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 and Hejazi parts) which shows a correlation and differences between those dialects:
Term | Standard Arabic | Urban Hejazi | Ḥarb tribe (Hejazi) | 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 |
Najd is the central region of Saudi Arabia, in which about a third of the country's modern population resides. It is the home of the House of Saud, from which it pursued unification with Hejaz since the time of the Emirate of Diriyah.
The Eastern Province, also known as the Eastern Region, is the easternmost of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the nation's largest province by area and the third most populous after the Riyadh and Mecca provinces. In 2017, the population was 4,900,325. Of these, 3,140,362 were Saudi citizens and 1,759,963 were foreign nationals The province accounts for 15.05% of the entire population of Saudi Arabia and is named for its geographical location relative to the rest of the kingdom.
Yemeni Arabic is a cluster of varieties of Arabic spoken in Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is generally considered a very conservative dialect cluster, having many classical features not found across most of the Arabic-speaking world.
Gulf Arabic or Khaleeji is a variety of the Arabic language spoken in Eastern Arabia around the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, southern Iraq, eastern Saudi Arabia, northern Oman, and by some Iranian Arabs.
Mesopotamian Arabic, also known as Iraqi Arabic, is a group of varieties of Arabic spoken in the Mesopotamian basin of Iraq, as well as in Syria, southeastern Turkey, Iran, Kuwait and Iraqi diaspora communities.
Gimel is the third letter of the Semitic abjads, including Arabic ǧīmج, Aramaic gāmal 𐡂, Hebrew gīmelג, Phoenician gīml 𐤂, and Syriac gāmal ܓ. Its sound value in the original Phoenician and in all derived alphabets, except Arabic, is a voiced velar plosive ; in Modern Standard Arabic, it represents either a or for most Arabic speakers except in Northern Egypt, the southern parts of Yemen and some parts of Oman where it is pronounced as the voiced velar plosive.
Mehri or Mahri (مهريّت) [Roman Transliteration: Mahrīyyt] is the most spoken of the Modern South Arabian languages (MSALs), a subgroup of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. It is spoken by the Mehri tribes, who inhabit isolated areas of the eastern part of Yemen, western Oman, particularly the Al Mahrah Governorate, with a small number in Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni and Omani borders. Up to the 19th century, speakers lived as far north as the central part of Oman.
The Bahārna are an ethnoreligious group of Shia Muslim Arabs indigenous to the historical region of Bahrain. They are generally regarded to be the original inhabitants of Eastern Arabia. They inhabited the area even before the arrival of the Banu Utbah in the 18th century which the Bahraini royal family descends from. Most Bahraini citizens are Baharna. Regions with most of the population are in Eastern Arabia, with significant populations in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Khoramshahr, Hormozgan province of Iran.
Bahrani Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken by the Baharna in Eastern Arabia and Oman. In Bahrain, the dialect is primarily spoken in Shia villages and some parts of Manama. In Saudi Arabia, the dialect is spoken in the governorate of Qatif. In Oman, it is spoken in the governorates of Al Dhahirah and Al Batinah.
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.
Hejazi Arabic or Hijazi Arabic (HA), also known as West Arabian Arabic, is a variety of Arabic spoken in the Hejaz region in Saudi Arabia. Strictly speaking, there are two main groups of dialects spoken in the Hejaz region, one by the urban population, originally spoken mainly in the cities of Jeddah, Mecca, Medina and partially in Ta'if and another dialect by the urbanized rural and bedouin populations. However, the term most often applies to the urban variety which is discussed in this article.
The Hejazi turban, also spelled Hijazi turban, is a type of the turban headdress native to the region of Hejaz in modern-day western Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ajman or al-'Ijman is an Arabian tribal confederation in the Arabian Peninsula, with Ajman spread across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Omani Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken in the Al Hajar Mountains of Oman and in a few neighboring coastal regions. It is the easternmost traditional Arabic dialect. It was formerly spoken by colonists in Kenya and Tanzania, but these days, it mainly remains spoken on the island of Zanzibar.
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.
Jordanian Arabic is a dialect continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of Arabic spoken by the population of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Mashriqi Arabic, or Mashriqi ʿAmmiya, encompasses the varieties of Arabic spoken in the Mashriq, including the countries of Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Cyprus, Turkey, Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. The variety is sometimes referred to as Eastern Arabic, as opposed to Western Arabic and includes Mesopotamian Arabic and Peninsular Arabic, along with Egyptian Arabic, Sudanese Arabic, and Levantine Arabic. Speakers of Mashriqi call their language ʿAmmiya, which means "common or colloquial" in Modern Standard Arabic.
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.