Lebanese Arabic#Said Akl's orthography

Lebanese Arabic shares many features with other modern varieties of Arabic. Lebanese Arabic, like many other spoken Levantine Arabic varieties, has a syllable structure very different from that of Modern Standard Arabic. While Standard Arabic can have only one consonant at the beginning of a syllable, after which a vowel must follow, Lebanese Arabic commonly has two consonants in the onset.

• Morphology: no mood or grammatical case markings.
• Number: verbal agreement regarding number and gender is required for all subjects, whether already mentioned or not.
• Vocabulary: many borrowings from other languages; most prominently Syriac-Aramaic, Western-Aramaic, Persian, Phoenician, Ottoman Turkish, French, Coptic, as well as, less significantly, from English.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cometolebanon.com/about-lebanon/languages|title=Languages|website=Come To Lebanon|access-date=2018-12-09}}{{Cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/543178 |title=Coptic Lexical Influence on Egyptian Arabic |last=Bishai |first=Wilson B. |date=1964-01-01 |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=39–47 |doi=10.1086/371755 |jstor=543178 |access-date=2022-12-18|url-access=subscription }}
• Some authors, such as the Lebanese statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb, believe that a significant part of the Lebanese grammatical structure is due to Aramaic influences.{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2008/Nov-25/53151-you-may-think-youre-speaking-lebanese-but-some-of-your-words-are-really-syriac.ashx|title=You may think you're speaking Lebanese, but some of your words are really Syriac|date=2008-11-25|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|access-date=2018-06-22}}{{Cite web |url=https://medium.com/east-med-project-history-philology-and-genetics/no-lebanese-is-not-a-dialect-of-arabic-e95320c164c |title=No, Lebanese is not a "dialect of" Arabic |last=Taleb |first=Nassim Nicholas |author-link=Nassim Nicholas Taleb |date=2018-01-02 |website=East Med Project: History, Philology, and Genetics |access-date=2018-12-10 }}

File:Maya Diab interview in Morocco - Oct 28, 2017.webm; she speaks in Lebanese Arabic.]]

• The following example demonstrates two differences between Standard Arabic (Literary Arabic) and Spoken Lebanese Arabic: coffee ({{lang|ar|قهوة}}), Literary Arabic: {{IPA|/ˈqahwa/}}; Lebanese Arabic: {{IPA|[ˈʔahwe]}}. The voiceless uvular plosive {{IPA|/q/}} corresponds to a glottal stop {{IPA|[ʔ]}}, and the final vowel ({{IPA|[{{IPAplink|æ}}~{{IPAplink|a}}~{{IPAplink|ɐ}}]}}) commonly written with {{Transliteration|ar|DIN|tāʾ marbūtah}} ({{lang|ar|ة}}) is raised to {{IPAblink|e}}.
• As a general rule, the voiceless uvular plosive {{IPA|/q/}} is replaced with glottal stop {{IPA|[ʔ]}}, e.g. {{lang|ar|دقيقة}} {{IPA|/daqiːqa/}} 'minute' becomes {{IPA|[dʔiːʔa]}}. This debuccalization of {{IPAslink|q}} is a feature shared with Syrian Arabic, Palestinian Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, and Maltese.
• The exception for this general rule is the Druze of Lebanon who, like the Druze of Syria and Israel, have retained the pronunciation of {{IPAslink|q}} in the centre of direct neighbours who have replaced {{IPAblink|q}} with {{IPAslink|ʔ}} (for example 'heart', which is {{IPA|/qalb/}} in Literary Arabic, becomes {{IPA|[ʔaleb]}} or {{IPA|[ʔalb]}}. The use of {{IPAslink|q}} by Druze is particularly prominent in the mountains and less so in urban areas.
• Unlike most other varieties of Arabic, a few dialects of Lebanese Arabic have retained the classical diphthongs {{IPA|/aj/}} and {{IPA|/aw/}} (pronounced in Lebanese Arabic as {{IPA|[eɪ]}} and {{IPA|[eʊ]}}), which were monophthongised into {{IPAblink|eː}} and {{IPAblink|oː}} elsewhere, although the majority of Lebanese Arabic dialects realize them as {{IPA|[oʊ]}} and {{IPA|[eɪ]}}. In urban dialects (i.e. Beiruti) {{IPAblink|eː}} has replaced {{IPA|/aj/}} and sometimes medial {{IPA|/aː/}}, and {{IPAblink|e}} has replaced final {{IPA|/i/}} making it indistinguishable with {{lang|ar-Latn|tāʾ marbūtah}} ({{lang|ar|ة}}). Also, {{IPAblink|oː}} has replaced {{IPA|/aw/}}; {{IPAblink|o}} replacing some short {{IPA|/u/}}s. In singing, the {{IPA|/aj/}}, {{IPA|/aw/}} and medial {{IPA|/aː/}} are usually maintained for artistic{{specify|date=December 2012}} values.
• The {{IPA|/θ/}} sound from Modern Standard Arabic is sometimes replaced with {{IPA|/t/}} in words from MSA like {{IPA|/θaːnija/}}, (second as in the number) when it becomes {{IPA|/teːnje/}}. Other times, it may be replaced with {{IPA|/s/}} in words like {{IPA|/θaːnija/}} (second as in the time measurement) when it becomes {{IPA|/seːnje/}}. It is assumed that this is to maintain an audible difference between the two words which were originally homophones. In some dialects, the {{IPA|/θ/}} sound is replaced with {{IPA|/t/}} for both words.

Lebanese literary figure Said Akl led a movement to recognize the "Lebanese language" as a distinct prestigious language and oppose it to Standard Arabic, which he considered a "dead language". Akl's idea was relatively successful among the Lebanese diaspora.{{harvnb|Płonka|2006}}

Historian and linguist Ahmad Al-Jallad has argued that modern dialects are not descendants of Classical Arabic, forms of Arabic existing before the formation of Classical Arabic being the historical foundation for the various dialects. Thus he states that, "most of the familiar modern dialects (i.e. Rabat, Cairo, Damascus, etc.) are sedimentary structures, containing layers of Arabics that must be teased out on a case-by-case basis."{{citation |first=Ahmad |last=Al-Jallad |title=A Manual of the Historical Grammar of Arabic |doi=10.1017/S0041977X14000524 |url=https://www.academia.edu/38100372 |via=Academia.edu }} In essence, the linguistic consensus is that Lebanese too is a variety of Arabic.Brustad, Kristen; Zuniga, Emilie (6 March 2019). "Chapter 16: Levantine Arabic". In Huehnergard, John; Pat-El, Na'ama (eds.). The Semitic languages (2nd ed.). London & New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 403–432. {{doi|10.4324/9780429025563}}. {{ISBN|978-0-429-02556-3}}. {{S2CID|166512720}}.Huehnergard, John; Pat-El, Na'ama (eds.). The Semitic languages (2nd ed.). London & New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 3–6. {{ISBN|978-0-429-02556-3}}. {{S2CID|166512720}}.

Several non-linguist commentators, most notably the statistician and essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb, have said that the Lebanese vernacular is not in fact a variety of Arabic at all, but rather a separate Central Semitic language descended from older languages including Aramaic; those who espouse this viewpoint suggest that a large percentage of its vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords, and that this compounds with the use of the Arabic alphabet to disguise the language's true nature. Taleb has recommended that the language be called Northwestern Levantine or neo-Canaanite.{{Cite web|url=https://www.maronite-heritage.com/Lebanese%20Language.php|title=Lebanese Language - MARONITE HERITAGE}}{{cite web|url=https://phoenicia.org/leblanguage.html|title=Phoenicia: The Lebanese Language: What is the difference between the Arabic Language and the Lebanese language?|website=phoenicia.org}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lebaneselanguage.org/language/history/|title=Lebanese Language Institute » History|website=www.lebaneselanguage.org}} However, this classification is at odds with the comparative method of historical linguistics; the lexicon of Lebanese, including basic lexicon, exhibits sound changes and other features that are unique to the Arabic branch of the Semitic language family,{{cite web|url=http://lughat.blogspot.com/2018/01/taleb-unintentionally-proves-lebanese.html|title=Jabal al-Lughat: Taleb unintentionally proves Lebanese comes from Arabic|first=Lameen|last=Souag|date=4 January 2018|publisher=}}{{better source needed|date=May 2025}} making it difficult to categorize it under any other branch, and observations of its morphology also suggest a substantial Arabic makeup.{{cite web|url=http://lughat.blogspot.com/2014/09/why-levantine-is-arabic-not-aramaic_8.html|title=Jabal al-Lughat: Why "Levantine" is Arabic, not Aramaic: Part 2|first=Lameen|last=Souag|date=9 September 2014}}{{better source needed|date=May 2025}} However, this is disputable as Arabic and Aramaic share many cognates, so only words proper to the Arabic language and cognates with Arabic-specific sound changes can certainly only be from Arabic. It is plausible that many words used in Lebanese Arabic today may have been influenced by their respective Aramaic and Canaanite cognates.

• The phonemes {{IPA|/p, v/}} are not native to Lebanese Arabic and are only found in loanwords. They are sometimes realized as {{IPA|[b]}} and {{IPA|[f]}} respectively.
• The velar stop {{IPAblink|ɡ}} occurs in native Lebanese Arabic words but is generally restricted to loanwords, especially from Turkish (e.g. {{lang|apc|جمرك}} gumrok, 'customs'), Persian (e.g. {{lang|apc|أرجيلة}} argīle, 'narghile'), Romance languages (e.g. from French {{lang|apc|سيجارة}} sigāra, 'cigarette'), and Cairene Arabic (e.g. {{lang|apc|جلابية}} jallābiyya, 'galabia').{{Cite encyclopedia |first1=Samia |last1=Naïm |title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics: Lat-pu |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |chapter=Beirut Arabic |editor-first=Kees |editor-last=Versteegh |volume=1 |publisher=Brill |year=2006 |page=275 |isbn=978-90-04-14473-6}} It is realized as {{IPAblink|k}} by some speakers.
• {{IPAblink|q}} can be heard among Druze speech, alternating with a glottal {{IPA|/ʔ/}}.{{Cite book|last1=Khattab|first1=Ghada|title=Phonetic Cues to Gemination in Lebanese Arabic|last2=Al-Tamimi|first2=Jalal|publisher=Newcastle University|year=2009}}

File:Lebanese Arabic vowel chart.svg

This table shows the correspondence between general Lebanese Arabic vowel phonemes and their counterpart realizations in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and other Levantine Arabic varieties.

{{note|1|1}} After back consonants this is pronounced {{IPAblink|ʌ}} in Lebanese Arabic, Central and Northern Levantine varieties, and as {{IPAblink|ɑ}} in Southern Levantine varieties.Abdul-Karim, K. 1979. Aspects of the Phonology of Lebanese Arabic. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Doctoral Dissertation.

Although there is a modern Lebanese Arabic dialect mutually understood by Lebanese people,{{Cite web|url=https://www.maronite-heritage.com/Lebanese%20Language.php|title=Lebanese Language - MARONITE HERITAGE|website=www.maronite-heritage.com|access-date=2018-12-09}} there are regionally distinct variations with, at times, unique pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.Makki, Elrabih Massoud. 1983. The Lebanese dialect of Arabic: Southern Region. (Doctoral dissertation, Georgetown University; 155pp.)

Widely used regional varieties include:

• Beiruti varieties, further distributed according to neighbourhoods, the notable ones being Achrafieh variety, Basta variety, Ras Beirut variety, etc.
• Northern varieties, further distributed regionally, the most notable ones being Tripoli variety, Zgharta variety, Bsharri variety, Koura variety, Akkar variety.
• Southern varieties, with notable ones being the Tyre and Bint Jbeil varieties.
• Beqaa varieties, further divided into varieties, the notable ones being Zahlé and Baalbek-Hermel varieties.
• Mount Lebanon varieties, further divided into regional varieties like the Keserwan variety, the Matin dialect, Shouf variety, etc.

Even in the medieval era, the geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote that: "They say that in the Lebanon district there are spoken seventy dialects, and no one people understands the language of the other, except through an interpreter."{{cite book|last=Le Strange|first=Guy|author-link=Guy Le Strange|date=1890|title=Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500|url=https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|page=78|oclc=1004386 }}

Lebanese Arabic is rarely written, except in novels where a dialect is implied or in some types of poetry that do not use classical Arabic at all. Lebanese Arabic is also utilized in many Lebanese songs, theatrical pieces, local television and radio productions, and very prominently in zajal.

Formal publications in Lebanon, such as newspapers, are typically written in Modern Standard Arabic, French, or English.

While Arabic script is usually employed, informal usage such as online chat may mix and match Latin letter transliterations. The Lebanese poet Said Akl proposed the use of the Latin alphabet but did not gain wide acceptance. Whereas some works, such as Romeo and Juliet and Plato's Dialogues have been transliterated using such systems, they have not{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} gained widespread acceptance. Yet, now, most Arabic web users, when short of an Arabic keyboard, transliterate the Lebanese Arabic words in the Latin alphabet in a pattern similar to the Said Akl alphabet, the only difference being the use of digits to render the Arabic letters with no obvious equivalent in the Latin alphabet.

There is still today no generally accepted agreement on how to use the Latin alphabet to transliterate Lebanese Arabic words. However, Lebanese people are now using Latin numbers while communicating online to make up for sounds not directly associable to Latin letters. This is especially popular over text messages and apps such as WhatsApp.

Examples:

• 2 for ء or ق (qaf is often pronounced as a glottal stop)
• 3 for ع
• 5 or kh for خ
• 7 for ح
• 8 or gh for غ

In 2010, The Lebanese Language Institute released a Lebanese Arabic keyboard layout and made it easier to write Lebanese Arabic in a Latin script, using unicode-compatible symbols to substitute for missing sounds.Lebanese Language Institute: [http://www.lebaneselanguage.org/lll-system/lebanese-latin-letters/ Lebanese Latin Letters The Lebanese Latin Letters]

Image:Said_Akl_Statue_in_Beirut.JPG's statue in the American University of Science and Technology's campus in Beirut, Lebanon]]

Said Akl, the poet, philosopher, writer, playwright and language reformer, designed an alphabet for the Lebanese language using the Latin alphabet in addition to a few newly designed letters and some accented Latin letters to suit the Lebanese phonology in the following pattern:

• Capitalization and punctuation are used normally the same way they are used in French and English
• Some written consonant-letters, depending on their position, inherited a preceding vowel. As L and T.
• Emphatic consonants are not distinguished in spelling by Said Akl's method, with the exception of {{IPA|/zˤ/}} represented by ƶ. Probably Said Akl did not acknowledge any other emphatic consonant.
• Stress is not marked.
• Long vowels and geminated consonants are represented by double letters.
• ꞓ which represents {{IPAslink|ʔ}} (Arabic hamza) was written even initially.
• All of the basic Latin alphabet are used, in addition to other diacriticized ones. Most of the letters loosely represent their IPA counterparts, with some exceptions:

Roger Makhlouf largely uses Akl's alphabet in his Lebanese-English Lexicon.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MC1KuwEACAAJ |first=Roger |last=Makhlouf |title=Lebanese-English Lexicon |date=2018 |publisher=Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US |isbn=978-1-7180-8620-3}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Feghali |first=Maksoud Nayef |title=Spoken Lebanese |date=1999 |publisher=Parkway Publishers |oclc=43497631}}
• {{cite book|last=Feghali |first=Michel T. |title=Syntaxe des parlers arabes actuels du Liban |date=1928 |publisher=Impr. nationale |oclc=580564758 |publication-place=Paris}}
• Elie Kallas, {{'}}Atabi Lebnaaniyyi. Un livello soglia per l'apprendimento del neoarabo libanese, Cafoscarina, Venice, 1995.
• Angela Daiana Langone, Btesem ente lebneni. Commedia in dialetto libanese di Yahya Jaber, Università degli Studi La Sapienza, Rome, 2004.
• Jérome Lentin, "Classification et typologie des dialectes du Bilad al-Sham", in Matériaux Arabes et Sudarabiques n. 6, 1994, 11–43.
• {{cite book|last=Płonka |first=Arkadiusz |title=L'idée de langue libanaise d'après Sa'ïd 'Aql |date=2004 |publisher=Geuthner |isbn=2-7053-3739-3 |oclc=57573072}}
• {{cite journal|last=Płonka |first=Arkadiusz |title=Le nationalisme linguistique au Liban autour de Sa'īd 'Aql et l'idée de langue libanaise dans la revue Lebnaan en nouvel Alphabet |journal=Arabica |publisher=Brill |volume=53 | issue=4 |date=2006 |doi=10.1163/157005806778915100 |pages=423–471 |url=https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/272015 |language=fr}}
• Franck Salameh, "Language, Memory, and Identity in the Middle East", Lexington Books, 2010.
• Abdul-Karim, K. 1979. Aspects of the Phonology of Lebanese Arabic. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Doctoral Dissertation.
• Bishr, Kemal Mohamed Aly. 1956. A grammatical study of Lebanese Arabic. (Doctoral dissertation, University of London; 470pp.)
• Choueiri, Lina. 2002. Issues in the syntax of resumption: restrictive relatives in Lebanese Arabic. Ann Arbor: UMI. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Los Angeles; xi+376pp.)
• Makki, Elrabih Massoud. 1983. The Lebanese dialect of Arabic: Southern Region. (Doctoral dissertation, Georgetown University; 155pp.)

{{Incubator|apc|lang=Levantine Arabic}}

{{Wikibooks|Levantine Arabic}}

{{Wiktionary category|category=North Levantine Arabic language}}

{{wikivoyage|Lebanese Arabic phrasebook|Lebanese Arabic|a phrasebook}}

• [https://lebanese-arabic.com Lebanese Arabic with Hiba]
• [https://languagewave.com Language Wave podcast]
• [http://www.lebaneselanguage.org Lebanese Language Institute]
• [http://www.lebaneselanguage.org/lll-system/lebanese-latin-letters/ Lebanese Arabic Latin alphabet]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120324012810/http://www.decotype.com/publications/1981_RNLA-Arabic/RNLA_Lebanese_Arabic_Manual.pdf Manual with grammar of Lebanese Arabic for the Dutch UNIFIL detachment]
• [https://www.facebook.com/LebaneseWritingRules Summary of commonly used conventions of writing the Lebanese Arabic spoken language using Latin alphabet]

{{Levantine Arabic}}

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