Libyan Arabic (Arabic: ليبي, romanized: Lībī), also called Sulaimitian Arabic by scholars, is a variety of Arabic spoken in Libya, and neighboring countries. It can be divided into two major dialect areas: the eastern centred in Benghazi and Bayda, and the western centred in Tripoli and Misrata. The Eastern variety extends beyond the borders to the east and share the same dialect with far Western Egypt, Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic, with 1 million speakers in Egypt. A distinctive southern variety, centered on Sabha, also exists and is more akin to the western variety. Another Southern dialect is also shared along the borders with Niger with 14,400 speakers in Niger as of 2024.
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👉 Libyan Arabic in the context of Maltese language
Maltese (Maltese: Malti, also L-Ilsien Malti or Lingwa Maltija) is a Central Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata. It is the only Semitic language written in the Latin script. It is spoken by the Maltese people and is a national language of Malta, and is the only official Semitic and Afroasiatic language of the European Union. According to John L. Hayes, it descended from a North African dialect of Colloquial Arabic which was introduced to Malta when the Aghlabids captured it in 869/870 CE. It is also said to have descended from Siculo-Arabic, which developed as a Maghrebi Arabic dialect in the Emirate of Sicily between 831 and 1091. As a result of the Norman invasion of Malta and the subsequent re-Christianisation of the islands, Maltese evolved independently of Classical Arabic in a gradual process of Latinisation. It is therefore exceptional as a variety of historical Arabic that has no diglossic relationship with Classical or Modern Standard Arabic. Maltese is thus classified separately from the 30 varieties constituting the modern Arabic macrolanguage. Maltese is also distinguished from Arabic and other Semitic languages since its morphology has been deeply influenced by Romance languages, namely Italian and Sicilian.
The original Arabic base comprises around one-third of the Maltese vocabulary, especially words that denote basic ideas and the function words, but about half of the vocabulary is derived from standard Italian and Sicilian; and English words make up between 6% and 20% of the vocabulary. A 2016 study shows that, in terms of basic everyday language, speakers of Maltese are able to understand less than a third of what is said to them in Tunisian Arabic and Libyan Arabic, which are Maghrebi Arabic dialects related to Siculo-Arabic, whereas speakers of Tunisian Arabic and Libyan Arabic are able to understand about 40% of what is said to them in Maltese. This reported level of asymmetric intelligibility is considerably lower than the mutual intelligibility found between mainstream varieties of Arabic.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Libyan Arabic
- 👉 Libyan Arabic in the context of Maltese language
- Libyan Arabic in the context of Maghrebi Arabic
- Libyan Arabic in the context of Tunisian Arabic
- Libyan Arabic in the context of Misurata
- Libyan Arabic in the context of Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic
- Libyan Arabic in the context of Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic
- Libyan Arabic in the context of Misrata District
Libyan Arabic in the context of Maghrebi Arabic
Maghrebi Arabic, often known as ad-Dārija to differentiate it from Literary Arabic, is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb. It includes the Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Libyan, Hassaniya and Saharan Arabic dialects.
Maghrebi Arabic has a predominantly Semitic and Arabic vocabulary, although it contains a significant number of Berber loanwords, which represent 2–3% of the vocabulary of Libyan Arabic, 8–9% of Algerian and Tunisian Arabic, and 10–15% of Moroccan Arabic. Maghrebi Arabic was formerly spoken in Al-Andalus and Sicily until the 17th and 13th centuries, respectively, in the extinct forms of Andalusi Arabic and Siculo-Arabic. The Maltese language is believed to have its source in a language spoken in Muslim Sicily that ultimately originates from Tunisia, as it contains some typical Maghrebi Arabic areal characteristics.
Libyan Arabic in the context of Tunisian Arabic
Tunisian Arabic, or simply Tunisian (Arabic: تونسي, romanized: Tūnsi), is a variety of Arabic spoken in Tunisia. It is known among its 13 million speakers as Tūnsi, [ˈtuːnsi] "Tunisian" or Derja (Arabic: الدارجة; meaning "common or everyday dialect") to distinguish it from Modern Standard Arabic, the official language of Tunisia. Tunisian Arabic is mostly similar to eastern Algerian Arabic and western Libyan Arabic.
As part of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum, Tunisian merges into Algerian Arabic and Libyan Arabic at the borders of the country. Like other Maghrebi dialects, it has a vocabulary that is predominantly Semitic and Arabic with a Berber, Latin and possibly Neo-Punic substratum. Tunisian Arabic contains Berber loanwords which represent 8% to 9% of its vocabulary. However, Tunisian has also loanwords from French, Turkish, Italian and the languages of Spain and a little bit of Persian.
Libyan Arabic in the context of Misurata
Misrata (/mɪsˈrɑːtə/ miss-RAH-tə; Arabic: مصراتة, romanized: Miṣrāta, Libyan Arabic: Məṣrāta; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated 187 km (116 mi) to the east of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. With a population of about 881,000, it is the third-largest city in Libya, after Tripoli and Benghazi. It is the capital city of the Misrata District and has been called the economic and trade capital of Libya. Its harbor is at Qasr Ahmad.
Libyan Arabic in the context of Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic
Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic, also known as Sahil Maryut Bedouin Arabic, is a group of Bedouin Arabic dialects spoken in Western Egypt along the Mediterranean coast, west to the Egypt–Libya border. Ethnologue and Glottolog classify Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic as a Libyan Arabic dialect.
This variety is spoken by the Awlad Ali tribe, who settled in the edges of Lake Maryut and west of Bihera beginning in the 17th century from the region of Jebel Akhdar (Libya). It is also spoken in Wadi El Natrun. Their dialect is phonologically, morphophonemically and morphologically closer to the Peninsular Bedouin dialects than to the adjacent Egyptian dialects. Egyptian Arabic speakers from other parts of Egypt do not understand the Awlad Ali dialect.
Libyan Arabic in the context of Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic
Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic (also known as Tripolitanian Judeo-Arabic, Jewish Tripolitanian–Libyan Arabic, Tripolita'it, Yudi) is a variety of Arabic spoken by Jews formerly living in Libya.
Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic differs from standard Libyan Arabic in that it closely resembles the original dialect of the sedentary population, whereas much of Libya's population now speaks Bedouin-influenced varieties of Arabic. A reference grammar is available.
Libyan Arabic in the context of Misrata District
Misrata or Misratah (Arabic: مصراته, romanized: Miṣrāta, Libyan Arabic: Məṣrāta), also known by the Italian spelling Misurata, is a sha'biyah (district) in northwestern Libya. Its capital is the city of Misrata. In 2007 the district was enlarged to include what had been the Bani Walid District and the northernmost strip of coast of the Gulf of Sidra, that from 2001 to 2007 had been part of Sirte District. In the north and east, Misrata has a shoreline on the Mediterranean Sea. On land, it borders Sirte in south and east, Murqub in north and west and Jabal al Gharbi in south and west.
Per the census of 2012, the total population in the region was 157,747 with 150,353 Libyans. The average size of the household of Libyans was 6.9, and for non-Libyans it was 3.7. There were a total of 22,713 households in the district, 20,907 being Libyan ones. The population density of the district was 1.86 persons per km. Per the 2006 census, there were totally 148,352 economically active people in the district.