Arabic
Arabic is documented on Dialect Atlas across 17 dialects, including Algerian Arabic, Chadian Arabic, Egyptian Arabic.
Dialects of Arabic
- Algerian ArabicDziri · DarjaThe Maghrebi Arabic of Algeria. Internally varied between urban Tellian, Saharan, and Hilalian rural varieties; carries deep Berber substrate and French contact lexicon.
- Chadian ArabicShuwa Arabic · Baggara ArabicSpoken across Chad and adjoining parts of Sudan, north-eastern Nigeria, and northern Cameroon. The main Sahelian Arabic variety, used as a lingua franca well beyond Arab communities.
- Egyptian ArabicMasriThe most widely understood Arabic dialect, carried across the region by cinema and music.
- Gulf ArabicKhalijiSpoken across the Arabian Peninsula. Retains classical features alongside modern urban slang.
- Hassaniya ArabicA 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.
- Hejazi ArabicHijaziThe Arabic of western Saudi Arabia, centred on Mecca, Medina, and Jeddah. Sits between Egyptian and Najdi varieties and is widely understood across the peninsula.
- Iraqi ArabicMesopotamian ArabicSpoken across Iraq and parts of eastern Syria and southwestern Iran. Carries strong Aramaic and Turkic influence and splits internally between gilit (southern) and qeltu (northern) varieties.
- Levantine ArabicShamiSpoken across Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. Known for soft consonants and a shared cultural vocabulary.
- Libyan ArabicSulaimitian ArabicThe Maghrebi Arabic of Libya, transitional between western Maghrebi and Egyptian. Tripolitanian and Cyrenaican varieties differ noticeably in vocabulary and phonology.
- Maghrebi ArabicDarijaSpoken across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Shaped by Berber, French, and Spanish contact.
- Modern Standard ArabicMSA · Fuṣḥā · Literary Arabic · Standard ArabicThe 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.
- Moroccan DarijaDarija · Moroccan ArabicThe Maghrebi Arabic of Morocco, with heavy Berber substrate and substantial French and Spanish loanwords. Distinct enough from Mashreqi Arabic to function as a separate everyday language.
- Najdi ArabicThe Arabic of central Saudi Arabia around Riyadh. Closely related to Gulf Arabic but with distinct vowel and consonant features rooted in the bedouin Najd plateau.
- Saidi ArabicUpper Egyptian ArabicThe Arabic of Upper Egypt, from Beni Suef south to Aswan. Conservative relative to Cairene Egyptian Arabic, with retained interdentals and a distinct rural prestige.
- Sudanese ArabicThe Arabic of Sudan, retaining a number of older features lost in other dialects and shaped by long contact with Nubian and other African languages.
- Tunisian ArabicTounsi · DerjaThe Maghrebi Arabic of Tunisia. Notable for vowel reductions, a rich set of French and Italian loanwords, and a literary written tradition unusual among colloquial Arabic varieties.
- Yemeni ArabicA cluster of conservative Arabic varieties across Yemen. Often cited as preserving features close to Classical Arabic that have shifted elsewhere.
Common comparisons
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