as Iraqi Arabic, Mesopotamian Gelet Arabic, or simply Mesopotamian Arabic is one of the two main varieties of Mesopotamian Arabic, together with North Mesopotamian Arabic.