Syrian Arabic


Syrian Arabic refers to any of the Arabic varieties spoken in Syria, or specifically to Levantine Arabic.

Aleppo, Idlib, and Coastal dialects

Aleppo and surroundings

Characterized by the imperfect with a-: ašṛab ‘I drink’, ašūf ‘I see’, and by a pronounced ʾimāla of the type sēfaṛ/''ysēfer'', with subdialects:
  1. Muslim Aleppine
  2. Christian Aleppine
  3. Rural dialects similar to Muslim Aleppine
  4. Mountain dialects
  5. Rural dialects
  6. Bēbi
  7. Mixed dialects

    Idlib and surroundings

These dialects are transitional between the Aleppine and the Coastal and Central dialects. They are characterized by *q > ʔ, ʾimāla of the type the type sāfaṛ/ysēfer and ṣālaḥ/yṣēliḥ, diphthongs in every position, a- elision, type perfect, ʾimāla in reflexes of *CāʔiC, and vocabulary such as "plow sole".

Coast and coastal mountains

Source:
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. There is pronounced ʾimāla. Unstressed a is elided or raised to i and u whenever possible: +t >, +it >, +it >, +t >, +ayt >, +t >, * > >, * >. The feminine plural demonstrative pronoun is, or. It can be divided into several subdialects:
  1. Transitional between Idlib and the northern coastal dialects
  2. Northern coastal dialects
  3. Northern coastal dialects
  4. Latakia
  5. Central coastal dialects
  6. Mḥardi
  7. Banyās
  8. Southern coastal dialects
  9. Tartūs, Arwad
  10. Alawite and Ismaelite dialects

    Central dialects

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:

Central-North

Leans toward the Idlib and Coastal dialects. Preservation of *q, 2nd masc. inti, 2nd fem. inte, feminine forms in the plural,.

Tayybet əlʔImām / Sōrān

Preservation of interdentals. 2/3 pl. masc. ending -a:,,,. 2nd plural m/f inta -. 3rd plural m/f hinhan -. The perfect of the primae alif verbs are ake, axe. In the imperfect, yāka, yāxa. The participle is mēke.

Hama

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.

Central-South w/ *''q'' > ''q''

Preservation of *''q.''

Central-South w/ *''q'' > ''ʔ''

Characterized by *q > ''ʔ.''

Bedouin-Sedentary mixed dialect

Preservation of interdentals and terms like alhaz "now".

Central Syrian dialect continuum, steppe dialects and steppe's edge

Source:

Suxni

Characterized by *q > k, *g > c , *k > č, and ʾimāla of type *lisān > lsīn. Distinctive pronouns are. aham and. suffix -či. The suffix of the verbal a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form ʾílbis "he got dressed".

Palmyrene

Characterized by preserved *q, *g > č, and unconditioned ʾimāla in hēda. Distinctive pronouns are ahu - hinna, and. suffix -ki. The suffix of the verbal a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form ʾílbis "he got dressed".

Qarawi

Characterized by preserved *q and unconditioned ʾimāla in hēda. Distinctive pronouns are hunni - hinni. The suffix of the verbal a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form lbīs "he got dressed".

Saddi

Characterized by preserved *q and pronouns hūwun - hīyin. The suffix of the verbal a-Type is -at.

Rastan

Characterized by preserved *q and the changes masaku > masakaw# and masakin > masake:n# in pause. Distinctive pronouns are. hinne, and the suffix of the verbal a-Type is -''at.''

Nabki

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. suffix -ke. The a-Type perfects take the form ḍarōb and the i-type lbēs. The suffix of the verbal a-Type is -et, with allophony ḍarbet - ḍárbatu.

Eastern Qalamūn

Characterized by *q > ʔ and ʾimāla of the i-umlaut type. Distinctive pronouns are. suffix -a/-e. The suffix of the verbal a-Type is -at.

Mʿaḏ̣ḏ̣amīye

Characterized by *q > ʔ and unconditioned ʾimāla in hēda. Distinctive pronouns are. suffix -ki. The perfect conjugation is of the type, similar to the qǝltu dialects of Iraq. Also like qǝltu dialects, it has lengthened forms like ṣafṛā "yellow ".

Qalamūn

The Qalamūn dialects have strong links to Central Lebanese. The short vowels i/''u are found in all positions. Pasual kbīr > # 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. 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.

Qara

No interdentals

Yabrūdi

No interdentals

Central Qalamūn

Conservation of interdentals, subdialects:
  1. Ain al-Tinah
  2. Central, tends to East Qalamūn
  3. Rās ilMaʿarra
  4. Gubbe
  5. Al-Sarkha
  6. Maʿlūla
  7. Jubb'adin / GubbʿAdīn

    Southern Qalamūn

Conservation of interdentals, a-elision +t >, distinctive pronouns are.. Subdialects are:
  2. ʿAkawbar, Tawwane, Hile
  3. Hafīr ilFawqa, Badda
  4. Qtayfe
  5. Sēdnāya
  6. Maʿarrit Sēdnāya
  7. Rankūs
  8. Talfita
  9. Halbūn
  10. Hafīr itTahta
  11. itTall
  12. Mnin
  13. Drayj

    Northern Barada valley

No interdentals, conservation of diphthongs
  1. Sirgāya
  2. Blūdān
  3. izZabadāni
  4. Madāya

    Damascus and surroundings

Transitional Damascus - Qalamūn

These dialects have no interdentals, no diphthongs, and a reflex of *g > ž. The suffix of the verbal a-Type is -it, ḍarab+it > ḍárbit. The short vowels i/''u'' are found in all positions. Demonstrative plural pronoun.

Damascus

Other dialects, accents, and varieties

Horan dialects

The Hauran area is split between Syria and Jordan and speak largely the same dialect
  1. Central dialects
  2. Gēdūri
  3. Mountain dialects
  4. Zāwye
  5. Mixed dialect Čanāčer/Zāčye

    Mount Hermon and Jabal al-Druze area

Dialects of Mount Hermon and Druze have a Lebanese origin
  1. Autochthonous sedentary dialects
  2. Mount Hermon dialect
  3. Druze dialect

    Sedentary East Syrian

Mesopotamian (Turkey)

  1. Qsōrāni
  2. Tall Bēdar
  3. Mardilli
  4. Azxēni

    Mesopotamian (Syria)

  5. Deir ez-Zor
  6. Albū Kmāl

    Autochthonous

  7. Xātūnī

    Bedouin dialects

and Najdi Arabic are also spoken in Syria.