Discover the Top Arabic Dialects Around the World.

Dialects described as significant changes in speech, vocabulary, and pronunciation­ are very common in most languages. With a wide geographic area consisting of 25 countries and territories, the Arab world also shares the same basics in the Arabic language, however, accents or dialects may differ slightly from one country to another.

The Arabic language first emerged in the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula and was defined and refined over a long period of time. Through the Islamic conquest and expansion into parts of the Middle East and North Africa, the language spread as well as a rise in further Arabic dialects. Currently, thanks to Modern Standard Arabic as the official written language, all dialects share a widely used core vocabulary, however, it changes dramatically from one corner of the Arabic-speaking world to the next.

Arabic is divided into three varieties, Classical Arabic (the language of the Qur’an), Modern Standard Arabic (also known as MSA or فصحى in Arabic, it is a simplified form of Standard Arabic, used in official media), and Spoken Arabic dialects (Colloquial Arabic, used in day-to-day life). As for any non-native speaker who wants to learn to speak, read, or write Arabic, MSA will enable you to handle any dialect you are exposed to very easily, however, choosing between the different dialects can be overwhelming. In this topic, we will illustrate the top different Arabic dialects that are spoken around the world.

 

 

• Egyptian Arabic also called “Masri مصري” (spoken in Egypt)

 

Egyptian dialect is widely understood throughout the Arab world due to the massive influence of Egyptian media.

 

• Levantine Arabic also called “Shami شامي” (spoken in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine).

 

Levantine Arabic is spoken by a large population, and it also has a large TV/music industry.

 

• Gulf Arabic also called “Khaleeji خليجي ” (spoken in UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Gulf coast of Iran).

 

Gulf Arabic can be defined as a group of closely related and mutually intelligible varieties that form a dialect continuum. Similar to other Arabic varieties, Gulf Arabic varieties are not completely mutually intelligible with other Arabic varieties spoken outside the Gulf.

 

• Peninsular Arabic (West Saudi Arabia, including Makkah and Al Madina Al Monawwarah, plus a few other regional countries).

 

Since it is the homeland of the Arabic language, the dialect spoken in this region is closer to Classical Arabic than anywhere else. Some local dialects have retained many archaic features lost in other dialects, however, they have some differences from Classical Arabic like other dialects.