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Gulf Arabic

Gulf Arabic
Khaleeji
خليجي, Ḵalījī
اللهجة الخليجية, il-lahja al-Ḵalījīya
Pronunciation[χɑˈliːdʒiː]
Native toBahrain, Qatar, UAE, and parts of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq
Speakers11 million (2018–2021)[1]
Dialects
Arabic alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3afb
Glottologgulf1241
Areas where Gulf Arabic is spoken (areas where it is the majority language in dark blue)

Gulf Arabic or Khaleeji (خليجي Ḵalījī local pronunciation: [χɑˈliːdʒiː] or اللهجة الخليجية il-lahja il-Ḵalījīya, local pronunciation: [(ɪ)lˈlæhdʒæ lχɑˈliːdʒiːjæ]) is a variety of the Arabic language spoken in Eastern Arabia[2] around the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, southern Iraq,[3] eastern Saudi Arabia, northern Oman, and by some Iranian Arabs.[4]

Gulf Arabic can be defined as a set of closely related and more-or-less mutually intelligible varieties that form a dialect continuum, with the level of mutual intelligibility between any two varieties largely depending on the distance between them. Similar to other Arabic varieties, Gulf Arabic varieties are not completely mutually intelligible with other Arabic varieties spoken outside the Gulf.[5] The specific dialects differ in vocabulary, grammar and accent. There are considerable differences between, for instance, Kuwaiti Arabic and the dialects of Qatar and the UAE, especially in pronunciation, that may hinder mutual intelligibility.[6] The Gulf has two major dialect types that differ phonologically and morphologically, typically referred to as badawī ('Bedouin') and ḥadarī ('sedentary'), the differences marking important cultural differences between those who historically practiced pastoralism and those who were sedentary.[7]

Gulf varieties' closest related relatives are other dialects native to the Arabian Peninsula, i.e. Najdi Arabic, Mesopotamian Arabic and Bahrani Arabic.[8][9] Although spoken over much of Saudi Arabia's area, Gulf Arabic is not the native tongue of most Saudis, as the majority of them do not live in Eastern Arabia.[6] There are some 200,000 Gulf Arabic speakers in the country, out of a population of over 30 million, mostly in the aforementioned Eastern Province.[8][9]

  1. ^ Gulf Arabic
    Khaleeji     at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Holes (2001), pp. xvi–xvii.
  3. ^ Arabic, Gulf Spoken – A Language of Iraq Ethnologue
  4. ^ Languages of Iran Ethnologue
  5. ^ Qafisheh (1977), p. xvii.
  6. ^ a b Holes (2001), p. ?.
  7. ^ Versteegh (2006), p. 212.
  8. ^ a b Frawley (2003), p. 38.
  9. ^ a b Languages of Saudi Arabia Ethnologue

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