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Arabic Languages of Syria, Iraq and Lebanon
Arabic
The Arabic language is spoken throughout the Middle East and across North Africa, but the variety of Arabic spoken differs from one country to the next, and even from one region to another within the same country. There are over 24 major Arabic dialects.
In addition to the spoken varieties, there is also a literary variety of Arabic referred to as Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). All printed materials in the Arab World – books, newspapers, magazines, official documents, and even reading materials for small children – are in MSA. But no one learns MSA as their mother tongue, and in fact no one ever uses it on the street. You’ll only hear it used orally for news broadcasts, or sermons in mosques, or in other formal situations.
These are the varieties of Arabic spoken in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, along with information on the Scripture products available in these languages.
Language map
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Modern Standard Arabic is the language of education and the media. |
Lebanese Arabic - This variety of Arabic is the main language of Syria and Lebanon. It is spoken throughout Lebanon, and is very close to the dialect spoken in the western part of Syria, from Damascus up through Homs and Aleppo right to the border with Turkey. |
Baghdadi Arabic - Also known as Mesopotamian Arabic, Baghdadi Arabic is spoken in southern Iraq in the region from Baghdad down to the Persian Gulf, and in northern Syria around the Euphrates River, including the town of Raqqah. |
Mosuli Arabic - Also known as North Mesopotamian Arabic, Mosuli Arabic is spoken in northern Iraq, from Mosul down around the Tigris River including the town of Tikrit, and along the Euphrates River in an area including Fallujah and Ramadi. |
Mardini Arabic is spoken around Mardin in Turkey, in north-eastern Syria, the Tur Abdin region of south-eastern Turkey and the diaspora in Sweden, Holland, Germany, Canada and the US. The language is close to Mosuli Arabic. |
North Arabian Bedouin Arabic is the language of Bedouins in Jordan and desert areas of Syria, western Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia, and is well understood among other Bedouins in Jordan, Israel, Palestine and the Sinai. It is also known as Levantine Bedawi Arabic or Najdi Arabic. |
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