Levantine Arabic

Levantine Arabic, also calledShami(autonym:شامي,šāmiorاللهجة الشامية,el-lahje š-šāmiyye), is anArabic varietyspoken in theLevant, namely in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and southern Turkey (historically only inAdana,MersinandHatayprovinces). With over 54 million speakers, Levantine is, alongsideEgyptian, one of the twoprestige varietiesofspoken Arabiccomprehensible all over theArab world.
Levantine is notofficially recognizedin any state or territory. Although it is themajority languagein Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, it is predominantly used as a spokenvernacularin daily communication, whereas most written and official documents and media in these countries use the officialModern Standard Arabic(MSA), a form ofliteraryArabic onlyacquiredthrough formal education that does not function as anative language. In Israel and Turkey, Levantine is aminority language.
ThePalestinian dialectis lexically theclosestvernacular Arabic variety to MSA, with about 50% of common words. Nevertheless, Levantine and MSA are not mutually intelligible. Levantine speakers therefore often call their language ‏العامية‎al-ʿāmmiyyalisten, 'slang', 'dialect', or 'colloquial'. With the emergence of social media, attitudes toward Levantine have improved. The amount of written Levantine has significantly increased, especially online, where Levantine is written usingArabic,Latin, orHebrew characters.Levantine pronunciationvaries greatly along social, ethnic, and geographical lines.Its grammaris similar to that shared by most vernacular varieties of Arabic.Its lexiconis overwhelmingly Arabic, with a significantAramaicinfluence.
The lack of written sources in Levantine makes it impossible to determine its history before themodern period. Aramaic was the dominant language in the Levant starting in the 1st millennium BCE; it coexisted with other languages, including many Arabic dialects spoken by variousArab tribes. With theMuslim conquest of the Levantin the 7th century, new Arabic speakers from theArabian Peninsulasettled in the area, and a lengthylanguage shiftfrom Aramaic to vernacular Arabic occurred.
Scholars use "Levantine Arabic" to describe thecontinuumofmutually intelligibledialects spoken across the Levant.Other terms include "Syro-Palestinian","Eastern Arabic","East Mediterranean Arabic","Syro-Lebanese" (as a broad term covering Jordan and Palestine as well),"Greater Syrian",or "Syrian Arabic" (in a broad meaning, referring to all the dialects ofGreater Syria, which corresponds to the Levant).Most authors only includesedentarydialects,excludingBedouindialects of theSyrian Desertand theNegev, which belong to the dialects of the Arabian Peninsula.Mesopotamian dialectsfrom northeast Syria are also excluded.Other authors include Bedouin varieties.
The term "Levantine Arabic" is not indigenous and, according to linguists Kristen Brustad and Emilie Zuniga, "it is likely that many speakers would resist the grouping on the basis that the rich phonological, morphological and lexical variation within the Levant carries important social meanings and distinctions."Levantine speakers often call their language ‏العامية‎al-ʿāmmiyya, 'slang', 'dialect', or 'colloquial' (lit.'the language of common people'), to contrast it toModern Standard Arabic(MSA) andClassical Arabic(‏الفصحى‎al-fuṣḥā,lit.'the eloquent').They also call their spoken language ‏عربي‎ʿarabiyy, 'Arabic'.Alternatively, they identify their language by the name of their country.‏شامي‎šāmican refer toDamascus Arabic,Syrian Arabic, or Levantine as a whole.Lebanese literary figureSaid Aklled a movement to recognize the "Lebanese language" as a distinct prestigious language instead of MSA.
Levantine is a variety of Arabic, aSemitic language. There is no consensus regarding thegenealogical position of Arabicwithin the Semitic languages.The position of Levantine and other Arabic vernaculars in the Arabicmacrolanguagefamily has also been contested. According to the Arabic tradition, Classical Arabic was the spoken language of thepre-Islamicand Early Islamic periods and remained stable until today's MSA.According to this view, all Arabic vernaculars, including Levantine, descend from Classical Arabic and were corrupted by contacts with other languages.Several Arabic varieties are closer to other Semitic languages and maintain features not found in Classical Arabic, indicating that these varieties cannot have developed from Classical Arabic.Thus, Arabic vernaculars are not a modified version of the Classical language,which is a sister language rather than their direct ancestor.Classical Arabic and vernacular varieties all developed from an unattested common ancestor,Proto-Arabic.TheISO 639-3standard classifies Levantine as a language, member of the macrolanguage Arabic.
Sedentary vernaculars (also called dialects) are traditionally classified into five groups according to shared features:Peninsular, Mesopotamian, Levantine,Egyptian, andMaghrebi.Thelinguistic distancebetween these vernaculars is at least as large as betweenGermanic languagesorRomance languages. It is, for instance, extremely difficult for Moroccans and Iraqis, each speaking their own variety, to understand each other.Levantine and Egyptian are the two prestige varieties of spoken Arabic;they are also the most widely understood dialects in the Arab worldand the most commonly taught to non-native speakers outside the Arab world.
Levantine is spoken in the fertile strip on theeastern shores of the Mediterranean: from the Turkish coastal provinces ofAdana,Hatay, andMersinin the northto the Negev, passing through Lebanon, the coastal regions of Syria (LatakiaandTartusgovernorates) as well as aroundAleppoand Damascus,theHauranin Syria and Jordan,the rest of western Jordan,Palestine and Israel.Other Arabic varieties border it: Mesopotamian andNorth Mesopotamian Arabicto the north and north-east;Najdi Arabicto the east and south-east; andNorthwest Arabian Arabicto the south and south-west.
The similarity among Levantine dialects transcends geographical location and political boundaries. The urban dialects of the main cities (such asDamascus,Beirut, andJerusalem) have much more in common with each other than they do with the rural dialects of their respective countries. Thesociolectsof two different social or religious groups within the same country may also show more dissimilarity with each other than when compared with their counterparts in another country.
The process of linguistic homogenization within each country of the Levant makes a classification of dialects by country possible today.LinguistKees Versteeghclassifies Levantine into three groups: Lebanese/Central Syrian (including Beirut, Damascus,Druze Arabic,Cypriot Maronite), North Syrian (including Aleppo), and Palestinian/Jordanian.He writes that distinctions between these groups are unclear, andisoglossescannot determine the exact boundary.
Thedialect of Alepposhows Mesopotamian influence.The prestige dialect of Damascus is the most documented Levantine dialect.A "common Syrian Arabic" is emerging.Similarly, a "Standard Lebanese Arabic" is emerging, combining features of Beiruti Arabic (which is not prestigious) and Jabale Arabic, the language ofMount Lebanon.InÇukurova, Turkey,the local dialectisendangered.Bedouin varieties are spoken in the Negev and theSinai Peninsula, areas of transition between Levantine and Egyptian.The dialect ofArish, Egypt, is classified byLinguasphereas Levantine.TheAmmandialect is emerging as an urban standard inJordanian Arabic,while other Jordanian andPalestinian Arabicdialects includeFellahi(rural) andMadani(urban).TheGazadialect contains features of both urban Palestinian andBedouin Arabic.
The Levant is characterized byethnic diversityandreligious pluralism.Levantine dialects vary along sectarian lines.Religious groups includeSunni Muslims,Shia Muslims,Alawites, Christians,Druze, and Jews.Differences between Muslim and Christian dialects are minimal, mainly involving some religious vocabulary.A minority of features are perceived as typically associated with one group. For example, in Beirut, theexponent‏تاع‎tēʕis only used by Muslims and never by Christians who use ‏تبع‎tabaʕ.Contrary to others, Druze and Alawite dialects retained the phoneme/q/.MSA influences Sunni dialects more. Jewish dialects diverge more from Muslim dialects and often show influences from other towns due to trade networks and contacts with other Jewish communities.For instance, the Jewish dialect of Hatay is very similar to the Aleppo dialect, particularly the dialect of the Jews of Aleppo. It shows traits otherwise not found in any dialect of Hatay.Koineizationin cities such as Damascus leads to a homogenization of the language among religious groups.In contrast, the marginalization ofChristians in Jordanintensifies linguistic differences between Christian Arabs and Muslims.
Levantine is primarily spoken byArabs. It is also spoken as afirstorsecond languageby severalethnic minorities.In particular, it is spoken natively bySamaritansand by mostCircassians in Jordan,Armenians in JordanandIsrael,Assyrians in Israel,Turkmen in SyriaandLebanon,Kurds in Lebanon,andDom peoplein Jerusalem.Most Christian and MuslimLebanese people in Israelspeak Lebanese Arabic.Syrian Jews,Lebanese Jews,andTurkish Jews from Çukurovaare native Levantine speakers; however, mostmoved to Israel after 1948.Levantine was spoken natively by mostJews in Jerusalem, but the community shifted toModern Hebrewafter the establishment of Israel.Levantine is the second language of Dom people across the Levant,Circassians in Israel,Armenians in Lebanon,Chechens in Jordan,Assyrians in SyriaandLebanon,and mostKurds in Syria.
In addition to the Levant, where it isindigenous, Levantine is spoken amongdiasporacommunities from the region, especially among thePalestinian,Lebanese, andSyrian diasporas.The language has fallen into disuse amongsubsequent diaspora generations, such as the 7 millionLebanese Brazilians.
Starting in the1st millennium BCE,Aramaicwas the dominant spoken language and the language of writing and administration in the Levant.Greek was the language of administration of theSeleucid Empire(in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE) and was maintained by theRoman(64 BCE–475 CE), thenByzantine(476–640) empires.From the early 1st millennium BCE until the 6th century CE, there was a continuum ofCentral Semitic languagesin the Arabian Peninsula, and Central Arabia was home to languages quite distinct from Arabic.
Because there are no written sources, the history of Levantine before themodern periodis unknown.Old Arabic was a dialect continuum stretching from the southern Levant (where Northern Old Arabic was spoken) to the northernHijaz, in theArabian Peninsula, whereOld Hijaziwas spoken.In the early 1st century CE, a great variety of Arabic dialects were already spoken by various nomadic or semi-nomadic Arabic tribes in theLevant,such as theNabataeans—who used Aramaic for official purposes,theTanukhids,and theGhassanids.These dialects were local, coming from theHauran—and not from the Arabian Peninsula—and related to later Classical Arabic.Initially restricted to thesteppe, Arabic-speaking nomads started to settle in cities and fertile areas after thePlague of Justinianin 542 CE.These Arab communities stretched from the southern extremities of the Syrian Desert to central Syria, theAnti-Lebanon Mountains, and theBeqaa Valley.
TheMuslim conquest of the Levant(634–640) brought new groups of Arabic speakers from the Arabian Peninsula who settled in the Levant.Arabic became thelanguage of tradeand public life in cities, whileWestern Aramaic languagescontinued to be spoken at home and in the countryside.Arabic gradually replaced earlyMedieval Greekas the language of administration in 700 by order of theUmayyad caliphAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan.Thelanguage shiftfrom Aramaic to vernacular Arabic was a long process over several generations, with an extended period ofmultilingualism, especially among non-Muslims.Christians continued to speakSyriacfor about two centuries, and Syriac remained their literary language until the 14th century.In its spoken form, Aramaic nearly disappeared, except for a fewWestern Neo-Aramaic-speaking villages,but it has leftsubstrate influenceson Levantine.
Different Peninsular Arabic dialects competed for prestige in the Levant, including theOld Hijazi Arabicof the Umayyad elites. These Peninsular dialects mixed with ancient Levantine forms of Arabic.By the mid-6th century, thePetra papyrishow that the onset of thearticleand its vowel seem to have weakened. The article is sometimes written as /el-/ or simply /l-/. A similar, but not identical, situation is found in the texts from the Islamic period. Unlike the pre-Islamic attestations, thecodaof the article in 'conquest Arabic' assimilates to a followingcoronal consonant.According to Pr. Simon Hopkins, this document shows that there is "a very impressive continuity in colloquial Arabic usage, and the roots of the modern vernaculars are thus seen to lie very deep".
TheDamascus Psalm Fragment, dated to the 9th century but possibly earlier, sheds light on the Damascus dialect of that period. Because its Arabic text is written inGreek characters, it reveals the pronunciation of the time;it features many examples ofimāla(the fronting and raising of/a/toward/i/).It also features a pre-grammarian standard of Arabic and the dialect from which it sprung, likely Old Hijazi.Scholars disagree on the dates of phonological changes. The shift ofinterdental spirantstodental stopsdates to the 9th to 10th centuries or earlier.The shift from/q/to aglottal stopis dated between the 11th and 15th centuries.Imāla seems already important in pre-Islamic times.
Swedish orientalistCarlo Landberg[sv]writes about thevulgarismsencountered in Damascene poetUsama ibn Munqidh'sMemoirs: "All of them are found in today's spoken language of Syria and it is very interesting to note that that language is, on the whole, not very different from the language of ˀUsāma's days", in the 12th century.Lucas Caballero'sCompendio(1709) describes spoken Damascene Arabic in the early 1700s. It corresponds to modern Damascene in some respects, such as theallomorphicvariation between -a/-ein the feminine suffix. On the contrary, the insertion and deletion of vowels differ from the modern dialect.
From 1516 to 1918, theOttoman Empiredominated theLevant. Many Western words entered Arabic through Ottoman Turkish as it was the main language for transmittingWestern ideasinto the Arab world.
Thedissolution of the Ottoman Empirein the early 20th century reduced the use of Turkish words due toArabizationand the negative perception of the Ottoman era among Arabs.With theFrench Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon(1920–1946),theBritish protectorate over Jordan(1921–1946), and theBritish Mandate for Palestine(1923–1948), French and English words gradually entered Levantine Arabic.Similarly, Modern Hebrew has significantly influenced the Palestinian dialect ofArab Israelissince the establishment of Israel in 1948.In the 1960s, Said Akl—inspired by theMalteseandTurkish alphabets—designed a newLatin alphabet for Lebaneseand promoted the official use of Lebanese instead of MSA,but this movement was unsuccessful.
Although Levantine dialects have remained stable over the past two centuries, in cities such as Ammanand Damascus,language standardizationoccurs throughvariantreduction and linguistic homogenization among the various religious groups and neighborhoods.Urbanizationand the increasing proportion of youthconstitute the causes ofdialect change.Urban forms are considered more prestigious,andprestige dialectsof the capitals are replacing the rural varieties.With the emergence of social media, the amount of written Levantine has also significantly increased online.
Levantine is not recognized in any state or territory.MSA is the sole official language in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria;it has a "special status" in Israel under theBasic Law.Frenchis also recognized in Lebanon.In Turkey, the only official language is Turkish.Any variation from MSA is considered a "dialect" of Arabic.As in the rest of theArab world, this linguistic situation has been described asdiglossia: MSA is nobody's first acquired language;it is learned through formal instruction rather thantransmission from parent to child.This diglossia has been compared to the use ofLatinas the sole written, official,liturgical, and literary language in Europe during themedieval period, while Romance languages were the spoken languages.Levantine and MSA are mutually unintelligible.They differ significantly in theirphonology,morphology,lexiconandsyntax.
MSA is the language of literature, official documents, and formal written media (newspapers, instruction leaflets, school books).In spoken form, MSA is mostly used when reading from a scripted text (e.g., news bulletins) and for prayer and sermons in the mosque or church.In Israel, Hebrew is the language used in the public sphere, except internally among theArab communities.Levantine is the usual medium of communication in all other domains.
Traditionally in the Arab world, colloquial varieties, such as Levantine, have been regarded as corrupt forms of MSA, less eloquent and not fit for literature, and thus looked upon with disdain.Because the French and the British emphasized vernaculars when they colonized the Arab world, dialects were also seen as a tool ofcolonialismandimperialism.Writing in the vernacular has been controversial becausepan-Arab nationalistsconsider that this might divide the Arab people into different nations.On the other hand, Classical Arabic is seen as "the language of theQuran" and revered by Muslims who form the majority of the population.It is believed to be pure and everlasting, andIslamic religious ideologyconsiders vernaculars to be inferior.Until recently, the use of Levantine in formal settings or written form was often ideologically motivated, for instance in opposition to pan-Arabism.Language attitudesare shifting, and using Levantine became de-ideologized for most speakers by the late 2010s.Levantine is now regarded in a more positive light, and its use in informal modes of writing is acknowledged, thanks to its recent widespread use online in both written and spoken forms.
Code-switchingbetween Levantine, MSA, English, French (in Lebanon and amongArab ChristiansinSyria), and Hebrew (in Israel) is frequent among Levantine speakers, in both informal and formal settings (such as on television).Gordon cites two Lebanese examples: "Bonjour, ya habibti, how are you?" ("Hello, my love, how are you?") and "Oui, but leish?" ("Yes, but why?").Code-switching also happens in politics. For instance, not all politicians master MSA in Lebanon, so they rely on Lebanese. Many public and formal speeches and most politicaltalk showsare in Lebanese instead of MSA.In Israel, Arabic and Hebrew are allowed in theKnesset, but Arabic is rarely used.MKAhmad Tibioften adds Palestinian Arabic sentences to his Hebrew speech but only gives partial speeches in Arabic.
In the Levant, MSA is the only variety authorized for use in schools,although in practice, lessons are often taught in a mix of MSA and Levantine with, for instance, the lesson read out in MSA and explained in Levantine.InLebanon, about 50% of school students study in French.In mostArab universities, themedium of instructionis MSA insocial sciencesandhumanities, and English or French in theappliedandmedical sciences. InSyria, only MSA is used.InTurkey, article 42.9 of theConstitutionprohibits languages other than Turkish from being taught as a mother tongue and almost all indigenous Arabic speakers areilliteratein the Arabic script unless they have learned it for religious purposes.
In Israel, MSA is the only language of instruction inArab schools. Hebrew is studied as a second language by all Palestinian students from at least the second grade and English from the third grade.In Jewish schools, in 2012, 23,000 pupils were studying spoken Palestinian in 800 elementary schools. Palestinian Arabic is compulsory in Jewish elementary schools in theNorthern District; otherwise, Jewish schools teach MSA.Junior high schools must teach all students MSA, but only two-thirds meet this obligation.At all stages in 2012, 141,000 Jewish students were learning Arabic.In 2020, 3.7% of Jewish students took theBagrut examin MSA.
Most films and songs are in vernacular Arabic.Egyptwas the most influential center of Arab media productions (movies,drama, TV series) during the 20th century,but Levantine is now competing with Egyptian.As of 2013, about 40% of allmusic production in the Arab worldwas in Lebanese.Lebanese television is the oldest and largest private Arab broadcast industry.Most big-budget pan-Arab entertainment shows are filmed in the Lebanese dialect in the studios of Beirut. Moreover, the Syrian dialect dominates inSyrian TV series(such asBab Al-Hara) and in thedubbingofTurkish television dramas(such asNoor), famous across the Arab world.
As of 2009, mostArabic satellite television networksuse colloquial varieties in their programs, except news bulletins in MSA. The use of vernacular in broadcasting started in Lebanon during theLebanese Civil Warand expanded to the rest of the Arab world. In 2009,Al Jazeeraused MSA only andAl ArabiyaandAl-Manarused MSA or a hybrid between MSA and colloquial for talk shows.On the popular Lebanese satellite channelLebanese Broadcasting Corporation International(LBCI), Arab and international news bulletins are only in MSA, while the Lebanese national news broadcast is in a mix of MSA and Lebanese Arabic.
Levantine is seldom written, except for some novels, plays, and humorous writings.Most Arab critics do not acknowledge the literary dignity of prose in dialect.Prose written in Lebanese goes back to at least 1892 whenTannus al-HurrpublishedRiwāyat aš-šābb as-sikkīr ʾay Qiṣṣat Naṣṣūr as-Sikrī, 'The tale of the drunken youth, or The story of Nassur the Drunkard'.In the 1960s, Said Akl led a movement in Lebanon to replace MSA as the national and literary language, and a handful of writers wrote in Lebanese.Foreign works, such asLa Fontaine'sFables, were translated into Lebanese using Akl's alphabet.TheGospel of Markwas published in Palestinian in 1940,followed by theGospel of Matthewand theLetter of Jamesin 1946.The fourgospelswere translated in Lebanese using Akl's alphabet in 1996 by Gilbert Khalifé. Muris 'Awwad translated the four gospels andThe Little Princein 2001 in Lebanese in Arabic script.The Little Princewas also translated into Palestinian and published in two biscriptal editions (one Arabic/Hebrew script, one Arabic/Latin script).
Newspapers usually use MSA and reserve Levantine for sarcastic commentaries and caricatures.Headlinesin Levantine are common. Theletter to the editorsection often includes entire paragraphs in Levantine. Many newspapers also regularly publish personal columns in Levantine, such asخرم إبرةxurm ʾibra,lit.'[through the] needle's eye'in the weekend edition ofAl-Ayyam.From 1983 to 1990, Said Akl's newspaperLebnaanwas published in Lebanese written in the Latin alphabet.Levantine is also commonly used inzajaland other forms of oral poetry.Zajal written in vernacular was published inLebanese newspaperssuch asAl-Mashriq("The Levant", from 1898) andAd-Dabbur("The Hornet", from 1925). In the 1940s, five reviews in Beirut were dedicated exclusively to poetry in Lebanese.In a 2013 study, Abuhakema investigated 270 written commercial ads in two Jordanian (Al GhadandAd-Dustour) and two Palestinian (Al-QudsandAl-Ayyam) daily newspapers. The study concluded that MSA is still the most used variety in ads, although both varieties are acceptable and Levantine is increasingly used.
Most comedies are written in Levantine.In Syria, plays became more common and popular in the 1980s by using Levantine instead of Classical Arabic.Saadallah Wannous, the most renowned Syrian playwright, used Syrian Arabic in his later plays.Comic books, like the Syriancomic stripKūktīl, are often written in Levantine instead of MSA.In novels and short stories, most authors, such as Arab IsraelisRiyad Baydas[ar]andOdeh Bisharat[ar], write the dialogues in their Levantine dialect, while the rest of the text is in MSA.Lebanese authorsElias Khoury(especially in his recent works) andKahlil Gibranwrote the main narrative in Levantine.Some collections of short stories and anthologies of Palestinianfolktales(turāṯ, 'heritage literature') display full texts in dialect.On the other hand, Palestinianchildren's literatureis almost exclusively written in MSA.
Internet users in the Arab world communicate with their dialect language (such as Levantine) more than MSA on social media (such as Twitter, Facebook, or in the comments of online newspapers). According to one study, between 12% and 23% of all dialectal Arabic content online was written in Levantine depending on the platform.
Levantine phonology is characterized by richsocio-phoneticvariations along socio-cultural (gender; religion; urban, rural or Bedouin) and geographical lines.For instance, in urban varieties, interdentals/θ/,/ð/, and/ðʕ/tend to merge to stops or fricatives[t]~[s];[d]~[z]; and[dʕ]~[zʕ]respectively.The Classical Arabicvoiceless uvular plosive/q/is pronounced[q](among Druze),[ʔ](in most urban centers, especially Beirut, Damascus, and Jerusalem, and in Amman among women),[ɡ](in Amman among men, in most other Jordanian dialects and in Gaza),[k]or even/kʕ/(in rural Palestinian).
Vowel lengthisphonemicin Levantine. Vowels often show dialectal orallophonic variationsthat are socially, geographically, and phonologically conditioned.Diphthongs/aj/and/aw/are found in some Lebanese dialects, they respectively correspond to long vowels/eː/and/oː/in other dialects.One of the most distinctive features of Levantine is word-finalimāla, a process by which the vowel corresponding toةtāʼ marbūṭahis raised from[a]to[æ],[ɛ],[e]or even[i]in some dialects.The difference between the short vowel pairseandias well asoanduis not always phonemic.Thevowel qualityis usuallyianduin stressed syllables.Vowels in word-final position are shortened. As a result, more short vowels are distinguished.
In the north, stressediandumerge. They usually becomei, but might also beunear emphatic consonants. Syrians and Beirutis tend to pronounce both of them asschwa[ə].The long vowel "ā" is pronounced similar to "ē" or even merges with "ē", when it is not near an emphatic or guttural consonant.
Syllabificationandphonotacticsare complex, even within a single dialect.Speakers often add a short vowel, called helping vowel orepentheticvowel, sounding like a short schwa right before a word-initial consonant cluster to break it, as inktiːrmniːħ, 'very good/well'. They are not considered part of the word and are never stressed. This process ofanaptyxisis subject to social and regional variation.They are usually not written.A helping vowel is inserted:
In the Damascus dialect,word stressfalls on the lastsuperheavy syllable(CVːC or CVCC). In the absence of a superheavy syllable:
Until recently, Levantine was rarely written. Brustad and Zuniga report that in 1988, they did not find anything published in Levantine in Syria. By the late 2010s, written Levantine was used in many public venues and on the internet,especially social media.There is no standard Levantine orthography.There have been failed attempts toLatinizeLevantine, especiallyLebanese. For instance, Said Akl promoted a modifiedLatin alphabet. Akl used this alphabet to write books and publish a newspaper,Lebnaan.
Written communication takes place using a variety of orthographies and writing systems, includingArabic(right-to-left script),Hebrew(right-to-left, used in Israel, especially online amongBedouin, Arab Christians, andDruze), Latin (Arabizi, left-to-right), and a mixture of the three. Arabizi is a non-standardromanizationused by Levantine speakers in social media anddiscussion forums,SMS messaging, andonline chat.Arabizi initially developed because the Arabic script was not available or not easy to use on most computers and smartphones; its usage declined after Arabic software became widespread.According to a 2020 survey done inNazareth, Arabizi "emerged" as a "'bottom-up' orthography" and there is now "a high degree of normativization or standardisation in Arabizi orthography." Among consonants, only five (ج ,ذ ,ض ,ظ ,ق) revealed variability in their Arabizi representation.
A 2012 study found that on the Jordanian forum Mahjoob about one-third of messages were written in Levantine in the Arabic script, one-third in Arabizi, and one-third in English.Another 2012 study found that on Facebook, the Arabic script was dominant in Syria, while the Latin script dominated in Lebanon. Both scripts were used in Palestine, Israel, and Jordan. Several factors affect script choice: formality (the Arabic script is more formal), ethnicity and religion (Muslims use the Arabic script more while Israeli Druze and Bedouins prefer Hebrew characters), age (young use Latin more), education (educated people write more in Latin), and script congruence (the tendency to reply to a post in the same script).Levantine speakers in Turkey use theLatin-based Turkish alphabet.
The Arabic alphabet is alwayscursive, and letters vary in shape depending on their position within a word. Letters exhibit up to four distinct forms corresponding to an initial, medial (middle), final, or isolated position (IMFI).Only the isolated form is shown in the tables below. In the Arabic script, short vowels are not represented by letters but by diacritics above or below the letters. When Levantine is written with the Arabic script, short vowels are usually only indicated if a word is ambiguous.In the Arabic script, ashaddaabove a consonant doubles it. In Latin alphabet, the consonant is written twice: ‏مدرِّسة‎,mudarrise, 'a female teacher' / ‏مدرسة‎,madrase, 'a school'.Said Akl's Latin alphabet uses non-standard characters.
VSOandSVOword orders are possible in Levantine. In both cases, theverb precedes the object.SVO is more common in Levantine, while Classical Arabic prefers VSO.Subject-initial order indicatestopic-prominentsentences, while verb-initial order indicates subject-prominent sentences.In interrogative sentences, theinterrogative particlecomes first.
Nouns are either masculine or feminine and singular, dual or plural.The dual is formed with the suffixين--ēn.Most feminine singular nouns end withـةtāʼ marbūṭah, pronounced as –a or -e depending on the preceding consonant: -a after guttural (ح خ ع غ ق ه ء) and emphatic consonants (ر ص ض ط ظ), -e after other consonants.Unlike Classical Arabic, Levantine has nocase marking.
Levantine has adefinite article, which marks common nouns (i.e. nouns that are not proper nouns) as definite. Its absence marks common nouns as indefinite.TheArabic definite articleالilprecedes the noun or adjective and has multiple pronunciations. Its vowel is dropped when the preceding word ends in a vowel. A helping vowel "e" is inserted if the following word begins with a consonant cluster.It assimilates with "sun letters" (consonants that are pronounced with the tip of the tongue).The letterJeem(ج) is a sun letter for speakers pronouncing it as [ʒ] but not for those pronouncing it as [d͡ʒ].
For nouns referring to humans, the regular (also called sound) masculine plural is formed with the suffix -īn. The regular feminine plural is formed with -āt.The masculine plural is used to refer to a group with both genders.There are manybroken plurals(also called internal plurals), in whichthe consonantal root of the singular is changed.These plural patterns are shared with other varieties of Arabic and may also be applied to foreign borrowings.Several patterns of broken plurals exist, and it is impossible to predict them exactly.One common pattern is for instance CvCvC => CuCaCa (e.g.: singular: ‏مدير‎mudīr, 'manager'; plural: ‏مدرا‎mudara, 'managers').Inanimateobjects take feminine singular agreement in the plural, for verbs, attached pronouns, and adjectives.
Thegenitiveis formed by putting the nouns next to each otherin a construct callediḍāfah,lit.'addition'. The first noun is always indefinite. If an indefinite noun is added to a definite noun, it results in a new definite compound noun:كتاب الإستاذktāb il-ʾistāzlisten, 'the book of the teacher'.Besidespossessiveness, theiḍāfahcan also specify or define the first term.Although there is no limit to the number of nouns in aniḍāfah, it is rare to have three or more.The first term must be in theconstruct state: if it ends in the feminine marker (/-ah/, or /-ih/), it changes to (/-at/, /-it/) in pronunciation (i.e.ةpronounced as /t/):مدينة نيويوركmadīnet nyū-yōrklisten, 'New York City'.
Adjectives typically have three forms: a masculine singular, a feminine singular, and a plural.In most adjectives, the feminine is formed through the addition of -a/e.Many adjectives have the patternفعيل(fʕīl/ CCīC orfaʕīl/ CaCīC), but other patterns exist.Adjectives derived from nouns using the suffixـي-iare callednisbaadjectives. Their feminine form ends inـية-iyyeand their plural inـيين-iyyīn.Nouns in dual have adjectives in plural.The plural of adjectives is either regular ending inـين-īnor is an irregular "broken" plural. It is used with nouns referring to people. For non-human, inanimate, or abstract nouns, adjectives use either the plural or the singular feminine form regardless of gender.
Adjectives follow the noun they modify and agree with it indefiniteness. Adjectives without an article after a definite noun express a clause with theinvisible copula"to be":
Theelativeis used for comparison, instead of separatecomparative and superlativeforms.The elative is formed by adding a hamza at the beginning of the adjective and replacing the vowels by "a" (pattern:أفعلʾafʕal/ aCCaC, e.g.: ‏كبير‎kbīr, 'big'; ‏أكبر‎ʾakbar, 'bigger/biggest').Adjective endings in ‏ي‎ (i) and ‏و‎ (u) are changed into ‏ی‎ (a). If the second and third consonant in the root are the same, they are geminated (pattern:أفلّʾafall/ ʾaCaCC).When an elative modifies a noun, it precedes the noun, and no definite article is used.
Levantine does not distinguish between adverbs and adjectives inadverbialfunction. Almost any adjective can be used as an adverb: ‏منيح‎mnīḥ, 'good' vs.نمتي منيح؟nimti mnīḥ?listen, 'Did you sleep well?'. MSA adverbs, with the suffix -an, are often used, e.g., ‏أبدا‎ʾabadan, 'at all'.Adverbs often appear after the verb or the adjective. ‏كتير‎ktīr, 'very' can be positioned after or before the adjective.Adverbs of manner can usually be formed using bi- followed by the nominal form: ‏بسرعة‎b-sirʿa, 'fast, quickly',lit.'with speed'.
‏مش‎mišor in Syrian Arabic ‏مو‎mūnegate adjectives (including active participles), demonstratives, and nominal phrases:
Levantine has eightpersonsand eightpronouns. Contrary to MSA, dual pronouns do not exist in Levantine; the plural is used instead. Because conjugated verbs indicate the subject with a prefix or a suffix, independentsubject pronounsare usually unnecessary and mainly used for emphasis.Feminine plural forms modifying human females are found primarily in rural and Bedouin areas. They are not mentioned below.
Directobject pronounsare indicated by suffixes attached to the conjugated verb. Their form depends on whether the verb ends with a consonant or a vowel. Suffixed to nouns, these pronouns express possessive.Levantine does not have the verb "to have". Instead, possession is expressed using the prepositions ‏عند‎ʕind,lit.'at'(meaning "to possess") and ‏مع‎maʕ,lit.'with'(meaning "to have on oneself"), followed by personal pronoun suffixes.
Indirect object pronouns (dative) are suffixed to the conjugated verb. They are formed by adding an ل (-l) and then the possessive suffix to the verb.They precede object pronouns if present:
Demonstrative pronounshave three referential types: immediate,proximal, and distal. The distinction between proximal and distal demonstratives is of physical, temporal, or metaphorical distance. The genderless and numberless immediate demonstrative article ‏ها‎hais translated by "this/the", to designate something immediately visible or accessible.
Most Levantine verbs are based on atriliteral root(also called radical or Semitic root) made of three consonants. The set of consonants communicates the basic meaning of a verb, e.g. ‏ك ت ب‎ k-t-b ('write'), ‏ق ر ء‎ q-r-ʼ ('read'), ‏ء ك ل‎ ʼ-k-l ('eat'). Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with prefixes or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as tense, person, and number, in addition to changes in the meaning of the verb that embody grammatical concepts such as mood (e.g., indicative, subjunctive, imperative), voice (active or passive), and functions such as causative, intensive, or reflexive.Quadriliteral rootsare less common but often used to coin new vocabulary or Arabicize foreign words.The base form is the third-person masculine singular of the perfect (also called past) tense.
Almost all Levantine verbs belong to one of ten verb forms (also called verb measures,stems,patterns,or types). Form I, the most common one, serves as a base for the other nine forms. Each form carries a different verbal idea relative to the meaning of its root. Technically, ten verbs can be constructed from any given triconsonantal root, although not all of these forms are used.After Form I, Forms II, V, VII, and X are the most common.Some irregular verbs do not fit into any of the verb forms.
In addition to its form, each verb has a "quality":
The Levantine verb has only two tenses: past (perfect) and present (also called imperfect, b-imperfect, or bi-imperfect). The present tense is formed by adding the prefix b- or m- to the verb root. The future tense is an extension of the present tense. The negative imperative is the same as the negative present with helping verb (imperfect). Various prefixes and suffixes designate the grammatical person andnumberas well as themood. The following table shows the paradigm of a sound Form I verb, ‏كتب‎katab, 'to write'.There is nocopulain the present tense in Levantine. In other tenses, the verb ‏كان‎kānis used. Its present tense form is used in the future tense.
The b-imperfect is usually used for theindicative mood(non-pastpresent, habitual/general present, narrative present, planned future actions, or potential). The prefix b- is deleted in thesubjunctive mood, usually aftermodal verbs,auxiliary verbs, pseudo-verbs, prepositions, and particles.The future can also be expressed by the imperfect preceded by the particle ‏رح‎raḥor by the prefixed particle ‏حـ‎ḥa-.The present continuous is formed with the progressive particle ‏عم‎ʕamfollowed by the imperfect, with or without the initial b/m depending on the speaker.
The active participle, also called present participle, is grammatically an adjective derived from a verb. Depending on the context, it can express the present or present continuous (with verbs of motion, location, or mental state), the near future, or thepresent perfect(past action with a present result).It can also serve as a noun or an adjective.The passive participle, also called past participle,has a similar meaning as in English (i.e., sent, written). It is mainly used as an adjective and sometimes as a noun. It is inflected from the verb based on its verb form.However, passive participles are largely limited to verb forms I (CvCvC) and II (CvCCvC), becoming maCCūC for the former and mCaCCaC for the latter.
The verb ‏كان‎kān, followed by another verb, forms compound tenses. Both verbs are conjugated with their subject.
Form I verbs often correspond to an equivalent passive form VII verb, with the prefix n-. Form II and form III verbs usually correspond to an equivalent passive in forms V and VI, respectively, with the prefix t-.While the verb forms V, VI and VII are common in the simple past and compound tenses, the passive participle (past participle) is preferred in the present tense.
Verbs and prepositional phrases are negated by the particle ‏ما‎mā / maeither on its own or, in the south, together with the suffix ‏ـش‎-išat the end of the verb or prepositional phrase. In Palestinian, it is also common to negate verbs by the suffix ‏ـش‎-išonly.
Thelexicon of Levantineis overwhelmingly Arabic,and a large number of Levantine words are shared with at least another vernacular Arabic variety outside the Levant, especially with Egyptian.Many words, such asverbal nouns(also called gerunds ormasdar), are derived from a Semitic root. For instance, ‏درس‎dars, 'a lesson' is derived from ‏‏درس‎daras, 'to study, to learn'.Levantine also includes layers of ancient languages: Aramaic (mainlyWestern Aramaic),Canaanite, classical Hebrew (BiblicalandMishnaic),Persian,Greek, and Latin.
Aramaic influence is significant, especially in vocabulary and in rural areas. Aramaic words underwentmorphophonemicadaptation when they entered Levantine. Over time, it has become difficult to identify them. They belong to different fields of everyday life such as seasonal agriculture, housekeeping, tools and utensils, and Christian religious terms.Aramaicis still spoken in the Syrian villages ofMaaloula,al-Sarkha, andJubb'adin;near them, Aramaic borrowings are more frequent.
Since theearly modern period, Levantine has borrowed from Turkish and European languages, mainly English (particularly in technology and entertainment), French (especially in Lebanese due to the French Mandate), German, and Italian.Modern Hebrew significantly influences the Palestinian dialect spoken by Arab Israelis.Loanwordsare gradually replaced with words of Arabic root. For instance, borrowings fromOttoman Turkishthat were common in the 20th century have been largely replaced by Arabic words after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.Arabic-speaking minorities in Turkey(mainly in Hatay) are still influenced by Turkish.
With about 50% of common words, Levantine (especially Palestinian) is the closest colloquial variety to MSA in terms oflexical similarity.In the vocabulary of five-year-old native Palestinians: 40% of the words are not present in MSA, 40% are related to MSA but phonologically different (sound change, addition, or deletion), and 20% are identical to MSA.In terms ofmorphemes, 20% are identical between MSA and Palestinian Arabic, 30% are strongly overlapping (slightly different forms, same function), 20% are partially overlapping (different forms, same function), and 30% are unique to Palestinian Arabic.