Libyan Arabic
Encyclopedia
Libyan Arabic is a collective term for the closely related varieties of Arabic
spoken in Libya
. 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 into western Egypt
.
of Libyan Arabic into Latin script poses a few problems. First, there is not one standard transcription in use even for Standard Arabic. The use of IPA
alone is not sufficient as it obscures some points that can be better understood if several different allophone
s in Libyan Arabic are transcribed using the same symbol. On the other hand, Standard Arabic transcription schemes, while providing good support for representing Arabic sounds that are not normally represented by the Latin script, do not list symbols for other sounds found in Libyan Arabic. Therefore, to make this article more legible, DIN 31635
is used with a few additions to render phoneme
s particular to Libyan Arabic. These additions are as follow:
-Sulaimi
migration, and the migration of Arabs from Muslim Spain to North Africa following the reconquista
. Libyan Arabic has also been influenced by Italian
, and to a lesser extent by Turkish
. A Berber
substratum
also exists.
. It is also used in Libyan folk poetry, TV dramas and comedies, songs, as well as in cartoons. Libyan Arabic is also used as a lingua franca
by non-Arab Libyans whose mother tongue is not Arabic. Libyan Arabic is not normally written, as the written register
is normally Modern Standard Arabic, but Libyan Arabic is the main language for cartoonists, and the only suitable language for writing Libyan folk poetry. It is also written in internet forums, emails and in instant messaging applications.
dialects, the q sound of literary Arabic
is realized as a ɡ, except in words recently borrowed from literary Arabic.
The following table shows the consonants used in Libyan Arabic. Note: some sounds occur in certain regional varieties
while being completely absent in others.
In western dialects, the interdental fricatives /θ ð ðˤ/ have merged with the corresponding dental stops /t d dˤ/. Eastern dialects generally still distinguish the two sets, but there is a tendency to replace /dˤ/ with /ðˤ/.
The e and o vowels exist only in long form. This can be explained by the fact that these vowels were originally diphthong
s in Classical Arabic with /eː/ replacing /ai/ and /oː/ replacing /au/. In some eastern varieties, however, the classical /ai/ has changed to /ei/ and /au/ to /ou/.
Libyan Arabic has at least three clicks
, which are used interjection
ally, a trait shared with the Bedouin
dialects of central Arabia. The first is used for affirmative responses and is generally considered very casual and sometimes associated with low social status. The second is a dental click
and used for negative responses and is similar to the English 'tut'. The third is a palatal click
used exclusively by women having a meaning close to that of the English word 'alas'.
An anaptyctic
[ə] is inserted between C3 and C4 to ease pronunciation, changing the structure above into the following.
On the other hand Eastern Libyan always has an anaptyctic
ə between C1 and C2 in the following manner.
, Berber
and English
words.
. The following table serves to illustrate this relation. The past tense
is used in the case of verbs as it is more distinctive and has been traditionally used in Arabic lexicon
s. Canonically, these verbs are pronounced with the final 'a' (marker of the past tense in Classical Arabic). This notation is preserved the table below. However, the relation between Libyan and Classical Arabic verbs can be better understood if the final 'a' is dropped, in accordance with the elision
rule of pre-pause vowels of Classical Arabic.
1. Western Libyan pronunciation is used in the above table.
words were borrowed during the Ottoman
era of Libya. Words of Turkish origin are not as common as Italian ones.
of what corresponds to modern-day Libya, Berber
was the native language for most people. This led to the borrowing of a number of Berber words in Libyan Arabic. Many Berber
-speaking people continue to live in Libya today but it is not clear to what extent Berber language continues to influence Libyan Arabic.
singular
initial n- with the rest of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum
to which it belongs. Similar to other Arabic dialects, Libyan does not mark grammatical case
s by declension
. However, it has a rich verb
al conjugation
structure.
(masculine and feminine) and three numbers
(singular, dual, and plural). Paucal number also exists for some nouns. The Diminutive
is also still widely used productively
(especially by women) to add an endearing or an empathetic connotation to the original noun. As in Classical Arabic, rules for the dimunitive formation are based on vowel apophony
.
Indefinite
ness is not marked. Definite nouns are marked using the same Classical Arabic definite article al
, but with somewhat different rules of pronuciation:
Tripoli dialect is used in the table above
Strong roots follow more predictable rules of conjugation and they can be classified into three categories for Stem I in Western Libyan Arabic:
Please note that this classification is not always strictly followed. For example the 3rd f. past of the root r-g-d, which is a u-verb, is usually pronounced [rəɡdət] instead of [ruɡdət].
Note also that a-verbs and u-verbs follow the same rules in the past conjugation.
1. The i in an i-verb is usually pronounced [ə].
2. In roots with initial uvular, pharyngeal
and glottal
phonemes (namely χ ħ h ʁ ʕ ʔ, but not q), i in the present and imperative is pronounced [e]. For example, the root ʁ-l-b (to overcome) is conjugated as jeʁləb, teʁləb, etc.
1.Realized variously as a and ɑ depending on the consonat structure of the word.
1. In roots with initial uvular, pharyngeal
and glottal
phonemes (namely χ ħ h ʁ ʕ ʔ, but not q) , u in the present and imperative is realised by o. For example, the root ʁ-r-f (to scoop up) is conjugated as joʁrəf, toʁrəf, etc.
Conjugation in the Eastern Libyan Arabic is more fine grained, yielding a richer structure.
Libyans usually have to substitute some Libyan Arabic words to make themselves understood to other Arabic speakers, especially Middle East
erners. Substitute words are usually borrowed from Modern Standard or Egyptian Arabic
. The following table shows some of the commonly replaced words.
Generally, all Italian and to some extent Turkish loanwords are substituted.
It should be noted, however, that if a word is replaced it does not mean that it is exclusively Libyan. This situation sometimes arises because the speaker, mistakenly, guesses that the word does not exist in the hearer's dialect. For example the word zarda (feast, picnic) has close variants in other Maghrebi dialects but is usually substituted in Maghrebi contexts because most speakers do not know that such variants exist.
Libyan exists in Libya as a contact language used by non-Arabs, mostly Saharan and sub-Saharan Africans living in Libya
. Similar to all pidgins, it has a simplified structure and limited expressive power.
Varieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
spoken in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. It can be divided into two major dialect areas; the eastern centred in Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
and Bayda, and the western centred in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and Misrata. The eastern variety extends beyond the borders to the east into western Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Note on transcription notation
The transcriptionTranscription (linguistics)
Transcription in the linguistic sense is the systematic representation of language in written form. The source can either be utterances or preexisting text in another writing system, although some linguists only consider the former as transcription.Transcription should not be confused with...
of Libyan Arabic into Latin script poses a few problems. First, there is not one standard transcription in use even for Standard Arabic. The use of IPA
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
alone is not sufficient as it obscures some points that can be better understood if several different allophone
Allophone
In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
s in Libyan Arabic are transcribed using the same symbol. On the other hand, Standard Arabic transcription schemes, while providing good support for representing Arabic sounds that are not normally represented by the Latin script, do not list symbols for other sounds found in Libyan Arabic. Therefore, to make this article more legible, DIN 31635
DIN 31635
DIN 31635 is a Deutsches Institut für Normung standard for the transliteration of the Arabic alphabet adopted in 1982. It is based on the rules of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft as modified by the International Orientalist Congress 1936 in Rome...
is used with a few additions to render phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
s particular to Libyan Arabic. These additions are as follow:
| IPA | Extended DIN |
|---|---|
| ɡ | g |
| oː | ō |
| eː | ē |
| ə | ə |
| zˤ | ż |
| ʒ | j |
History
Two major historical events have shaped the Libyan dialect: the HilalianBanu Hilal
The Banu Hilal were a confederation of Arabian Bedouin tribes that migrated from Upper Egypt into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. Other authors suggest that the tribes left the grasslands on the upper Nile because of...
-Sulaimi
Beni Sulaym
The Banu Sulaym were an Arab tribe that had lived in Hejaz and Nejd during the rise of Islam, and settled in North Africa along with Banu Hilal in the 11th century.-Origin:Banu Sulaym trace their origin to Qais 'Ailan bin Mudhar bin Nizar bin Ma'ad bin Adnan....
migration, and the migration of Arabs from Muslim Spain to North Africa following the reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
. Libyan Arabic has also been influenced by Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and to a lesser extent by Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. A Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
substratum
Substratum
In linguistics, a stratum or strate is a language that influences, or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum is a language which has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum is the language that has higher power or prestige. Both substratum and superstratum...
also exists.
Domains of use
The Libyan dialect is used predominantly in spoken communication in LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. It is also used in Libyan folk poetry, TV dramas and comedies, songs, as well as in cartoons. Libyan Arabic is also used as a lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
by non-Arab Libyans whose mother tongue is not Arabic. Libyan Arabic is not normally written, as the written register
Register (linguistics)
In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. For example, when speaking in a formal setting an English speaker may be more likely to adhere more closely to prescribed grammar, pronounce words ending in -ing with a velar nasal...
is normally Modern Standard Arabic, but Libyan Arabic is the main language for cartoonists, and the only suitable language for writing Libyan folk poetry. It is also written in internet forums, emails and in instant messaging applications.
Phonology
As is the case with all BedouinBedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
dialects, the q sound of literary Arabic
Literary Arabic
Modern Standard Arabic , Standard Arabic, or Literary Arabic is the standard and literary variety of Arabic used in writing and in most formal speech....
is realized as a ɡ, except in words recently borrowed from literary Arabic.
The following table shows the consonants used in Libyan Arabic. Note: some sounds occur in certain regional varieties
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
while being completely absent in others.
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Inter- dental Interdental consonant Interdental consonants are produced by placing the blade of the tongue against the upper incisors... |
Dental | Post- alveolar Postalveolar consonant Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate... or palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
Pharyn- geal Pharyngeal consonant A pharyngeal consonant is a type of consonant which is articulated with the root of the tongue against the pharynx.-Pharyngeal consonants in the IPA:Pharyngeal consonants in the International Phonetic Alphabet :... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | emphatic | plain | emphatic | ||||||||
| Stop Stop consonant In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &... |
voiceless | t | tˤ | k | (q) | (ʔ) | |||||
| voiced | b | d | dˤ | ɡ | |||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | θ | s | sˤ | ʃ | χ | ħ | h | ||
| voiced | (v) | ð | ðˤ | z | zˤ | ʒ | ʁ | ʕ | |||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n | |||||||||
| Lateral Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... |
l | ɫ | |||||||||
| Trill Trill consonant In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. Standard Spanish <rr> as in perro is an alveolar trill, while in Parisian French it is almost always uvular.... |
r | ˤ | |||||||||
| Approximant | w | j | |||||||||
The e and o vowels exist only in long form. This can be explained by the fact that these vowels were originally diphthong
Diphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
s in Classical Arabic with /eː/ replacing /ai/ and /oː/ replacing /au/. In some eastern varieties, however, the classical /ai/ has changed to /ei/ and /au/ to /ou/.
Libyan Arabic has at least three clicks
Click consonant
Clicks are speech sounds found as consonants in many languages of southern Africa, and in three languages of East Africa. Examples of these sounds familiar to English speakers are the tsk! tsk! or tut-tut used to express disapproval or pity, the tchick! used to spur on a horse, and the...
, which are used interjection
Interjection
In grammar, an interjection or exclamation is a word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker . Filled pauses such as uh, er, um are also considered interjections...
ally, a trait shared with the Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
dialects of central Arabia. The first is used for affirmative responses and is generally considered very casual and sometimes associated with low social status. The second is a dental click
Dental click
Dental clicks are a family of click consonants found, as constituents of words, only in Africa and in the Damin ritual jargon of Australia. The tut-tut! or tsk! tsk! sound used to express disapproval or pity is a dental click, although it isn't a speech sound in that context.The symbol in the...
and used for negative responses and is similar to the English 'tut'. The third is a palatal click
Palatal click
The palato-alveolar clicks are a family of click consonants found only in Africa. They are commonly called palatal clicks.The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents the place of articulation of these sounds is , a pipe...
used exclusively by women having a meaning close to that of the English word 'alas'.
Syllable structure
Although Western Libyan Arabic allows for the following syllable structure to occur.- syllable: C1(C2)V1(V2)(C3)(C4)
An anaptyctic
Epenthesis
In phonology, epenthesis is the addition of one or more sounds to a word, especially to the interior of a word. Epenthesis may be divided into two types: excrescence, for the addition of a consonant, and anaptyxis for the addition of a vowel....
[ə] is inserted between C3 and C4 to ease pronunciation, changing the structure above into the following.
- C1(C2)V1(V2)(C3)(əC4).
On the other hand Eastern Libyan always has an anaptyctic
Epenthesis
In phonology, epenthesis is the addition of one or more sounds to a word, especially to the interior of a word. Epenthesis may be divided into two types: excrescence, for the addition of a consonant, and anaptyxis for the addition of a vowel....
ə between C1 and C2 in the following manner.
- C1(əC2)V1(V2)(C3)(C4).
Vocabulary
Most of the vocabulary in Libyan Arabic is of Classical Arabic origin, usually with a modified interconsonantal vowel structure. Many Italian loanwords also exist, in addition to TurkishTurkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
words.
Relation to Classical Arabic vocabulary
The bulk of vocabulary in Libyan Arabic has the same meaning as in Classical Arabic. However, many words have different but related meanings to those of Classical ArabicClassical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
. The following table serves to illustrate this relation. The past tense
Past tense
The past tense is a grammatical tense that places an action or situation in the past of the current moment , or prior to some specified time that may be in the speaker's past, present, or future...
is used in the case of verbs as it is more distinctive and has been traditionally used in Arabic lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
s. Canonically, these verbs are pronounced with the final 'a' (marker of the past tense in Classical Arabic). This notation is preserved the table below. However, the relation between Libyan and Classical Arabic verbs can be better understood if the final 'a' is dropped, in accordance with the elision
Elision
Elision is the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase, producing a result that is easier for the speaker to pronounce...
rule of pre-pause vowels of Classical Arabic.
| Libyan Arabic | Classical Arabic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word1 | IPA1 | Meaning | Word | IPA | Closest Meaning |
| ʃbaħ | (3rd m.) saw (perceived with the eyes) | ʃabaħa | appeared vaguely | ||
| dwe | (3rd m.) spoke | dawaː | rumbled | ||
| loːħ | wood | lauħ | board, plank | ||
| wɑːʕər | difficult | waʕr | rough terrain | ||
| ʃaħːətˤ | (3rd m. trans.) stretched | ʃaħitˤɑ | became distant | ||
1. Western Libyan pronunciation is used in the above table.
Italian loanwords
Italian loanwords exist mainly, but not exclusively, as a technical jargon. For example machinery parts, workshop tools, electrical supplies, names of fish species, etc.| Libyan Arabic | Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word | IPA | Meaning | Word | Meaning | |
| sˤɑːliːtˤa | slope | salita | up slope | ||
| kənʃeːlːu | metallic gate | cancello | gate | ||
| anɡuli | corner | angolo | corner | ||
| tˤɑːntˤɑ, utˤɑːntˤɑ | truck | ottanta | eighty (a model of a truck of Italian make) | ||
| teːsta | a head butt | testa | head | ||
Turkish loanwords
TurkishTurkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
words were borrowed during the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
era of Libya. Words of Turkish origin are not as common as Italian ones.
| Libyan Arabic | Turkish Turkish language Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word | IPA | Meaning | Word | Meaning | |
| kaːʃiːk | spoon | kaşık | spoon | ||
| ʃiːʃa | bottle | şişe | bottle | ||
| kɑːʁətˤ | paper | kâğıt | paper | ||
| ʃoːɡ | plenty of | çok | plenty of | ||
Berber loanwords
Before the mass ArabizationArabization
Arabization or Arabisation describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic and/or incorporates Arab culture...
of what corresponds to modern-day Libya, Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
was the native language for most people. This led to the borrowing of a number of Berber words in Libyan Arabic. Many Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
-speaking people continue to live in Libya today but it is not clear to what extent Berber language continues to influence Libyan Arabic.
Grammar
Libyan Arabic shares the feature of the first personGrammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
singular
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
initial n- with the rest of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum
Dialect continuum
A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the...
to which it belongs. Similar to other Arabic dialects, Libyan does not mark grammatical case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
s by declension
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
. However, it has a rich verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
al conjugation
Grammatical conjugation
In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection . Conjugation may be affected by person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, voice, or other grammatical categories...
structure.
Nouns
Nouns in Libyan Arabic are marked for two gendersGrammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
(masculine and feminine) and three numbers
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
(singular, dual, and plural). Paucal number also exists for some nouns. The Diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
is also still widely used productively
Productivity (linguistics)
In linguistics, productivity is the degree to which native speakers use a particular grammatical process, especially in word formation. Since use to produce novel structures is the clearest proof of usage of a grammatical process, the evidence most often appealed to as establishing productivity is...
(especially by women) to add an endearing or an empathetic connotation to the original noun. As in Classical Arabic, rules for the dimunitive formation are based on vowel apophony
Apophony
In linguistics, apophony is the alternation of sounds within a word that indicates grammatical information .-Description:Apophony is...
.
Indefinite
Indefinite
Indefinite may refer to:*In mathematics:**When talking about positive or negative indefinite forms in multilinear algebra, see definite bilinear form.**"Indefinite integral" refers to the antiderivative....
ness is not marked. Definite nouns are marked using the same Classical Arabic definite article al
Al-
is the definite article in the Arabic language; a particle whose function is to render the noun on which it is prefixed definite. For example, the word kitāb 'book' can be made definite by prefixing it with al-, resulting in al-kitāb 'the book'...
, but with somewhat different rules of pronuciation:
- For nouns beginning with Qamari letters, the definite article is pronounced either [l]--for words with an initial single consonant onsetOnsetOnset may refer to:*Onset , the beginning of a musical note or sound*Interonset interval, a term in music*Syllable onset, a term in phonetics and phonology*Onset, Massachusetts, village in the United States...
--or [lə], for words with a double consonant onset. Except for the letter j /ʒ/, Qamari letters in Libyan Arabic are the same as in Classical Arabic, even for those letters that have become different phonemes such as q changing to g. The letter j /ʒ/, which corresponds to the Classical Arabic phoneme /dʒ/ has changed from being a Qamari letter to a Shamsi letter. - For nouns beginning with Shamsi letters, which in Libyan Arabic include the letter jJĴ or ĵ is a letter in Esperanto orthography representing the sound .While Esperanto orthography uses a diacritic for its four postalveolar consonants, as do the Latin-based Slavic alphabets, the base letters are Romano-Germanic...
/ʒ/, the definite article is pronounced [ə] with the first consonant geminatedGeminationIn phonetics, gemination happens when a spoken consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short consonant. Gemination is distinct from stress and may appear independently of it....
.
Dual
While marking verbs for the dual number has been lost completely in Libyan Arabic (in fact, in all Arabic dialects), nouns have a specialized dual number form. However, in Eastern Libyan it tends to be more widespread.Demonstratives
Various sets of demonstratives exist in Libyan Arabic. Following is a list of some of these. Please note that the grouping in columns does not necessarily reflect grouping in reality:| Category | Demonstr. | IPA | Demonstr. | IPA | Demonstr. | IPA | Demonstr. | IPA | Demonstr. | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| this (Masc. sg.) | haːda | haːdaja | həda | hɑðˤɑ | hɑðˤɑjːeːhi | |||||
| this (fem. sg.) | haːdi | haːdija | hədi | hɑðˤi | hɑðˤijːeːhi | |||||
| that (masc. sg.) | haːdaːka | haːdˤaːkaja | hadˤaːk | hɑðˤakki | ||||||
| that (fem. sg.) | haːdiːka | haːdiːkaja | hadiːk |
Verbs
Similar to Classical Arabic stem formation is an important morphological aspect of Libyan Arabic. However, stems III and X are unproductive, whereas stems IV and IX do not exist. The following table shows Classical Arabic stems and their Libyan Arabic counterparts.| Verbal Stem Formation in Libyan Arabic1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical Arabic | Libyan Arabic | Status | |
| Past (3rd sg. masc.) | Past (3rd sg. masc.) | ||
| I | Productive | ||
| II | Productive | ||
| III | Unproductive | ||
| IV | Does not Exist | ||
| V | Productive | ||
| VI | Fairly productive. (usually in verbs that allow for reciprocity Reciprocal (grammar) A reciprocal is a linguistic structure that marks a particular kind of relationship between two noun phrases. In a reciprocal construction, each of the participants occupies both the role of agent and patient with respect to each other... of action) |
||
| VII | Productive | ||
| VIII | Possible innovation in Libyan Arabic. The general meaning of the stem is the same as that of stem VII and does not correspond to the Classical Arabic meaning of the same stem. It is only used when the initial of the triliteral of the verb begins with some sonorant Sonorant In phonetics and phonology, a sonorant is a speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the vocal tract; fricatives and plosives are not sonorants. Vowels are sonorants, as are consonants like and . Other consonants, like or , restrict the airflow enough to cause turbulence, and... s e.g. l,n,m,r. If stem VII were used with the sonorants mentioned above, the n in the stem would assimilate into the sonorant. |
||
| IX | Does not Exist | ||
| X | Unproductive (Rare) | ||
Tripoli dialect is used in the table above
Conjugation
Similar to Classical Arabic and other Arabic dialects, Libyan Arabic distinguishes between two main categories of roots; strong roots (those that do not have vowels or hamza) and weak roots.Conjugation of strong roots
Strong roots follow more predictable rules of conjugation and they can be classified into three categories for Stem I in Western Libyan Arabic:
- i-verbs (e.g. k-t-b to write) follow an interconsonantal vowel structure that is predominated by an i (normally pronounced [ə])
- a-verbs (e.g. r-k-b to mount, to ascend) follow an interconsonantal vowel structure that is predominated by an a
- u-verbs (e.g. r-g-ṣ to dance) follow an interconsonantal vowel structure that is predominated by an u
Please note that this classification is not always strictly followed. For example the 3rd f. past of the root r-g-d, which is a u-verb, is usually pronounced [rəɡdət] instead of [ruɡdət].
Note also that a-verbs and u-verbs follow the same rules in the past conjugation.
| Person Grammatical person Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns... |
Past Past tense The past tense is a grammatical tense that places an action or situation in the past of the current moment , or prior to some specified time that may be in the speaker's past, present, or future... |
Present Present tense The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time. This linguistic definition refers to a concept that indicates a feature of the meaning of a verb... |
Imperative Imperative mood The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| 3rd (m.) | Not Applicable | ||
| 3rd (f.) | Not Applicable | ||
| 2nd (m.) | |||
| 2nd (f.) | |||
| 1st | Not Applicable | ||
| Plural | |||
| 3rd (m and f) | Not Applicable | ||
| 2nd (m and f) | |||
| 1st (m and f) | Not Applicable | ||
1. The i in an i-verb is usually pronounced [ə].
2. In roots with initial uvular, pharyngeal
Pharyngeal
The word pharyngeal, meaning to do with the pharynx or throat, may refer to:* Pharynx, for pharyngeal anatomy* Pharyngeal muscles**Superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle** Middle pharyngeal constrictor muscle** Inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle...
and glottal
Glottal consonant
Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider...
phonemes (namely χ ħ h ʁ ʕ ʔ, but not q), i in the present and imperative is pronounced [e]. For example, the root ʁ-l-b (to overcome) is conjugated as jeʁləb, teʁləb, etc.
| Person Grammatical person Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns... |
Past Past tense The past tense is a grammatical tense that places an action or situation in the past of the current moment , or prior to some specified time that may be in the speaker's past, present, or future... |
Present Present tense The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time. This linguistic definition refers to a concept that indicates a feature of the meaning of a verb... |
Imperative Imperative mood The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| 3rd (m.) | Not Applicable | ||
| 3rd (f.) | Not Applicable | ||
| 2nd (m.) | |||
| 2nd (f.) | |||
| 1st | Not Applicable | ||
| Plural | |||
| 3rd (m and f) | Not Applicable | ||
| 2nd (m and f) | |||
| 1st (m and f) | Not Applicable | ||
1.Realized variously as a and ɑ depending on the consonat structure of the word.
| Person Grammatical person Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns... |
Past Past tense The past tense is a grammatical tense that places an action or situation in the past of the current moment , or prior to some specified time that may be in the speaker's past, present, or future... |
Present Present tense The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time. This linguistic definition refers to a concept that indicates a feature of the meaning of a verb... |
Imperative Imperative mood The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| 3rd (m.) | Not Applicable | ||
| 3rd (f.) | Not Applicable | ||
| 2nd (m.) | |||
| 2nd (f.) | |||
| 1st | Not Applicable | ||
| Plural | |||
| 3rd (m and f) | Not Applicable | ||
| 2nd (m and f) | |||
| 1st (m and f) | Not Applicable | ||
1. In roots with initial uvular, pharyngeal
Pharyngeal
The word pharyngeal, meaning to do with the pharynx or throat, may refer to:* Pharynx, for pharyngeal anatomy* Pharyngeal muscles**Superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle** Middle pharyngeal constrictor muscle** Inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle...
and glottal
Glottal consonant
Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider...
phonemes (namely χ ħ h ʁ ʕ ʔ, but not q) , u in the present and imperative is realised by o. For example, the root ʁ-r-f (to scoop up) is conjugated as joʁrəf, toʁrəf, etc.
Conjugation in the Eastern Libyan Arabic is more fine grained, yielding a richer structure.
Future tense
Future in Libyan Arabic is formed by prefixing an initial bi - usually contracted to b- to the present tense conjugation. Thus, 'tiktəb' (she writes) becomes 'btiktəb' (she will write). This should not be confused with the indicative marker common in some Eastern Arabic varieties.Intelligibility with other varieties of Arabic
Libyan Arabic is highly intelligible to Tunisians and to a good extent to eastern Algerians. However for most eastern Arabic speakers, including Egyptians, it can be difficult to understand and requires some adaptation.Libyans usually have to substitute some Libyan Arabic words to make themselves understood to other Arabic speakers, especially Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
erners. Substitute words are usually borrowed from Modern Standard or Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic is the language spoken by contemporary Egyptians.It is more commonly known locally as the Egyptian colloquial language or Egyptian dialect ....
. The following table shows some of the commonly replaced words.
| Libyan Arabic | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| halba | halba | plenty |
| dār | daːr | (he) did |
| dwe | dwe | (he) spoke |
| gaʿmiz | ɡaʕməz | (he) sat |
| ngaz | nɡaz | (he) jumped |
| ḫnab | χnab | (he) stole |
Generally, all Italian and to some extent Turkish loanwords are substituted.
It should be noted, however, that if a word is replaced it does not mean that it is exclusively Libyan. This situation sometimes arises because the speaker, mistakenly, guesses that the word does not exist in the hearer's dialect. For example the word zarda (feast, picnic) has close variants in other Maghrebi dialects but is usually substituted in Maghrebi contexts because most speakers do not know that such variants exist.
Pidgin Libyan Arabic
PidginPidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
Libyan exists in Libya as a contact language used by non-Arabs, mostly Saharan and sub-Saharan Africans living in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. Similar to all pidgins, it has a simplified structure and limited expressive power.
See also
- Transliteration of Libyan placenamesTransliteration of Libyan placenamesTransliteration of Libyan placenames is the process of converting Libyan placenames written in the Arabic alphabet into the Latin alphabet. Libyan places have in most cases no common English name so when they are referred to they need to be transliterated either directly from the Libyan Arabic or...
- List of Libyan Arabic words and their Classical Arabic counterparts
- Varieties of ArabicVarieties of ArabicThe Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
- Maghrebi Arabic
- Tunisian ArabicTunisian ArabicTunisian Arabic is a Maghrebi dialect of the Arabic language, spoken by some 11 million people. It is usually known by its own speakers as Derja, which means dialect, to distinguish it from Standard Arabic, or as Tunsi, which means Tunisian...
- Algerian ArabicAlgerian ArabicAlgerian Arabic is the variety or varieties of Arabic spoken in Algeria. In Algeria, as elsewhere, spoken Arabic differs from written Arabic; Algerian Arabic has a vocabulary mostly Arabic, with significant Berber substrates, and many new words and loanwords borrowed from French, Turkish and...
- Moroccan ArabicMoroccan ArabicMoroccan Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco. For official communications, the government and other public bodies use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries. A mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in business...