 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this articlebyadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Syrian Arabic" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
[lang=apc] { font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma; }
| Syrian Arabic | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Syria |
| Ethnicity | Syrians |
Native speakers | L1: 19 million (2023)[1] L2: 2.0 million (2023)[1] |
| |
| Arabic alphabet Arabic chat alphabet | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | (covered by apc) |
Syrian Arabic refers to any of the Arabic varieties spoken in Syria,[2] or specifically to Levantine Arabic.[3][4]
Characterized by the imperfect with a-: ašṛab ‘I drink’, ašūf ‘I see’,[2] and by a pronounced[5] ʾimāla of the type sēfaṛ/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, but katab+it > katabit),[2] išṛab type perfect,[2] ʾimāla in reflexes of *CāʔiC, and vocabulary such as zbandūn "plow sole".[5]
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 pronounced ʾimāla.[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 is hawdi, or haydi.[5] It can be divided into several subdialects:[5]
In this area, predominantly *ay, aw > ē, ō. Mostly, there is no ʾimāla, and a-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 plural intni katabtni, hinni(n) katabni.
Preservation of interdentals. 2/3 pl. masc. ending -a: fatahta, falaha, tuktúba, yuktúba. 2nd plural m/f inta - intni. 3rd plural m/f hinhan - hinhin. The perfect of the primae alif verbs are ake, axe. In the imperfect, yāka, yāxa. The participle is mēke.
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 like alhaz "now".
Characterized by *q > k, *g > c [ts], *k > č, and ʾimāla of type *lisān > lsīn. Distinctive pronouns are 3pl.c. aham and 2sg.f. suffix -či. The suffix of the verbal 3sg a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form ʾílbis "he got dressed".[5]
Characterized by preserved *q, *g > č, and unconditioned ʾimālainhēda. Distinctive pronouns are 3pl. ahu - hinna, and 2sg.f. suffix -ki. The suffix of the verbal 3sg a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form ʾílbis "he got dressed".[5]
Characterized by preserved *q and unconditioned ʾimālainhēda. Distinctive pronouns are 3pl. hunni - hinni. The suffix of the verbal 3sg a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form lbīs "he got dressed".[5]
Characterized by preserved *q and pronouns 3pl. hūwun - hīyin. The suffix of the verbal 3sg a-Type is -at.[5]
Characterized by preserved *q and the changes masaku > masakaw# and masakin > masake:n# in pause. Distinctive pronouns are 3pl.c. hinne, and the suffix of the verbal 3sg a-Type is -at.[5]
Characterized by *q > ʔ, and *ay, *aw > ā. The shifts *CaCC > CiCC/CuCC and *CaCaC > CaCōC take place. The ʾimāla is of the i-umlaut type. Distinctive pronouns are 2sg.f. suffix -ke. The a-Type perfects take the form ḍarōb and the i-type lbēs. The suffix of the verbal 3sg a-Type is -et, with allophony ḍarbet - ḍárbatu.[5]
Characterized by *q > ʔ and ʾimāla of the i-umlaut type. Distinctive pronouns are 3sg.m. suffix -a/-e. The suffix of the verbal 3sg a-Type is -at.[5]
Characterized by *q > ʔ and unconditioned ʾimālainhēda. Distinctive pronouns are 2sg.f. suffix -ki.[5] The 1sg perfect conjugation is of the type katabtu, similar to the qǝltu dialects of Iraq. Also like qǝltu dialects, it has lengthened forms like ṣafṛā "yellow [fem.]".[2]
The Qalamūn dialects have strong links to Central Lebanese.[5] The short vowels i/u are found in all positions. Pasual kbīr > kbeyr# and yrūḥ > yrawḥ#. The a-elision is not strongly pronounced. Shortening of unstressed long vowels is characteristic: *sakākīn > sakakīn ‘knives’, fallōḥ/fillaḥīn ‘peasant/peasants’, or fillōḥ/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-elision katab+t > ktabt, distinctive pronouns are 3pl.c. hunni. Subdialects are:
No interdentals, conservation of diphthongs
These dialects have no interdentals, no diphthongs, and a reflex of *g > ž. The suffix of the verbal 3sg a-Type is -it, ḍarab+it > ḍárbit.[5] The short vowels i/u are found in all positions. Demonstrative plural pronoun hadunke.
The Hauran 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 and Najdi Arabic are also spoken in Syria.
