Arabic language: the dialects - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
General Material Designation
[Article]
First Statement of Responsibility
Jastrow, Otto
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.
Leiden
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Brill
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
(3,537 words)
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
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