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| Libyan Arabic | |
|---|---|
| ليبي (Lībi) | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈliːbi] |
| Native to | Libya, Egypt, Niger[1] |
| Ethnicity | Arabs |
| Speakers | 5.6 million in all countries (2020–2021)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Arabic script | |
| Libyan Sign | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ayl |
| Glottolog | liby1240 |
Libyan Arabic (Arabic: ليبي, romanized: Lībī), also called Sulaimitian Arabic by scholars,[2] 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.[3] 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.[1]
- ^ a b c Libyan Arabic at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
- ^ "Glottolog 4.7 – Libyan Arabic". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ Dialects of Arabic: Maghreb dialects, dans: The Arabic Language, Edinburgh University Press (2001), p. 164–169 Archived 29 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine
