A Bedouin-descended Arabic variety spoken across Mauritania, Western Sahara, and adjacent parts of the Sahel. Carries deep Berber substrate and a strong oral poetic tradition.
- Spoken in
- Approximate centre
- 18.07°, -15.97°
Dialect comparison
Hassaniya Arabic vs Modern Standard Arabic
Compare two dialects of Arabic side by side — where they're spoken, what they're called, and how they relate.
MSA · Fuṣḥā · Literary Arabic · Standard Arabic
The codified supra-regional standard used across the Arab world in education, media, literature, and formal speech. Derived from Classical Arabic, it has no native speakers and no single regional home — it is acquired as a formal register layered above the spoken vernaculars. Cairo, as the historical center of Arabic publishing, broadcasting, and scholarship, serves as its conventional locus.
- Spoken in
- Approximate centre
- 30.04°, 31.24°
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Read the full picture of Arabic and the dialects within it.