Libyan Arabic

Libyan Arabic
ليبي (Lībi)
Pronunciation	[ˈliːbi]
Native to	Libya, Egypt, Niger
Ethnicity	Arabs
Speakers	5.6 million in all countries (2020–2021)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic West Semitic Central Semitic Arabic Maghrebi Libyan Arabic
Dialects	Western Libyan Arabic Eastern Libyan Arabic Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic
Writing system	Arabic script
Signed forms	Libyan Sign
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ayl
Glottolog	liby1240

Libyan Arabic (Arabic: ليبي, romanized: Lībī), also called Sulaimitian Arabic by scholars, is a variety of Arabic spoken in Libya, and neighboring countries. It can be divided into two major dialect areas; the eastern centred in Benghazi and Bayda, and the western centred in Tripoli and Misrata. The Eastern variety extends beyond the borders to the east and share the same dialect with far Western Egypt, Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic, with between 90,000 and 474,000 speakers in Egypt. A distinctive southern variety, centered on Sabha, also exists and is more akin to the western variety. Another Southern dialect is also shared along the borders with Niger with 12,900 speakers in Niger as of 2021.

Note on transcription notation

The transcription of Libyan Arabic into Latin script poses a few problems. First, there is not one standard transcription in use even for Modern Standard Arabic. The use of the International Phonetic Alphabet alone is not sufficient as it obscures some points that can be better understood if several different allophones in Libyan Arabic are transcribed using the same symbol.

On the other hand, Modern Standard Arabic transcription schemes, while providing good support for representing Arabic sounds that are not normally represented by the Latin script, do not list symbols for other sounds found in Libyan Arabic.

Therefore, to make this article more legible, DIN 31635 is used with a few additions to render phonemes particular to Libyan Arabic. These additions are as follow:

IPA	Extended DIN
ɡ	g
oː	ō
eː	ē
ə	ə
zˤ	ż
ʒ	j

History

Two major historical events have shaped the Libyan dialect: the Hilalian-Sulaimi migration, and the migration of Arabs from al-Andalus to the Maghreb following the Reconquista. Libyan Arabic has also been influenced by the Greek and Italian, and to a lesser extent by Turkish. It contains a few Berber loanwords which represent 2–3% of its vocabulary.

Domains of use

The Libyan dialect is used predominantly in spoken communication in Libya. It is also used in Libyan folk poetry, TV dramas and comedies, songs, as well as in cartoons. Libyan Arabic is also used as a lingua franca by non-Arab Libyans whose mother tongue is not Arabic. Libyan Arabic is not normally written, as the written register is normally Modern Standard Arabic, but Libyan Arabic is the main language for cartoonists, and the only suitable language for writing Libyan folk poetry. It is also written in internet forums, emails and in instant messaging applications.

Phonology

As is the case with all Bedouin dialects and some Urban dialects, the /q/ sound of Modern Standard Arabic is realized as a [ɡ], except sometimes in words recently borrowed from literary Arabic.

The following table shows the consonants used in Libyan Arabic. Note: some sounds occur in certain regional varieties while being completely absent in others.

Libyan Arabic consonant phonemes

		Labial		Interdental		Dental/Alveolar		Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Pharyngeal	Glottal
		plain	emphatic	plain	emphatic	plain	emphatic
Nasal		m	mˤ			n
Stops	voiceless					t	tˤ		k	(q)		(ʔ)
	voiced	b				d	dˤ		ɡ
Fricative	voiceless	f		θ		s	sˤ	ʃ		χ	ħ	h
	voiced	(v)		ð	(ðˤ)	z	zˤ	ʒ		ʁ	ʕ
Trill						r	rˤ
Approximant						l	lˤ	j	w

In western dialects, the interdental fricatives /θ ð ðˤ/ have merged with the corresponding dental stops /t d dˤ/. Eastern dialects generally still distinguish the two sets, but there is a tendency to replace /dˤ/ with /ðˤ/.

Libyan Arabic vowel phonemes

	Front	Central	Back
Close	iː		uː
Near-close	ɪ		ʊ
Mid	eː		oː
Open	ă	aː

/ă/ is heard as [ɛ] in unstressed closed syllables. /aː/ is heard as [ɑ] before and after velar consonants and as [æː] in free variation before non-velar consonants. /ɪ/ phonetically occurs as a more central near-close sound [ɨ̞].

The e and o vowels exist only in long form. This can be explained by the fact that these vowels were originally diphthongs in Classical Arabic with /eː/ replacing /ai/ and /oː/ replacing /au/. In some eastern varieties, however, the classical /ai/ has changed to /ei/ and /au/ to /ou/.

Libyan Arabic has at least three clicks, which are used interjectionally, a trait shared with the Bedouin dialects of central Arabia. The first is used for affirmative responses and is generally considered very casual and sometimes associated with low social status. The second is a dental click and used for negative responses and is similar to the English 'tut'. The third is a palatal click used exclusively by women having a meaning close to that of the English word 'alas'.

Syllable structure

Although Western Libyan Arabic allows for the following syllable structure to occur.

syllable: C₁(C₂)V₁(V₂)(C₃)(C₄)

(C = consonant, V = vowel, optional components are in parentheses.)

An anaptyctic [ə] is inserted between C₃ and C₄ to ease pronunciation, changing the structure above into the following.

C₁(C₂)V₁(V₂)(C₃)(əC₄).

On the other hand, Eastern Libyan always has an anaptyctic ə between C₁ and C₂ in the following manner.

C₁(əC₂)V₁(V₂)(C₃)(C₄).

Vocabulary

Most of the vocabulary in Libyan Arabic is of Old Arabic origin, usually with a modified interconsonantal vowel structure. Many Italian loanwords also exist, in addition to Turkish, Berber, Spanish, and English words.

Relation to Classical Arabic vocabulary

The bulk of vocabulary in Libyan Arabic has the same meaning as in Classical Arabic. However, many words have different but related meanings to those of Classical Arabic. The following table serves to illustrate this relation. The past tense is used in the case of verbs as it is more distinctive and has been traditionally used in Arabic lexicons. Canonically, these verbs are pronounced with the final 'a' (marker of the past tense in Classical Arabic). This notation is preserved the table below. However, the relation between Libyan and Classical Arabic verbs can be better understood if the final 'a' is dropped, in accordance with the elision rule of pre-pause vowels of Classical Arabic.

Comparison of meanings between Libyan Arabic words and Classical Arabic words

Libyan Arabic			Classical Arabic
Word1	IPA1	Meaning	Word	IPA	Closest Meaning
šbaḥ	ʃbaħ	(3rd m.) saw (perceived with the eyes)	šabaḥ	ʃabaħa	appeared vaguely
dwe	dwe	(3rd m.) spoke	dawā	dawaː	rumbled
lōḥ	loːħ	wood	lawḥ	lauħ	board, plank
wāʿər	wɑːʕər	difficult	waʿr	waʕr	rough terrain
šaḥḥəṭ	ʃaħːətˤ	(3rd m. trans.) stretched	šaḥiṭ	ʃaħitˤɑ	became distant

1. Western Libyan pronunciation is used in the above table.

Italian loanwords

Main article: List of Libyan Arabic words of Italian origin

Italian loanwords exist mainly, but not exclusively, as a technical jargon. For example, machinery parts, workshop tools, electrical supplies, names of fish species, etc.

Italian Loanwords

Libyan Arabic			Italian
Word	IPA	Meaning	Word	Meaning
ṣālīṭa	sˤɑːliːtˤa	slope	salita	up slope
kinšēllu	kənʃeːlːu	metallic gate	cancello	gate
anglu	aŋɡuli	corner	angolo	corner
ṭānṭa, uṭānṭa	tˤɑːntˤɑ, utˤɑːntˤɑ	truck	ottanta	eighty (a model of a truck of Italian make)
tēsta	teːsta	a head butt	testa	head

Turkish loanwords

Turkish words were borrowed during the Ottoman era of Libya. Words of Turkish origin are not as common as Italian ones.

Turkish Loanwords

Libyan Arabic			Turkish
Word	IPA	Meaning	Word	Meaning
kāšīk	kaːʃiːk	spoon	kaşık	spoon
šīša	ʃiːʃa	bottle	şişe	bottle
kāġəṭ	kɑːʁətˤ	paper	kâğıt	paper
šōg	ʃoːɡ	plenty of	çok	plenty of
doš	doʃ	shower	duş	shower
tunjra	tunʒra	pot	tencere	saucepan

Berber loanwords

Before the mass Arabization of what corresponds to modern-day Libya, Berber was the native language for most people. This led to the borrowing of a number of Berber words in Libyan Arabic. Some examples of the Berber words in Libyan Arabic are Sardouk, fallous, kusha, garjuta, shlama, karmous, zemmita, bazin, kusksi, and zukra.

Grammar

Libyan Arabic shares the feature of the first person singular initial n- with the rest of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum to which it belongs. Like other colloquial Arabic dialects, Libyan does not mark grammatical cases by declension. However, it has a rich verbal conjugation structure.

Nouns

Nouns in Libyan Arabic are marked for two grammatical genders, termed masculine and feminine, and three grammatical numbers, singular, dual and plural. Paucal number also exists for some nouns. The diminutive is also still widely used productively (especially by women) to add an endearing or an empathetic connotation to the original noun. As in Classical Arabic, rules for the diminutive formation are based on vowel apophony.

Indefiniteness is not marked. Definite nouns are marked using the Arabic definite article but with somewhat different rules of pronunciation:

Main article: Sun and moon letters

• For nouns beginning with "moon" letters, the definite article is pronounced either [l], for words with an initial single consonant onset, or [lə], for words with a double consonant onset. Except for the letter j /ʒ/, moon letters in Libyan Arabic are the same as in Classical Arabic even for letters that have become different phonemes such as q changing to g. The letter j /ʒ/, which corresponds to the Modern Standard Arabic phoneme /dʒ/, has changed from a moon letter to a sun letter.
• For nouns beginning with sun letters, which, in Libyan Arabic, include the letter j /ʒ/, the definite article is pronounced [ə], with the first consonant geminated.

Dual

While marking verbs for the dual number has been lost completely in Libyan Arabic as in other Arabic varieties, nouns have a specialized dual number form. However, in Eastern Libyan it tends to be more widespread.

Demonstratives

Various sets of demonstratives exist in Libyan Arabic. Following is a list of some of these. The grouping in columns does not necessarily reflect grouping in reality:

Category	Demonstr.	IPA	Demonstr.	IPA	Demonstr.	IPA	Demonstr.	IPA	Demonstr.	IPA
this (Masc. sg.)	hāda	haːda	hādaya	haːdaja	hida	həda	haẓa	hɑðˤɑ	haẓayēhi	hɑðˤɑjːeːhi
this (fem. sg.)	hādi	haːdi	hādiya	haːdija	hidi	hədi	haẓi	hɑðˤi	haẓiyēhi	hɑðˤijːeːhi
that (masc. sg.)	hādāka	haːdaːka	hāḍākaya	haːdˤaːkaja	haḍak	hadˤaːk	haẓakki	hɑðˤakki
that (fem. sg.)	hādīka	haːdiːka	hādīkaya	haːdiːkaja	hadīk	hadiːk

Verbs

Similar to Classical Arabic stem formation is an important morphological aspect of Libyan Arabic. However, stems III and X are unproductive whereas stems IV and IX do not exist. The following table shows Classical Arabic stems and their Libyan Arabic counterparts.

Verbal Stem Formation in Libyan Arabic1
	Classical Arabic	Libyan Arabic	Status
	Past (3rd sg. masc.)	Past (3rd sg. masc.)
I	faʿala	fʿal	Productive
II	faʿʿala	faʿʿəl	Productive
III	fāʿala	fāʿəl	Unproductive
IV	ʾafʿala	Does not Exist
V	tafaʿʿala	tfaʿʿəl	Productive
VI	tafāʿala	tfāʿəl	Fairly productive. (usually in verbs that allow for reciprocity of action)
VII	infaʿala	ənfʿal	Productive
VIII	iftaʿala	əftʿal	Possible innovation in Libyan Arabic. The general meaning of the stem is the same as that of stem VII and does not correspond to the Classical Arabic meaning of the same stem. It is used when the initial of the triliteral of the verb begins with some sonorant like l, n, m, r. If stem VII were used with the sonorants mentioned above, the n in the stem would assimilate into the sonorant.
IX	ifʿalla	Does not Exist
X	istafʿala	stafʿəl	Unproductive (Rare)

Tripoli dialect is used in the table above

Conjugation

Like Classical Arabic and other Arabic dialects, Libyan Arabic distinguishes between two main categories of roots: strong roots (those that do not have vowels or hamza) and weak roots.

Conjugation of strong roots

Strong roots follow more predictable rules of conjugation, and they can be classified into three categories for Stem I in Western Libyan Arabic:

• i-verbs (e.g. k-t-b to write) follow an interconsonantal vowel structure that is predominated by an i (normally pronounced [ə])
• a-verbs (e.g. r-k-b to mount, to ascend) follow an interconsonantal vowel structure that is predominated by an a
• u-verbs (e.g. r-g-ṣ to dance) follow an interconsonantal vowel structure that is predominated by an u

This classification is not always strictly followed. For example, the third person feminine past of the root r-g-d, which is a u-verb, is usually pronounced [rəɡdət], instead of [ruɡdət]. Also, a-verbs and u-verbs follow the same rules in the past conjugation.

Libyan Arabic triliteral i-verb^1,2 morphology for the root k-t-b (to write) Stem I
Tripoli Dialect

Person	Past	Present	Imperative
Singular
3rd (m.)	ktab	yiktəb	Not Applicable
3rd (f.)	kitbət	tiktəb	Not Applicable
2nd (m.)	ktabət	tiktəb	iktəb
2nd (f.)	ktabti	tikətbi	ikətbi
1st	ktabət	niktəb	Not Applicable
Plural
3rd (m and f)	kitbu	yikətbu	Not Applicable
2nd (m and f)	ktabtu	tikətbu	ikətbu
1st (m and f)	ktabna	nikətbu	Not Applicable

1. The i in an i-verb is usually pronounced [ə].
2. In roots with initial uvular, pharyngeal and glottal phonemes (χ ħ h ʁ ʕ ʔ but not q), i in the present and imperative is pronounced [e]. For example, the root ʁ-l-b (to overcome) is conjugated as jeʁləb, teʁləb, etc.

Libyan Arabic triliteral a-verb¹ morphology for the root r-k-b (to mount, to ascend) Stem I
Tripoli Dialect

Person	Past	Present	Imperative
Singular
3rd (m.)	rkab	yarkəb	Not Applicable
3rd (f.)	rukbət	tarkəb	Not Applicable
2nd (m.)	rkabət	tarkəb	arkəb
2nd (f.)	rkabti	tarkbi	arkbi
1st	rkabət	narkəb	Not Applicable
Plural
3rd (m and f)	rukbu	yarkbu	Not Applicable
2nd (m and f)	rkabtu	tarkbu	arkbu
1st (m and f)	rkabna	narkbu	Not Applicable

1.Realized variously as a and ɑ depending on the consonant structure of the word.

Libyan Arabic triliteral u-verb¹ morphology for the root r-g-ṣ (to dance) Stem I
Tripoli Dialect

Person	Past	Present	Imperative
Singular
3rd (m.)	rgaṣ	yurguṣ	Not Applicable
3rd (f.)	rugṣət	turguṣ	Not Applicable
2nd (m.)	rgaṣət	turguṣ	urguṣ
2nd (f.)	rgaṣti	turgṣi	urgṣi
1st	rgaṣət	nurguṣ	Not Applicable
Plural
3rd (m and f)	rugṣu	yurgṣu	Not Applicable
2nd (m and f)	rgaṣtu	turgṣu	urgṣu
1st (m and f)	rgaṣna	nurgṣu	Not Applicable

1. In roots with initial uvular, pharyngeal or glottal phonemes (χ ħ h ʁ ʕ ʔ but not q), u, in the present and the imperative, is realised by o. For example, the root ʁ-r-f (to scoop up) is conjugated as joʁrəf, toʁrəf, etc.

Conjugation in the Eastern Libyan Arabic is more fine grained, yielding a richer structure.

Future tense

Future in Libyan Arabic is formed by prefixing an initial bi, usually contracted to b, to the present tense conjugation. Thus, 'tiktəb' (she writes) becomes 'btiktəb' (she will write). It should not be confused with the indicative marker common in some Eastern Arabic varieties.

Intelligibility with other varieties of Arabic

Western Libyan Arabic of Tripolitania and Fezzan is highly intelligible to Tunisians and to a good extent to eastern Algerians. However, for Egyptian and Middle Eastern Arabic speakers, Libyan Arabic can be extremely difficult to understand as it is a Maghrebi dialect influenced by Italian, Turkish, and Berber words.

On occasion, Libyans replace some Libyan words with Modern Standard or Egyptian Arabic words to make themselves understood to other Arabic speakers, especially those from The Middle East. The following table shows some of the commonly replaced words:

Libyan Arabic	IPA	Meaning	Common Replacements
halba	halba	plenty	ktīr
dār	daːr	(he) did	ʕemel
dwe	dwe	(he) spoke	gāl
gaʿmiz	ɡaʕməz	(he) sat	gʕad
ngaz, naggez	ŋɡaz	(he) jumped	nɑṭṭ
ḫnab	χnab	(he) stole	srag

Generally, all Italian and to some extent Turkish loanwords are substituted.

If a word is replaced, it does not mean that it is exclusively Libyan. The situation sometimes arises because the speaker mistakenly guesses that the word does not exist in the hearer's dialect. For example, the word zarda (feast, picnic) has close variants in other Maghrebi dialects but is usually substituted in Maghrebi contexts because most speakers do not know that such variants exist.

Pidgin Libyan Arabic

Pidgin Libyan exists in Libya as a contact language used by non-Arabs, mostly Saharan and sub-Saharan Africans living in Libya. Like other pidgins, it has a simplified structure and limited expressive power.

See also

• Transliteration of Libyan placenames
• Varieties of Arabic
• Maghrebi Arabic
• Tunisian Arabic
• Algerian Arabic
• Moroccan Arabic

References

General references

• Chambard, Roger; Nataf, Gilda; Graille, Barbara; Boucherit, Aziza (January 2002). Proverbes libyens. KARTHALA Editions. ISBN 2-84586-289-X.
• Griffini, Eugenio (1985) [1st pub. Hoepli, 1913]. L'arabo parlato della Libia – Cenni grammaticali e repertorio di oltre 10.000 vocaboli, frasi e modi di dire raccolti in Tripolitania. Milano: Cisalpino-Goliardica.
• Elfitoury, Abubaker Abdalla (1976). A Descriptive Grammar of Libyan Arabic (Doctoral dissertation). Georgetown University.
• Harrama, Abdulgialil M. (1993). Libyan Arabic morphology: Al-Jabal dialect (PhD dissertation). University of Arizona.
• Owens, Jonathan (1984). A Short Reference Grammar of Eastern Libyan Arabic. O. Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-02466-6.
• Owens, Jonathan. "Libyan Arabic Dialects". Orbis. 32 (1–2): 97–117.
• Pereira, Christophe (2010). Le parler arabe de Tripoli (Libye). Zaragoza: Instituto de Estudios Ilamicós y del oriente próximo.

• Ester Panetta, "Vocabolario e fraseologia dell’arabo parlato a Bengasi" – (Letter A): Annali Lateranensi 22 (1958) 318–369; Annali Lateranensi 26 (1962) 257–290 – (B) in: A Francesco Gabrieli. Studi orientalistici offerti nel sessantesimo compleanno dai suoi colleghi e discepoli, Roma 1964, 195–216 – (C) : AION n.s. 13.1 (1964), 27–91 – (D) : AION n.s. 14.1 (1964), 389–413 – (E) : Oriente Moderno 60.1–6 (1980), 197–213