A Guide to Palestinian Arabic
Source: polgeonow.com
Palestinian Arabic is a variety of colloquial or spoken Arabic that is native to the Palestinians in the State of Palestine or the Palestinian Territories, which today comprises the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It is also spoken by the Arab community of Israel (that is, Palestinians who have remained in the parts of Palestine that came to be under control of the State of Israel in 1948 and then in 1967) and by members of the Palestinian Diaspora in the Middle East and around the world. Today, approximately 8.5 million people worldwide speak Palestinian Arabic as their native language.
Historically, Palestinian Arabic was influenced by many ancient and modern Middle Eastern languages (Syriac-Aramaic, Canaanite, Turkish, Hebrew) and European languages (Greek, Latin, French, English). As a result, its vocabulary includes lots of loan words from these languages.
Palestinian Arabic belongs to the Levantine Arabic dialect group along with the Arabic varieties spoken in Jordan, Lebanon and most of Syria. Levantine Arabic is part of the eastern (mashriqi) dialects within the Arabic-speaking world. Other eastern dialects include Iraqi, Gulf, Hijazi, Najdi, Yemeni, Egyptian and so on. Speakers of these dialects call their spoken language ᶜammiya, which means 'colloquial' or 'vernacular'. In general, differences between the mashriqi dialects are small enough to enable speakers of the Arab world's eastern region (that is, the Middle East) to understand each other very well.
Palestinian Arabic is categorized socio-linguistically into three varieties: urban (madani), rural (fallahi), and Bedouin (badawi). Each variety is recognized by its own lexical, phonological, and morphological features. The urban variety is considered to be more prestigious and speakers of other varieties especially young generations tend to switch to this variety.
Historically, Palestinian Arabic was influenced by many ancient and modern Middle Eastern languages (Syriac-Aramaic, Canaanite, Turkish, Hebrew) and European languages (Greek, Latin, French, English). As a result, its vocabulary includes lots of loan words from these languages.
Palestinian Arabic belongs to the Levantine Arabic dialect group along with the Arabic varieties spoken in Jordan, Lebanon and most of Syria. Levantine Arabic is part of the eastern (mashriqi) dialects within the Arabic-speaking world. Other eastern dialects include Iraqi, Gulf, Hijazi, Najdi, Yemeni, Egyptian and so on. Speakers of these dialects call their spoken language ᶜammiya, which means 'colloquial' or 'vernacular'. In general, differences between the mashriqi dialects are small enough to enable speakers of the Arab world's eastern region (that is, the Middle East) to understand each other very well.
Palestinian Arabic is categorized socio-linguistically into three varieties: urban (madani), rural (fallahi), and Bedouin (badawi). Each variety is recognized by its own lexical, phonological, and morphological features. The urban variety is considered to be more prestigious and speakers of other varieties especially young generations tend to switch to this variety.
Position of Palestinian Arabic in the Arab World
Thanks to Palestine's central geographic location in the Middle East and the widespread distribution of the Palestinian Diaspora in the neighboring countries, not to mention the dialect's linguistic proximity to Standard Arabic, Palestinian Arabic is not only well understood by speakers of the eastern dialects but also by speakers of the more distant western (maghribi) dialects such as Libyan, Algerian, Tunisian, Moroccan, etc. In contrast, however, the North African dialects are more unique in structure, vocabulary and pronunciation, hence they can be a real challenge to understand to Arabic speakers of the Middle East.
Below is a map of Arabic dialect distribution across the Arab world.
Below is a map of Arabic dialect distribution across the Arab world.
Source: IndustryArabic.com
How is Colloquial Arabic different from Modern Standard Arabic?
The language situation in the Arab world has always been characterized by diglossia, i.e. the use of two distinct varieties of the same language by the native speakers.
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) – also called Standard Arabic, Written Arabic or Literary Arabic – is the official language used across the Arabic speaking countries, from Morocco to Oman. It is based on Classical Arabic, the language of the Qur’an (the holy book of Islam) and early Islamic literature. MSA is used in books, newspapers and correspondence (even in family letters), and in formal speaking situations such as religious sermons, public lectures, news broadcasts and speeches.
However, MSA is hardly used outside the above settings. In virtually all their casual conversations, native Arabic speakers use a colloquial form of Arabic, that is, the everyday language spoken at home, at work, on the street, etc. Thus, when two Arabic native speakers are engaged in a casual conversation, you can be sure that they are speaking colloquial Arabic. There are some exceptions, though. Sometimes you will hear people speak a combination of the two, especially when discussing serious topics, or in television interviews when they feel the need to use a more formal tone, or when they speak with other Arabic speakers whose dialect they do not easily comprehend.
Despite being used exclusively for casual settings, colloquial Arabic is NOT a "sloppy" or "corrupt" form of Standard Arabic that can be improvised at random. Rather, it is more like a complete language with its own distinct vocabulary, verb conjugation, sentence structures and rules of pronunciation. In fact, the differences between MSA and colloquial Arabic are quite obvious that some linguists contend that they are two different languages. In any case, if you are content with being able to understand Arabic news broadcasts or what is written in the newspapers, then learning MSA would be enough. But if if you want to communicate with Arabic speakers in a natural way, or at least understand what they're saying in real life conversations, you will have to learn the colloquial language in addition to MSA.
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) – also called Standard Arabic, Written Arabic or Literary Arabic – is the official language used across the Arabic speaking countries, from Morocco to Oman. It is based on Classical Arabic, the language of the Qur’an (the holy book of Islam) and early Islamic literature. MSA is used in books, newspapers and correspondence (even in family letters), and in formal speaking situations such as religious sermons, public lectures, news broadcasts and speeches.
However, MSA is hardly used outside the above settings. In virtually all their casual conversations, native Arabic speakers use a colloquial form of Arabic, that is, the everyday language spoken at home, at work, on the street, etc. Thus, when two Arabic native speakers are engaged in a casual conversation, you can be sure that they are speaking colloquial Arabic. There are some exceptions, though. Sometimes you will hear people speak a combination of the two, especially when discussing serious topics, or in television interviews when they feel the need to use a more formal tone, or when they speak with other Arabic speakers whose dialect they do not easily comprehend.
Despite being used exclusively for casual settings, colloquial Arabic is NOT a "sloppy" or "corrupt" form of Standard Arabic that can be improvised at random. Rather, it is more like a complete language with its own distinct vocabulary, verb conjugation, sentence structures and rules of pronunciation. In fact, the differences between MSA and colloquial Arabic are quite obvious that some linguists contend that they are two different languages. In any case, if you are content with being able to understand Arabic news broadcasts or what is written in the newspapers, then learning MSA would be enough. But if if you want to communicate with Arabic speakers in a natural way, or at least understand what they're saying in real life conversations, you will have to learn the colloquial language in addition to MSA.
Why Learn Palestinian Arabic?
If you seriously want to learn a spoken variety of the Arabic language, here are some good reasons why Palestinian Arabic could be your best option among the many Arabic dialects:
- Palestinian Arabic is among the spoken Arabic varieties that are often considered to be linguistically closest to Modern Standard Arabic. Its word stress patterns and the way its letters are pronounced, for instance, are quite identical to those of MSA with only slight alterations (which is not the case with many other Arabic dialects). This means that if you have prior knowledge of Standard Arabic, you will likely find Palestinian Arabic among the easiest spoken Arabic varieties to learn. Likewise, if you have no prior knowledge of MSA, then learning Palestinian Arabic will no doubt help you learn and understand MSA better and faster if you decide to do so at a later time.
- Learning Palestinian Arabic will enable you to converse with not only Palestinians but virtually all speakers of the other Levantine Arabic dialects, namely Jordanians, Lebanese and the vast majority of Syrians. Also, the Levantine Arabic dialects in general are easily understood by speakers of other Arabic dialects both in the eastern and western parts of the Arab world. This is unlike some other spoken Arabic varieties that can be quite incomprehensible to speakers of the other dialects.
- While good resources to learn Arabic dialects are generally difficult to find (in contrast to the abundant resources of MSA study materials), I will show you a selection of the best Palestinian Arabic learning resources for independent study that are suitable for both the beginners and the more serious learners. For a start, this website introduces you the basics of the dialect to help you feel familiar with it. If you decide to take it further, I have provided a list of recommended books and dictionaries that you can use for a more in-depth study of this spoken Arabic variety. When used properly and with diligent effort (that is, lots of practices!), these materials will not only provide you with sufficient knowledge of the dialect but also, and more importantly, it should enable you to attain fluency and a high level of comprehension. If you sign up to my newsletter below, I will send you updates with information on new materials available on this website.