Arabic language: the dialects - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
[Article]
Jastrow, Otto
Leiden
Brill
(3,537 words)
Traditionally, the modern Arabic dialects are divided into five main branches on the basis of their geographical distribution. These are the dialects of: (1) the Arabian Peninsula, (2) Mesopotamia (comprising, besides Iraq, the Iranian province of Khūzistān, northeastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey), (3) Greater Syria (including Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan), (4) Egypt (including northern Sudan), and (5) North Africa. A sixth branch, peripheral dialects, could be added to these, comprising all the dialects spoken in isolated pockets or Sprachinseln from Central Africa (Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon), via Malta and