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| Syrian Arabic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native to | Syria |
| Ethnicity | Syrians |
Native speakers | L1: 19 million (2023)[1] L2: 2.0 million (2023)[1] |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
| Arabic alphabet Arabic chat alphabet | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | (covered byapc) |
| IETF | apc-SY |
Syrian Arabic refers to any of the Arabic varieties spoken inSyria,[2] or specifically toLevantine Arabic.[3][4]
Characterized by the imperfect witha-:ašṛab ‘I drink’,ašūf ‘I see’,[2] and by a pronounced[5]ʾimāla of the typesēfaṛ/ysēfer, with subdialects:[5]
These dialects are transitional between the Aleppine and the Coastal and Central dialects.[5] They are characterized by *q > ʔ,ʾimāla of the type the type sāfaṛ/ysēfer[2] and ṣālaḥ/yṣēliḥ,[5] diphthongs in every position,[5][2] a- elision (katab+t >ktabt, butkatab+it >katabit),[2]išṛab type perfect,[2]ʾimāla in reflexes of *CāʔiC, and vocabulary such aszbandūn "plow sole".[5]
Source:[2]
These dialects are characterized by diphthongs only in open syllables: bēt/bayti ‘house/my house’, ṣōt/ṣawti ‘voice/my voice’, but ā is found in many lexemes for both *ay and *aw (sāf, yām).[5][2] There is pronouncedʾimāla.[5] Unstressed a is elided or raised to i and u whenever possible:katab+t >ktabt,katab+it >katbit,sallam+it >sallmit,sallam+t >sillamt,ḥaṭṭ+ayt >ḥiṭṭayt,trawwaq+t >truwwaqt, *madrasa >madrsa >mádǝrsa ~ madírsi, *fallāḥ >fillāḥ.[2][5] The feminine plural demonstrative pronoun ishawdi, orhaydi.[5] It can be divided into several subdialects:[5]
In this area, predominantly *ay,aw >ē,ō. Mostly, there is noʾimāla, anda-elision is only weakly developed. Word-final *-a > -i operates. Several dialects exist in this area:
Leans toward the Idlib and Coastal dialects. Preservation of *q, 2nd masc.inti, 2nd fem.inte, feminine forms in the pluralintni katabtni,hinni(n) katabni.
Preservation of interdentals. 2/3 pl. masc. ending -a:fatahta,falaha,tuktúba,yuktúba. 2nd plural m/finta -intni. 3rd plural m/fhinhan -hinhin. The perfect of the primae alif verbs areake,axe. In the imperfect,yāka,yāxa. The participle ismēke.
Characterized by *q >ʔ; preservation of *ǧ; six short vowels:a,ǝ,e,i,o,u, and six long vowels:ā,ǟ,ē,ī,ō,ū.
Preservation of *q.
Characterized by *q >ʔ.
Preservation of interdentals and terms likealhaz "now".
Source:[5]
Characterized by *q > k, *g > c [ts], *k > č, andʾimāla of type *lisān >lsīn. Distinctive pronouns are3PL.Caham and2SG.F suffix -či. The suffix of the verbal3SGa-Type is -at, andi-Type perfects take the formʾílbis "he got dressed".[5]
Characterized by preserved *q, *g > č, and unconditionedʾimāla inhēda. Distinctive pronouns are3PLahu - hinna, and2SG.F suffix -ki. The suffix of the verbal3SGa-Type is -at, andi-Type perfects take the formʾílbis "he got dressed".[5]
Characterized by preserved *q and unconditionedʾimāla inhēda. Distinctive pronouns are3PLhunni - hinni. The suffix of the verbal3SGa-Type is -at, andi-Type perfects take the formlbīs "he got dressed".[5]
Characterized by preserved *q and pronouns3PLhūwun - hīyin. The suffix of the verbal3SGa-Type is -at.[5]
Characterized by preserved *q and the changesmasaku >masakaw# andmasakin >masake:n# in pause. Distinctive pronouns are3PL.Chinne, and the suffix of the verbal3SGa-Type is -at.[5]
Characterized by *q > ʔ, and *ay, *aw > ā. The shifts *CaCC > CiCC/CuCC and *CaCaC > CaCōC take place. Theʾimāla is of thei-umlaut type. Distinctive pronouns are2SG.F suffix -ke. Thea-Type perfects take the formḍarōb and thei-typelbēs. The suffix of the verbal3SGa-Type is -et, with allophonyḍarbet - ḍárbatu.[5]
Characterized by *q > ʔ andʾimāla of thei-umlaut type. Distinctive pronouns are3SG.M suffix -a/-e. The suffix of the verbal3SGa-Type is -at.[5]
Characterized by *q > ʔ and unconditionedʾimāla inhēda. Distinctive pronouns are2SG.F suffix -ki.[5] The1SG perfect conjugation is of the typekatabtu, similar to theqǝltu dialects of Iraq. Also likeqǝltu dialects, it has lengthened forms likeṣafṛā "yellow [fem.]".[2]
The Qalamūn dialects have strong links to Central Lebanese.[5] The short vowelsi/u are found in all positions. Pasualkbīr >kbeyr# andyrūḥ >yrawḥ#. Thea-elision is not strongly pronounced. Shortening of unstressed long vowels is characteristic: *sakākīn >sakakīn ‘knives’,fallōḥ/fillaḥīn ‘peasant/peasants’, orfillōḥ/filliḥīn, as in Northwest Aramaic.[2] Conservation of diphthongs and *q > ʔ are common, as well as splitting of ā into ē and ō. As for negation, the type mā- -š is already attested along with the simple negation.
No interdentals
No interdentals
Conservation of interdentals, subdialects:
Conservation of interdentals, a-elisionkatab+t >ktabt, distinctive pronouns are3PL.Chunni. Subdialects are:
No interdentals, conservation of diphthongs
These dialects have no interdentals, no diphthongs, and a reflex of *g > ž. The suffix of the verbal3SGa-Type is -it,ḍarab+it > ḍárbit.[5] The short vowelsi/u are found in all positions. Demonstrative plural pronounhadunke.
TheHauran area is split between Syria and Jordan and speak largely the same dialect
Dialects of Mount Hermon and Druze have a Lebanese origin[5]
Shawi Arabic andNajdi Arabic are also spoken in Syria.
