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Jordanian Arabic

Jordanian Arabic is a dialect continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of Arabic spoken by the population of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Jordanian Arabic
اللهجة الأردنية
Native toJordan
Native speakers
9.9 million (2022)[1]
Dialects
  • Fellahi (rural)
  • Madani (urban)
Arabic alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3(covered by apc)
Glottologsout3123
east2690
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Jordanian Arabic can be divided into sedentary and Bedouin varieties.[2] Sedentary varieties belong to the Levantine Arabic dialect continuum. Bedouin varieties are further divided into two groups, Northwest Arabian Arabic varieties of the south,[3] and Najdi Arabic and Shawi Arabic[4] varieties of the north.[2]

Jordanian Arabic varieties are Semitic. They are spoken by more than 6 million people, and understood throughout the Levant and, to various extents, in other Arabic-speaking regions. As in all Arab countries, language use in Jordan is characterized by diglossia; Modern Standard Arabic is the official language used in most written documents and the media, while daily conversation is conducted in the local colloquial varieties.

Regional Jordanian Arabic varieties edit

Although there is a common Jordanian dialect mutually understood by most Jordanians, the daily language spoken throughout the country varies significantly through regions. These variants impact altogether pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

Jordanian Arabic can primarily be divided into sedentary and Bedouin varieties, each of which can be further divided into distinct subgroups:[2]

Sedentary varieties

  • Hybrid variety (Modern Jordanian)/Ammani: It is the most current spoken language among Jordanians. This variety was born after the designation of Amman as capital of the Jordanian kingdom early in the 20th century. It is the result of the merger of the language of populations who moved from northern Jordan, southern Jordan, Saudi Arabia and later from Palestine. For this reason, it mixes features of the Arabic varieties spoken by these populations. The emergence of the language occurred under the strong influence of the northern Jordanian dialect. As in many countries English is used to substitute many technical words, even though these words have Arabic counterparts in modern standard Arabic.
  • Balgawi-Horani:[5] Mostly spoken in the area from Amman to Irbid in the far north. As in all sedentary areas, local variations are many. The pronunciation has /q/ pronounced [g] and /k/ mostly ([tʃ]). This dialect is part of the southern dialect of the Levantine Arabic language.
  • Southern/Moab:[5] Spoken in the area south of Amman, in cities such as Karak, Tafilah, Ma'an, Shoubak and their countrysides, it is replete with city-to-city and village-to-village differences. In this dialect, the pronunciation of the final vowel (æ~a~ə) commonly written with tāʾ marbūtah (ة) is raised to [e]. For example, Maktaba (Fuṣḥa) becomes Maktabe (Moab), Maktabeh (North) and Mektaba (Bedawi). Named after the ancient Moab kingdom that was located in southern Jordan, this dialect belongs to the outer southern dialect of the Levantine Arabic language.
  • Aqaba variety[citation needed]

Bedouin varieties

  • Northwest Arabian Arabic:[3] Spoken by the Hwetat, Bani Atiya, the Bdul of Petra, and N’emat tribes in Southern Jordan. According to Palva, the dialects spoken in Jordan belong to the Eastern group of NWA dialects. Nevertheless, the dialects of the Bdul and N’emat share features with the Western group of NWA dialects spoken in the Negev.[3] In addition, the dialect of the Zawaida tribe is argued to be closely related to Negev Arabic.[6]
  • North Arabian dialects: Spoken by the Sirhan, Bani Saxar, and Bani Khalid tribes. They are further divided into Anazi-type dialects which are related to Central Najdi Arabic, and Shammari-type dialects which are related to Northern Najdi Arabic.[2]
  • Syro-Mesopotamian Bedouin dialects: These dialects show many similarities with Iraqi “gelet”-dialects and with Gulf Arabic.[2] Herin divides this group into a Central “ygulu” and Northern “ygulun” Shawi Arabic, both types being identical except for the presence of /n/ in the plural imperfect of the latter group. The Central “ygulu” dialects are spoken by the Ajarma, Adwan, and Ababid tribes.[5]

Social dynamics edit

In addition to geographical distinctions, variations in speech patterns are also influenced by social factors, including gender. In Jordanian society, women engaged in public activities and social media platforms typically employ a manner of speech characterized by politeness and indirectness. This contrasts with the more direct and assertive communication style commonly adopted by men. Understanding these nuances is crucial for grasping the full spectrum of language variation in Jordanian Arabic.[7]

Phonology edit

Consonants edit

  • /d͡ʒ/ is realized as a voiced fricative /ʒ/, across different speakers and dialects.
  • /t͡ʃ/ is a lexically-distributed alternant of /k/ in sedentary Horani/Balqawi dialects. [t͡ʃ] is historically also an allophone of /k/ in the Syro-Mesopotamian Bedouin dialects.[8]

Vowels edit

  • /e/ and /i/ are only contrastive word-finally as shown by the minimal pair kalbe “dog (f.)” and kalbi “my dog”.
  • /o/ and /u/ are only contrastive word-finally as shown by the minimal pair katabo “he wrote it” vs. katabu “they wrote”.
  • /i u/ can be heard as [ɪ, ʊ] in lax form.
  • /a/ can occur as a back [ɑ] mostly after /r/, an open-front [a] before /r/, and as [ɛ] in word-final positions, except after velarized, emphatic, back or pharyngeal sounds.
  • /aː/ is heard within the position or /r/ as a long back [ɑː] or front [æː] among speakers. Among people who are first generation, Palestinian-dialect speakers, it can also be heard as [eː].
  • A central [ə] can be epenthetic within some long vowel sounds like /eː/ as [eːə].[9]

Stress edit

One syllable of every Jordanian word has more stress than the other syllables of that word. Some meaning is communicated in Jordanian by the location of the stress of the vowel. So, changing the stress position changes the meaning (e.g. ['katabu] means they wrote while [kata'bu] means they wrote it). This means one has to listen and pronounce the stress carefully.

Grammar edit

The grammar in Jordanian also in Palestinian is a mixture[of what?]. Much like Hebrew and Arabic, Jordanian is a Semitic language at heart, altered by the many influences that developed over the years.

Nominal morphology edit

Definiteness edit

/il-/ is used in most words that don't start with a vowel. It is affixed onto the following word. Il-bāb meaning the door. /iC-/ is used in words that start with a consonant produced by the blade of the tongue (t, ṭ, d, ḍ, r, z, ẓ, ž, s, ṣ, š, n. Sometimes [l] and [j] as well depending on the dialect). This causes a doubling of the consonant. This e is pronounced as in a rounded short backward vowel or as in an e followed by the first letter of the word that follows the article. For example: ed-desk meaning the desk, ej-jakét meaning the jacket, es-seks meaning the sex or hāda' et-téléfón meaning that is the telephone.

Pronouns edit

Contrary to MSA, dual pronouns do not exist in Jordanian; the plural is used instead. Because conjugated verbs indicate the subject with a prefix or a suffix, independent subject pronouns are usually unnecessary and mainly used for emphasis. Feminine plural forms modifying human females are found primarily in rural and Bedouin areas.

Jordanian Arabic independent personal pronouns
Amman[10] Salt[11]
1st person sg. (m/f) ana ana ~ ani
2nd person sg. m inta int ~ inte
f inti inti
3rd person sg, m huwwe ~ huwwe
f hiyye ~ hiyye
1st person pl. (m/f) niḥna / iḥna iḥna
2nd person pl. m intu intu
f intin
3rd person pl. m humme hummu
f hinne

Bound pronouns typically attach to nouns, prepositions, verbs andalso to certain adverbs, conjunctions and other discourse markers:

Jordanian Arabic bound pronouns
Amman[10] Salt[11]
after-C after-V after-C after-V
1st person sg. (m/f) -i, -ni -y -i, -ni -y(e)
2nd person sg. m -ak -k -ak -k
f -ik -ki -ič
3rd person sg, m -o -(h) -o -(h)
f -ha -ha
1st person pl. (m/f) -na -na
2nd person pl. m -kum -ku
f -čin
3rd person pl. m -hum -hum
f -hin

Indirect object / dative pronouns arise from the merging of l- “for, to”, and the bound pronouns. Note that geminated forms like Ammani after-CC katabt-illo “I wrote for him” are not to be found in Salti, which has katab(ə)t-lo:[11]

Jordanian Arabic indirect object / dative pronouns
Amman[10] Salt[11]
after-V after-C after-CC after-V after-C
1st person sg. (m/f) -li -illi -li
2nd person sg. m -lak -illak -lak
f -lik -illik -lič
3rd person sg, m -lo -illo -lo
f -lha -ilha -lha -ilha
1st person pl. (m/f) -lna -ilna -lna (-nna) -ilna (-inna)
2nd person pl. m -lkum -ilkum -lku -ilku
f -lčin -ilčin
3rd person pl. m -lhum -ilhum -lhum -ilhum
f -lhin -ilhin

Demonstratives can appear pre-nominally or post-nominally

Jordanian Arabic demonstrative pronouns
Amman[10] Salt[11]
Near sg. m hād(a) hāḏ(a), hāḏ̣(a)
f hāy ~ hādi hāy(e) ~ hāḏi
pl. m hadōl haḏōl(a), haḏ̣ōl(a)
f
Far sg. m hadāk haḏāk(a), haḏ̣āk(a)
f hadīk haḏīč(e)
pl. m hadolāk haḏ(o)lāk(a), haḏ̣(o)lāk(a)
f

Verbal morphology edit

Form I edit

Strong verbs edit

In Amman, Form I strong verbs usually have perfect CaCaC with imperfect CCuC/CCaC, and perfect CiCiC with imperfect CCaC.[10] In Salt, CaCaC and CiCiC can occur with imperfect CCiC.[11]

Form I Strong (CaCaC/CCuC)
Amman[10] Salt[11]
Perfect (CaCaC) 1st person sg. (m/f) daras(i)t maragt
2nd person sg. m daras(i)t maragt
f darasti maragti
3rd person sg, m daras marag
f darsat margat
1st person pl. (m/f) darasna maragna
2nd person pl. m darastu maragtu
f maragtin
3rd person pl. m darasu maragu
f maragin
Imperfect (CCuC) 1st person sg. (m/f) adrus, badrus amrug, bamrug
2nd person sg. m tudrus, btudrus tumrug, btumrug
f tudrusi, btudrusi tumurgi, btumurgi
3rd person sg, m yudrus, b(y)udrus yumrug, bumrug
f tudrus, btudrus tumrug, btumrug
1st person pl. (m/f) nudrus, bnudrus numrug, mnumrug
2nd person pl. m tudrusu, btudrusu tumurgu, btumurgu
f tumurgin, btumurgin
3rd person pl. m yudrusu, b(y)udrusu yumurgu, bumurgu
f yumurgin, bumurgin
Form I Strong (CiCiC/CCaC)
Amman[10] Salt[11]
Perfect (CiCiC) 1st person sg. (m/f) kbirt gdirt
2nd person sg. m kbirt gdirt
f kbirti gdirti
3rd person sg, m kibir gidir
f kibrat gidrat
1st person pl. (m/f) kbirna gdirna
2nd person pl. m kbirtu gdirtu
f gdirtin
3rd person pl. m kibru gidru
f gidrin
Imperfect (CCaC) 1st person sg. (m/f) akbar, bakbar agdar, bagdar
2nd person sg. m tikbar, btikbar tigdar, btigdar
f tikbari, btikbari tigdari, btigdari
3rd person sg, m yikbar, b(y)ikbar yigdar, bigdar
f tikbar, btikbar tigdar, btigdar
1st person pl. (m/f) nikbar, bnikbar nigdar, mnigdar
2nd person pl. m tikbaru, btikbaru tigdaru, btigdaru
f tigdarin, btigdarin
3rd person pl. m yikbaru, b(y)ikbaru yigdaru, bigdaru
f yigdarin, bigdarin
Geminated verbs edit

Geminate verbs generally have perfect CaCC and imperfect CiCC. In Amman and Salt, the 2nd person singular masculine and the 1st person singular perfect inflect as CaCCēt: ḥassēt, šaddēt.[10][11] In Amman, the active participle alternates between CāCC and CāCC (ḥāss and ḥāsis). In Salt, only CāCC (ḥāss) is present.

Verbs Iʾ edit
Form I Weak Iʾ
Amman[10] Salt[11]
Perfect (CaCaC) 1st person sg. (m/f) ʾakalt ʾakalt
2nd person sg. m ʾakalt ʾakalt
f ʾakalti ʾakalti
3rd person sg, m ʾakal ʾakal
f ʾaklat ʾaklat
1st person pl. (m/f) ʾakalna ʾakalna
2nd person pl. m ʾakaltu ʾakaltu
f ʾakaltin
3rd person pl. m ʾakalu ʾakalu
f ʾakalin
Imperfect 1st person sg. (m/f) ākul, bākul ʾōkil, bōkil
2nd person sg. m tākul~tōkil, btākul~btōkil tōkil, btōkil
f tākli~tōkli, btākli~btōkli tōkli, btōkli
3rd person sg, m yākul~yōkil, byākul~b(y)ōkil yōkil, bōkil
f tākul~tōkil, btākul~btōkil tōkil, btōkil
1st person pl. (m/f) nākul~nōkil, bnākul~bnōkil nōkil, mnōkil
2nd person pl. m tāklu~tōklu, btāklu~btōklu tōklu, btōklu
f tōklin, btōklin
3rd person pl. m yāklu~yōklu, byāklu~b(y)ōklu yōklu, bōklu
f yōklin, bōklin
Verbs Iw/y edit

Note that Salt forms the perfect on a different template than Amman. In any case, the perfect is conjugated as a strong verb:

Form I Weak Iw/y
Amman[10] Salt[11]
Perfect 1st person sg. (m/f) wṣil(i)t waṣalt
2nd person sg. m wṣil(i)t waṣalt
f wṣilti waṣalti
3rd person sg, m wiṣil waṣal
f wiṣlat waṣlat
1st person pl. (m/f) wṣilna waṣalna
2nd person pl. m wṣiltu waṣaltu
f waṣaltin
3rd person pl. m wiṣlu waṣalu
f waṣalin
Imperfect 1st person sg. (m/f) ʾawṣal, bawṣal ʾaṣal, baṣal
2nd person sg. m tuwṣal, btuwṣal taṣal, btaṣal
f tuwṣali, btuwṣali taṣali, btaṣali
3rd person sg, m yuwṣal, b(y)uwṣal yaṣal~yiṣal, baṣal
f tuwṣal, btuwṣal taṣal, btaṣal
1st person pl. (m/f) nuwṣal, bnuwṣal naṣal, mnaṣal
2nd person pl. m tuwṣalu, btuwṣalu taṣalu, btaṣalu
f taṣalin, btaṣalin
3rd person pl. m yuwṣalu, b(y)uwṣalu yaṣalu~yiṣalu, baṣalu
f yaṣalin~yiṣalin, baṣalin
Verbs IIw/y edit

The vowel of the short base of the perfect usually has the same quality as the vowel of the imperfect: gām~ygūm~gumt and gām~ygīm~gimt. An exception is šāf~yšūf~šuft. Verbs with yCāC imperfects usually have CiCt perfects.[11]

Verbs IIIw/y edit

In the perfect, both CaCa and CiCi are found.

Form IV edit

Form IV is not productive in the sedentary dialects of Amman or Karak. A conservative feature of the sedentary Balqāwi-Hōrani group is the preservation of Form IV, which is productive in three uses:[12]

  • to create transitive verbs from nouns and adjectives:
    • bʿadyibʿid “to go away” (from bʿīd “far”)
  • to create “weather verbs”:
    • štattišti “to rain”
  • to derive causative verbs from intransitive verbs with stem CvCvC:
    • gʿadyigʿid “to wake sth. up” (from gaʿadyugʿud “to sit down”)

Negation edit

Qdar is the infinitive form of the verb can. Baqdar means I can, I can't is Baqdareş, adding an or ış to the end of a verb makes it negative; if the word ends in a vowel then a ş should be enough.

An in-depth example of the negation: Baqdarelhomm figuratively means I can handle them, Baqdarelhommeş means I cannot handle them, the same statement meaning can be achieved by Baqdareş l'ıl homm

Legal status edit

Jordanian Arabic is not regarded as the official language even though it has diverged significantly from Classic Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA).[13][14][15] A large number of Jordanians, however, call their language "Arabic", while referring to the original Arabic language as Fusħa. This is common in many countries that speak languages or dialects derived from Arabic and can prove to be quite confusing[to whom?]. Whenever a book is published, it is usually published in English, French, or in MSA and not in Levantine.[13][14][15]

Writing systems edit

General remarks edit

There are many ways of representing Levantine Arabic in writing. The most common is the scholastic Jordanian Latin alphabet (JLA) system which uses many accents to distinguish between the sounds (this system is used within this article). Other Levantine countries, however, use their own alphabets and transliterations, making cross-border communication inconvenient.[16]

Consonants edit

There are some phonemes of the Jordanian language that are easily pronounced by English speakers; others are completely foreign to English, making these sounds difficult to pronounce.

Arabic consonant JLA IPA Explanation
ب b [b] As English ⟨b⟩.
ت t [t] As English ⟨t⟩ in still (without the English aspiration).
ث [θ] As English ⟨th⟩ in thief. It is rare, mostly in words borrowed from MSA.
ج j [dʒ] As English ⟨j⟩, jam or ⟨s⟩ in vision (depending on accent and individual speaker's preference).
ح [ħ] Somewhat like English ⟨h⟩, but deeper in the throat.
خ [x] As German ⟨ch⟩ in Bach.
د d [d] As English ⟨d⟩.
ذ [ð] As English ⟨th⟩ in this. It is rare, mostly in words borrowed from MSA.
ر [ɾˤ] Simultaneous pronunciation of ⟨r⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ر r [ɾ] As is Scottish, Italian or Spanish.
ز z [z] As English ⟨z⟩.
س s [s] As English ⟨s⟩.
ش š [ʃ] As English ⟨sh⟩.
ص [sˤ] Simultaneous pronunciation of ⟨s⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ض [dˤ] Simultaneous pronunciation of ⟨d⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ط [tˤ] Simultaneous pronunciation of unaspirated ⟨t⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ظ [zˤ] Simultaneous pronunciation of ⟨z⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ع ʿ [ʕ] This is the ayn. It is pronounced as ḥ but with vibrating larynx.
غ ġ [ɣ] As in ⟨g⟩ of Spanish pagar.
ف f [f] As English ⟨f⟩.
ق q [q] Similar to English ⟨k⟩, but pronounced further back in the mouth, at the uvula. It is rare, mostly in words borrowed from MSA apart from the dialect of Ma'daba or that of the Hauran Druzes.
ك k [k] As English ⟨k⟩ in skill (without the English aspiration).
ل l [l] As English ⟨l⟩
م m [m] As English ⟨m⟩.
ن n [n] As English ⟨n⟩.
ه h [h] As English ⟨h⟩.
و w [w] As English ⟨w⟩.
ي y [j] As English ⟨y⟩ in yellow.

Vowels edit

Contrasting with the rich consonant inventory, Jordanian Arabic has much fewer vowels than English. Yet, as in English, vowel duration is relevant (compare /i/ in bin and bean).

JLA IPA Explanation
a [a] or [ɑ] As English hut or hot (the latter linked to the presence of ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, ẓ, ẖ, ʿ, ḥ or ṛ).
ā [a:] or [ɑ:] The previous one but longer (you hear [ɑ:] in father). Amman is [ʕɑm'ma:n].
i [i] As in English hit.
ī [i:] As in English heat.
u [u] As in English put.
ū [u:] As in English fool.
e [e] French été.
ē [e:] As in English pear, or slightly more closed.
o [o] As in French côté.
ō [o:] As French (faune) or German (Sohn).

External Influences edit

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is spoken in formal TV programs, and in Modern Standard Arabic classes, as well as to quote poetry and historical phrases. It is also the language used to write and read in formal situations if English is not being used. However, MSA is not spoken during regular conversations. MSA is taught in most schools and a large number of Jordanian citizens are proficient in reading and writing formal Arabic. However, foreigners residing in Jordan who learn the Levantine language generally find it difficult to comprehend formal MSA, particularly if they did not attend a school that teaches it.

Other influences include English, French, Turkish, and Persian. Many loan words from these languages can be found in the Jordanian dialects, particularly English. However, students also have the option of learning French in schools. Currently, there is a small society of French speakers called Francophone and it is quite notable in the country. The language is also spoken by people who are interested in the cultural and commercial features of France.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ South Levantine Arabic at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)  
  2. ^ a b c d e Palva, Heikki (1 January 1984). "A general classification for the Arabic dialects spoken in Palestine and Transjordan". Studia Orientalia.
  3. ^ a b c Palva, Heikki. ""Northwest Arabian Arabic." Encyclopedia of Arabic language and linguistics. Vol. III. Leiden – Boston: Brill 2008, pp. 400-408". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Younes, Igor; Herin, Bruno (1 January 2016). "Šāwi Arabic". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online Edition.
  5. ^ a b c Herin, Bruno; Younes, Igor; Al-Wer, Enam; Al-Sirour, Youssef (March 2022). "The Classification of Bedouin Arabic: Insights from Northern Jordan". Languages. 7 (1): 1. doi:10.3390/languages7010001. ISSN 2226-471X.
  6. ^ Sakarna, Ahmad Khalaf (2002). "The Bedouin Dialect of Al-Zawaida Tribe, Southern Jordan". Al-'Arabiyya. 35: 61–86. ISSN 0889-8731. JSTOR 43192846.
  7. ^ Alsaraireh, Mohammad Yousef; Altakhaineh, Abdel Rahman Mitib; Khalifah, Lama Ahmed (31 December 2023). "The use of question tags in Jordanian Arabic by Facebook users". Cogent Arts & Humanities. 10 (1). doi:10.1080/23311983.2023.2261198. ISSN 2331-1983.
  8. ^ Al-Wer, Enam; Horesh, Uri; Fanis, Maria; Herin, Bruno (1 January 2015). "How Arabic regional features become sectarian features: Jordan as a case study. Enam Al-Wer, Uri Horesh, Bruno Herin, Maria Fanis". Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik (ZAL).2015.
  9. ^ Sawaie, Mohammed (2008). Jordanian Arabic (Amman). In Kees Versteegh (ed.), Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Vol. II: Leiden: Brill. pp. 505–509.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Al-Wer, Enam (30 May 2011), "Jordanian Arabic (Amman)", Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Brill, retrieved 4 August 2022
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Herin, Bruno (1 January 2014). "The dialect of Salt (Jordan)". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Lutz Edzard, Rudolf de Jong. (Eds), Brill Online.
  12. ^ Herin, Bruno (2013). "Do Jordanians really speak like Palestinians?". Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies. 13: 99–114. doi:10.5617/jais.4629. ISSN 0806-198X.
  13. ^ a b Jordanian Arabic phrasebook – iGuide 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Iguide.travel. Retrieved on 19 October 2011.
  14. ^ a b South Levantine Arabic at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
  15. ^ a b iTunes – Podcasts – Jordanian Arabic Language Lessons by Peace Corps 21 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Itunes.apple.com (16 February 2007). Retrieved on 19 October 2011.
  16. ^ Diana Darke (2006). Syria. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-84162-162-3.

Further reading edit

  • Doughan, Yazan (2017). "Imaginaries of Space and Language: A historical view of the scalar enregisterment of Jordanian Arabic". International Journal of Arabic Linguistics. 3 (2): 77–109. ISSN 2421-9835.

External links edit

jordanian, arabic, this, article, contains, levantine, written, arabic, characters, without, proper, rendering, support, احنا, احنا, appearing, different, characters, apply, this, custom, style, your, user, settings, lang, font, family, segoe, tahoma, dialect,. This article contains Levantine written in Arabic characters Without proper rendering support you may see احنا and احنا appearing as two different characters If so apply this custom style in your user settings lang apc font family Segoe UI Tahoma Jordanian Arabic is a dialect continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of Arabic spoken by the population of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Jordanian Arabicاللهجة الأردنيةNative toJordanNative speakers9 9 million 2022 1 Language familyAfro Asiatic SemiticWest SemiticCentral SemiticArabicLevantine ArabicSouth LevantineJordanian ArabicDialectsFellahi rural Madani urban Writing systemArabic alphabetLanguage codesISO 639 3 covered by apc Glottologsout3123east2690 South Levantine Levantine BedawiThis article contains IPA phonetic symbols Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of Unicode characters For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA Jordanian Arabic can be divided into sedentary and Bedouin varieties 2 Sedentary varieties belong to the Levantine Arabic dialect continuum Bedouin varieties are further divided into two groups Northwest Arabian Arabic varieties of the south 3 and Najdi Arabic and Shawi Arabic 4 varieties of the north 2 Jordanian Arabic varieties are Semitic They are spoken by more than 6 million people and understood throughout the Levant and to various extents in other Arabic speaking regions As in all Arab countries language use in Jordan is characterized by diglossia Modern Standard Arabic is the official language used in most written documents and the media while daily conversation is conducted in the local colloquial varieties Contents 1 Regional Jordanian Arabic varieties 1 1 Social dynamics 2 Phonology 2 1 Consonants 2 2 Vowels 2 3 Stress 3 Grammar 3 1 Nominal morphology 3 1 1 Definiteness 3 2 Pronouns 3 3 Verbal morphology 3 3 1 Form I 3 3 1 1 Strong verbs 3 3 1 2 Geminated verbs 3 3 1 3 Verbs Iʾ 3 3 1 4 Verbs Iw y 3 3 1 5 Verbs IIw y 3 3 1 6 Verbs IIIw y 3 3 2 Form IV 3 4 Negation 4 Legal status 5 Writing systems 5 1 General remarks 5 2 Consonants 5 3 Vowels 6 External Influences 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksRegional Jordanian Arabic varieties editAlthough there is a common Jordanian dialect mutually understood by most Jordanians the daily language spoken throughout the country varies significantly through regions These variants impact altogether pronunciation grammar and vocabulary Jordanian Arabic can primarily be divided into sedentary and Bedouin varieties each of which can be further divided into distinct subgroups 2 Sedentary varieties Hybrid variety Modern Jordanian Ammani It is the most current spoken language among Jordanians This variety was born after the designation of Amman as capital of the Jordanian kingdom early in the 20th century It is the result of the merger of the language of populations who moved from northern Jordan southern Jordan Saudi Arabia and later from Palestine For this reason it mixes features of the Arabic varieties spoken by these populations The emergence of the language occurred under the strong influence of the northern Jordanian dialect As in many countries English is used to substitute many technical words even though these words have Arabic counterparts in modern standard Arabic Balgawi Horani 5 Mostly spoken in the area from Amman to Irbid in the far north As in all sedentary areas local variations are many The pronunciation has q pronounced g and k mostly tʃ This dialect is part of the southern dialect of the Levantine Arabic language Southern Moab 5 Spoken in the area south of Amman in cities such as Karak Tafilah Ma an Shoubak and their countrysides it is replete with city to city and village to village differences In this dialect the pronunciation of the final vowel ae a e commonly written with taʾ marbutah ة is raised to e For example Maktaba Fuṣḥa becomes Maktabe Moab Maktabeh North and Mektaba Bedawi Named after the ancient Moab kingdom that was located in southern Jordan this dialect belongs to the outer southern dialect of the Levantine Arabic language Aqaba variety citation needed Bedouin varieties Northwest Arabian Arabic 3 Spoken by the Hwetat Bani Atiya the Bdul of Petra and N emat tribes in Southern Jordan According to Palva the dialects spoken in Jordan belong to the Eastern group of NWA dialects Nevertheless the dialects of the Bdul and N emat share features with the Western group of NWA dialects spoken in the Negev 3 In addition the dialect of the Zawaida tribe is argued to be closely related to Negev Arabic 6 North Arabian dialects Spoken by the Sirhan Bani Saxar and Bani Khalid tribes They are further divided into Anazi type dialects which are related to Central Najdi Arabic and Shammari type dialects which are related to Northern Najdi Arabic 2 Syro Mesopotamian Bedouin dialects These dialects show many similarities with Iraqi gelet dialects and with Gulf Arabic 2 Herin divides this group into a Central ygulu and Northern ygulun Shawi Arabic both types being identical except for the presence of n in the plural imperfect of the latter group The Central ygulu dialects are spoken by the Ajarma Adwan and Ababid tribes 5 Social dynamics edit In addition to geographical distinctions variations in speech patterns are also influenced by social factors including gender In Jordanian society women engaged in public activities and social media platforms typically employ a manner of speech characterized by politeness and indirectness This contrasts with the more direct and assertive communication style commonly adopted by men Understanding these nuances is crucial for grasping the full spectrum of language variation in Jordanian Arabic 7 Phonology editConsonants edit Labial Interdental Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Pharyngeal Glottal plain emph plain emph Nasal m n Stop voiceless t tˤ t ʃ k ʔ voiced b d dˤ d ʒ ɡ Fricative voiceless f 8 s sˤ ʃ x ħ h voiced d dˤ z ʒ ɣ ʕ Tap Trill ɾ r Approximant l j w d ʒ is realized as a voiced fricative ʒ across different speakers and dialects t ʃ is a lexically distributed alternant of k in sedentary Horani Balqawi dialects t ʃ is historically also an allophone of k in the Syro Mesopotamian Bedouin dialects 8 Vowels edit Front Central Back Close i iː u uː Mid e eː o oː Open a aː e and i are only contrastive word finally as shown by the minimal pair kalbe dog f and kalbi my dog o and u are only contrastive word finally as shown by the minimal pair katabo he wrote it vs katabu they wrote i u can be heard as ɪ ʊ in lax form a can occur as a back ɑ mostly after r an open front a before r and as ɛ in word final positions except after velarized emphatic back or pharyngeal sounds aː is heard within the position or r as a long back ɑː or front aeː among speakers Among people who are first generation Palestinian dialect speakers it can also be heard as eː A central e can be epenthetic within some long vowel sounds like eː as eːe 9 Stress edit One syllable of every Jordanian word has more stress than the other syllables of that word Some meaning is communicated in Jordanian by the location of the stress of the vowel So changing the stress position changes the meaning e g katabu means they wrote while kata bu means they wrote it This means one has to listen and pronounce the stress carefully Grammar editThe grammar in Jordanian also in Palestinian is a mixture of what Much like Hebrew and Arabic Jordanian is a Semitic language at heart altered by the many influences that developed over the years Nominal morphology edit Definiteness edit il is used in most words that don t start with a vowel It is affixed onto the following word Il bab meaning the door iC is used in words that start with a consonant produced by the blade of the tongue t ṭ d ḍ r z ẓ z s ṣ s n Sometimes l and j as well depending on the dialect This causes a doubling of the consonant This e is pronounced as in a rounded short backward vowel or as in an e followed by the first letter of the word that follows the article For example ed desk meaning the desk ej jaket meaning the jacket es seks meaning the sex or hada et telefon meaning that is the telephone Pronouns edit Contrary to MSA dual pronouns do not exist in Jordanian the plural is used instead Because conjugated verbs indicate the subject with a prefix or a suffix independent subject pronouns are usually unnecessary and mainly used for emphasis Feminine plural forms modifying human females are found primarily in rural and Bedouin areas Jordanian Arabic independent personal pronouns Amman 10 Salt 11 1st person sg m f ana ana ani 2nd person sg m inta int inte f inti inti 3rd person sg m huwwe hu huwwe f hiyye hi hiyye 1st person pl m f niḥna iḥna iḥna 2nd person pl m intu intu f intin 3rd person pl m humme hummu f hinne Bound pronouns typically attach to nouns prepositions verbs andalso to certain adverbs conjunctions and other discourse markers Jordanian Arabic bound pronouns Amman 10 Salt 11 after C after V after C after V 1st person sg m f i ni y i ni y e 2nd person sg m ak k ak k f ik ki ic c 3rd person sg m o h o h f ha ha 1st person pl m f na na 2nd person pl m kum ku f cin 3rd person pl m hum hum f hin Indirect object dative pronouns arise from the merging of l for to and the bound pronouns Note that geminated forms like Ammani after CC katabt illo I wrote for him are not to be found in Salti which has katab e t lo 11 Jordanian Arabic indirect object dative pronouns Amman 10 Salt 11 after V after C after CC after V after C 1st person sg m f li illi li 2nd person sg m lak illak lak f lik illik lic 3rd person sg m lo illo lo f lha ilha lha ilha 1st person pl m f lna ilna lna nna ilna inna 2nd person pl m lkum ilkum lku ilku f lcin ilcin 3rd person pl m lhum ilhum lhum ilhum f lhin ilhin Demonstratives can appear pre nominally or post nominally Jordanian Arabic demonstrative pronouns Amman 10 Salt 11 Near sg m had a haḏ a haḏ a f hay hadi hay e haḏi pl m hadōl haḏōl a haḏ ōl a f Far sg m hadak haḏak a haḏ ak a f hadik haḏic e pl m hadolak haḏ o lak a haḏ o lak a f Verbal morphology edit Form I edit Strong verbs edit In Amman Form I strong verbs usually have perfect CaCaC with imperfect CCuC CCaC and perfect CiCiC with imperfect CCaC 10 In Salt CaCaC and CiCiC can occur with imperfect CCiC 11 Form I Strong CaCaC CCuC Amman 10 Salt 11 Perfect CaCaC 1st person sg m f daras i t maragt 2nd person sg m daras i t maragt f darasti maragti 3rd person sg m daras marag f darsat margat 1st person pl m f darasna maragna 2nd person pl m darastu maragtu f maragtin 3rd person pl m darasu maragu f maragin Imperfect CCuC 1st person sg m f adrus badrus amrug bamrug 2nd person sg m tudrus btudrus tumrug btumrug f tudrusi btudrusi tumurgi btumurgi 3rd person sg m yudrus b y udrus yumrug bumrug f tudrus btudrus tumrug btumrug 1st person pl m f nudrus bnudrus numrug mnumrug 2nd person pl m tudrusu btudrusu tumurgu btumurgu f tumurgin btumurgin 3rd person pl m yudrusu b y udrusu yumurgu bumurgu f yumurgin bumurgin Form I Strong CiCiC CCaC Amman 10 Salt 11 Perfect CiCiC 1st person sg m f kbirt gdirt 2nd person sg m kbirt gdirt f kbirti gdirti 3rd person sg m kibir gidir f kibrat gidrat 1st person pl m f kbirna gdirna 2nd person pl m kbirtu gdirtu f gdirtin 3rd person pl m kibru gidru f gidrin Imperfect CCaC 1st person sg m f akbar bakbar agdar bagdar 2nd person sg m tikbar btikbar tigdar btigdar f tikbari btikbari tigdari btigdari 3rd person sg m yikbar b y ikbar yigdar bigdar f tikbar btikbar tigdar btigdar 1st person pl m f nikbar bnikbar nigdar mnigdar 2nd person pl m tikbaru btikbaru tigdaru btigdaru f tigdarin btigdarin 3rd person pl m yikbaru b y ikbaru yigdaru bigdaru f yigdarin bigdarin Geminated verbs edit Geminate verbs generally have perfect CaCC and imperfect CiCC In Amman and Salt the 2nd person singular masculine and the 1st person singular perfect inflect as CaCCet ḥasset saddet 10 11 In Amman the active participle alternates between CaCC and CaCC ḥass and ḥasis In Salt only CaCC ḥass is present Verbs Iʾ edit Form I Weak Iʾ Amman 10 Salt 11 Perfect CaCaC 1st person sg m f ʾakalt ʾakalt 2nd person sg m ʾakalt ʾakalt f ʾakalti ʾakalti 3rd person sg m ʾakal ʾakal f ʾaklat ʾaklat 1st person pl m f ʾakalna ʾakalna 2nd person pl m ʾakaltu ʾakaltu f ʾakaltin 3rd person pl m ʾakalu ʾakalu f ʾakalin Imperfect 1st person sg m f akul bakul ʾōkil bōkil 2nd person sg m takul tōkil btakul btōkil tōkil btōkil f takli tōkli btakli btōkli tōkli btōkli 3rd person sg m yakul yōkil byakul b y ōkil yōkil bōkil f takul tōkil btakul btōkil tōkil btōkil 1st person pl m f nakul nōkil bnakul bnōkil nōkil mnōkil 2nd person pl m taklu tōklu btaklu btōklu tōklu btōklu f tōklin btōklin 3rd person pl m yaklu yōklu byaklu b y ōklu yōklu bōklu f yōklin bōklin Verbs Iw y edit Note that Salt forms the perfect on a different template than Amman In any case the perfect is conjugated as a strong verb Form I Weak Iw y Amman 10 Salt 11 Perfect 1st person sg m f wṣil i t waṣalt 2nd person sg m wṣil i t waṣalt f wṣilti waṣalti 3rd person sg m wiṣil waṣal f wiṣlat waṣlat 1st person pl m f wṣilna waṣalna 2nd person pl m wṣiltu waṣaltu f waṣaltin 3rd person pl m wiṣlu waṣalu f waṣalin Imperfect 1st person sg m f ʾawṣal bawṣal ʾaṣal baṣal 2nd person sg m tuwṣal btuwṣal taṣal btaṣal f tuwṣali btuwṣali taṣali btaṣali 3rd person sg m yuwṣal b y uwṣal yaṣal yiṣal baṣal f tuwṣal btuwṣal taṣal btaṣal 1st person pl m f nuwṣal bnuwṣal naṣal mnaṣal 2nd person pl m tuwṣalu btuwṣalu taṣalu btaṣalu f taṣalin btaṣalin 3rd person pl m yuwṣalu b y uwṣalu yaṣalu yiṣalu baṣalu f yaṣalin yiṣalin baṣalin Verbs IIw y edit The vowel of the short base of the perfect usually has the same quality as the vowel of the imperfect gam ygum gumt and gam ygim gimt An exception is saf ysuf suft Verbs with yCaC imperfects usually have CiCt perfects 11 Verbs IIIw y edit In the perfect both CaCa and CiCi are found Form IV edit Form IV is not productive in the sedentary dialects of Amman or Karak A conservative feature of the sedentary Balqawi Hōrani group is the preservation of Form IV which is productive in three uses 12 to create transitive verbs from nouns and adjectives bʿad yibʿid to go away from bʿid far to create weather verbs stat tisti to rain to derive causative verbs from intransitive verbs with stem CvCvC gʿad yigʿid to wake sth up from gaʿad yugʿud to sit down Negation edit Qdar is the infinitive form of the verb can Baqdar means I can I can t is Baqdares adding an es or is to the end of a verb makes it negative if the word ends in a vowel then a s should be enough An in depth example of the negation Baqdarelhomm figuratively means I can handle them Baqdarelhommes means I cannot handle them the same statement meaning can be achieved by Baqdares l il hommLegal status editJordanian Arabic is not regarded as the official language even though it has diverged significantly from Classic Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic MSA 13 14 15 A large number of Jordanians however call their language Arabic while referring to the original Arabic language as Fusħa This is common in many countries that speak languages or dialects derived from Arabic and can prove to be quite confusing to whom Whenever a book is published it is usually published in English French or in MSA and not in Levantine 13 14 15 Writing systems editSome of this section s listed sources may not be reliable Please help improve this article by looking for better more reliable sources Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message General remarks edit There are many ways of representing Levantine Arabic in writing The most common is the scholastic Jordanian Latin alphabet JLA system which uses many accents to distinguish between the sounds this system is used within this article Other Levantine countries however use their own alphabets and transliterations making cross border communication inconvenient 16 Consonants edit There are some phonemes of the Jordanian language that are easily pronounced by English speakers others are completely foreign to English making these sounds difficult to pronounce Arabic consonant JLA IPA Explanation ب b b As English b ت t t As English t in still without the English aspiration ث ṯ 8 As English th in thief It is rare mostly in words borrowed from MSA ج j dʒ As English j jam or s in vision depending on accent and individual speaker s preference ح ḥ ħ Somewhat like English h but deeper in the throat خ ẖ x As German ch in Bach د d d As English d ذ ḏ d As English th in this It is rare mostly in words borrowed from MSA ر ṛ ɾˤ Simultaneous pronunciation of r and a weak ayn below ر r ɾ As is Scottish Italian or Spanish ز z z As English z س s s As English s ش s ʃ As English sh ص ṣ sˤ Simultaneous pronunciation of s and a weak ayn below ض ḍ dˤ Simultaneous pronunciation of d and a weak ayn below ط ṭ tˤ Simultaneous pronunciation of unaspirated t and a weak ayn below ظ ẓ zˤ Simultaneous pronunciation of z and a weak ayn below ع ʿ ʕ This is the ayn It is pronounced as ḥ but with vibrating larynx غ ġ ɣ As in g of Spanish pagar ف f f As English f ق q q Similar to English k but pronounced further back in the mouth at the uvula It is rare mostly in words borrowed from MSA apart from the dialect of Ma daba or that of the Hauran Druzes ك k k As English k in skill without the English aspiration ل l l As English l م m m As English m ن n n As English n ه h h As English h و w w As English w ي y j As English y in yellow Vowels edit Contrasting with the rich consonant inventory Jordanian Arabic has much fewer vowels than English Yet as in English vowel duration is relevant compare i in bin and bean JLA IPA Explanation a a or ɑ As English hut or hot the latter linked to the presence of ṣ ḍ ṭ ẓ ẖ ʿ ḥ or ṛ a a or ɑ The previous one but longer you hear ɑ in father Amman is ʕɑm ma n i i As in English hit i i As in English heat u u As in English put u u As in English fool e e French ete e e As in English pear or slightly more closed o o As in French cote ō o As French faune or German Sohn External Influences editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Modern Standard Arabic MSA is spoken in formal TV programs and in Modern Standard Arabic classes as well as to quote poetry and historical phrases It is also the language used to write and read in formal situations if English is not being used However MSA is not spoken during regular conversations MSA is taught in most schools and a large number of Jordanian citizens are proficient in reading and writing formal Arabic However foreigners residing in Jordan who learn the Levantine language generally find it difficult to comprehend formal MSA particularly if they did not attend a school that teaches it Other influences include English French Turkish and Persian Many loan words from these languages can be found in the Jordanian dialects particularly English However students also have the option of learning French in schools Currently there is a small society of French speakers called Francophone and it is quite notable in the country The language is also spoken by people who are interested in the cultural and commercial features of France See also editEnglish based creole language Jordan Academy of ArabicReferences edit South Levantine Arabic at Ethnologue 27th ed 2024 nbsp a b c d e Palva Heikki 1 January 1984 A general classification for the Arabic dialects spoken in Palestine and Transjordan Studia Orientalia a b c Palva Heikki Northwest Arabian Arabic Encyclopedia of Arabic language and linguistics Vol III Leiden Boston Brill 2008 pp 400 408 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Younes Igor Herin Bruno 1 January 2016 Sawi Arabic Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online Edition a b c Herin Bruno Younes Igor Al Wer Enam Al Sirour Youssef March 2022 The Classification of Bedouin Arabic Insights from Northern Jordan Languages 7 1 1 doi 10 3390 languages7010001 ISSN 2226 471X Sakarna Ahmad Khalaf 2002 The Bedouin Dialect of Al Zawaida Tribe Southern Jordan Al Arabiyya 35 61 86 ISSN 0889 8731 JSTOR 43192846 Alsaraireh Mohammad Yousef Altakhaineh Abdel Rahman Mitib Khalifah Lama Ahmed 31 December 2023 The use of question tags in Jordanian Arabic by Facebook users Cogent Arts amp Humanities 10 1 doi 10 1080 23311983 2023 2261198 ISSN 2331 1983 Al Wer Enam Horesh Uri Fanis Maria Herin Bruno 1 January 2015 How Arabic regional features become sectarian features Jordan as a case study Enam Al Wer Uri Horesh Bruno Herin Maria Fanis Zeitschrift fur Arabische Linguistik ZAL 2015 Sawaie Mohammed 2008 Jordanian Arabic Amman In Kees Versteegh ed Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Vol II Leiden Brill pp 505 509 a b c d e f g h i j Al Wer Enam 30 May 2011 Jordanian Arabic Amman Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Brill retrieved 4 August 2022 a b c d e f g h i j k l Herin Bruno 1 January 2014 The dialect of Salt Jordan Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Lutz Edzard Rudolf de Jong Eds Brill Online Herin Bruno 2013 Do Jordanians really speak like Palestinians Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies 13 99 114 doi 10 5617 jais 4629 ISSN 0806 198X a b Jordanian Arabic phrasebook iGuide Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Iguide travel Retrieved on 19 October 2011 a b South Levantine Arabic at Ethnologue 25th ed 2022 nbsp a b iTunes Podcasts Jordanian Arabic Language Lessons by Peace Corps Archived 21 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Itunes apple com 16 February 2007 Retrieved on 19 October 2011 Diana Darke 2006 Syria Bradt Travel Guides p 19 ISBN 978 1 84162 162 3 Further reading editDoughan Yazan 2017 Imaginaries of Space and Language A historical view of the scalar enregisterment of Jordanian Arabic International Journal of Arabic Linguistics 3 2 77 109 ISSN 2421 9835 External links edit nbsp Levantine Arabic test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator nbsp Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Levantine Arabic nbsp For a list of words relating to Jordanian Arabic see the South Levantine Arabic language category of words in Wiktionary the free dictionary nbsp Wikivoyage has a phrasebook for Jordanian Arabic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jordanian Arabic amp oldid 1220163764, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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