Palestinian Arabic - Differences From Other Forms of Levantine Arabic

Differences From Other Forms of Levantine Arabic

See also: Timeline of the name Palestine

Until relatively recently the Arabic spoken in the Ottoman sanjak of Syria was considered a single Syrian dialect, as for example advised by F. E. Crow in his 1901 Arabic manual: a colloquial handbook in the Syrian dialect, for the use of visitors to Syria and Palestine, containing a simplified grammar, a comprehensive English and Arabic vocabulary and dialogues. printed in London by Luzac & co.

There are noticeable differences between Palestinian Arabic and other forms of Levantine Arabic such as Syrian Arabic and Lebanese Arabic. However, none of these is invariable, given the differences of dialect within Palestinian Arabic itself.

One typical feature of Palestinian dialects is the pronunciation of hamzated verbs with an 'o'-like vowel in the imperfect. For example, in Fuṣḥa the imperfect of اكل akala 'eat' is آكل 'ākulu: the common equivalent in Palestinian dialect is بوكل bōkel. (The b prefix marks a present indicative meaning.) Thus, in the Galilee, the colloquial for the verbal expression, "I am eating" or "I eat" is ana bōkel, rather than ana bākul used in Syrian dialect. However, ana bākul is used by the Bedouin in the south.

Palestinian Arabic also shares some features with Egyptian, distinguishing it from the northern Levantine dialects:

  • In vocabulary: 'like' (prep.) is زي zayy for some regions in the Palestinian Territories as it is in Egypt. However, مثل mitl, as found in Syrian and Lebanese Arabic, is also used by Palestinians in other regions.
  • In grammar: the Palestinian dialects (except for the dialect of Palestinian Bedouins), like Egyptian, typically suffix (ش -sh, IPA: /ʃ/) to form the negative of verbs and pseudo-verbal prepositional pronouns.
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