Syrian Arabic

Syrian Arabic refers to any of the Arabic varieties spoken in Syria, or specifically to Levantine Arabic.

Aleppo and surroundings
Characterized by the imperfect with a-: ašṛab ‘I drink’, ašūf ‘I see’, and by a pronounced ʾimāla of the type sēfaṛ/ysēfer, with subdialects:


 * 1) Muslim Aleppine
 * 2) Christian Aleppine
 * 3) Rural dialects similar to Muslim Aleppine
 * 4) Mountain dialects
 * 5) Rural dialects
 * 6) Bēbi (əlBāb)
 * 7) Mixed dialects

Idlib and surroundings
These dialects are transitional between the Aleppine and the Coastal and Central dialects. They are characterized by *q > ʔ, ʾimāla of the type the type sāfaṛ/ysēfer and ṣālaḥ/yṣēliḥ, diphthongs in every position, a- elision (katab+t > ktabt, but katab+it > katabit), išṛab type perfect, ʾimāla in reflexes of *CāʔiC, and vocabulary such as zbandūn "plow sole".

Coast and coastal mountains
These dialects are characterized by diphthongs only in open syllables: bēt/bayti ‘house/my house’, ṣōt/ṣawti ‘voice/my voice’, but ā is found in many lexemes for both *ay and *aw (sāf, yām). There is pronounced ʾimāla. Unstressed a is elided or raised to i and u whenever possible: katab+t > ktabt, katab+it > katbit, sallam+it > sallmit, sallam+t > sillamt, ḥaṭṭ+ayt > ḥiṭṭayt, trawwaq+t > truwwaqt, *madrasa > madrsa > mádǝrsa ~ madírsi, *fallāḥ > fillāḥ. The feminine plural demonstrative pronoun is hawdi, or haydi. It can be divided into several subdialects:


 * 1) Transitional between Idlib and the northern coastal dialects
 * 2) Northern coastal dialects (Swaydīye)
 * 3) Northern coastal dialects
 * 4) Latakia
 * 5) Central coastal dialects
 * 6) Mḥardi
 * 7) Banyās
 * 8) Southern coastal dialects
 * 9) Tartūs, Arwad
 * 10) Alawite and Ismaelite dialects

Central dialects
In this area, predominantly *ay, aw > ē, ō. Mostly, there is no ʾimāla, and a-elision is only weakly developed. Word-final *-a > -i operates. Several dialects exist in this area:

Central-North
Leans toward the Idlib and Coastal dialects. Preservation of *q, 2nd masc. inti, 2nd fem. inte, feminine forms in the plural intni katabtni, hinni(n) katabni.

Tayybet əlʔImām / Sōrān
Preservation of interdentals. 2/3 pl. masc. ending -a: fatahta, falaha, tuktúba, yuktúba. 2nd plural m/f inta - intni. 3rd plural m/f hinhan - hinhin. The perfect of the primae alif verbs are ake, axe. In the imperfect, yāka, yāxa. The participle is mēke.

Hama
Characterized by *q > ʔ; preservation of *ǧ; six short vowels: a, ǝ, e, i, o, u, and six long vowels: ā, ǟ, ē, ī, ō, ū.

Central-South w/ *q > q
Preservation of *q.

Central-South w/ *q > ʔ
Characterized by *q > ʔ.

Bedouin-Sedentary mixed dialect
Preservation of interdentals and terms like alhaz "now".

Suxni
Characterized by *q > k, *g > c [ts], *k > č, and ʾimāla of type *lisān > lsīn. Distinctive pronouns are 3PL.C aham and 2SG.F suffix -či. The suffix of the verbal 3SG a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form ʾílbis "he got dressed".

Palmyrene
Characterized by preserved *q, *g > č, and unconditioned ʾimāla in hēda. Distinctive pronouns are 3PL ahu - hinna, and 2SG.F suffix -ki. The suffix of the verbal 3SG a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form ʾílbis "he got dressed".

Qarawi
Characterized by preserved *q and unconditioned ʾimāla in hēda. Distinctive pronouns are 3PL hunni - hinni. The suffix of the verbal 3SG a-Type is -at, and i-Type perfects take the form lbīs "he got dressed".

Saddi
Characterized by preserved *q and pronouns 3PL hūwun - hīyin. The suffix of the verbal 3SG a-Type is -at.

Rastan
Characterized by preserved *q and the changes masaku > masakaw# and masakin > masake:n# in pause. Distinctive pronouns are 3PL.C hinne, and the suffix of the verbal 3SG a-Type is -''at. ''

Nabki
Characterized by *q > ʔ, and *ay, *aw > ā. The shifts *CaCC > CiCC/CuCC and *CaCaC > CaCōC take place. The ʾimāla is of the i-umlaut type. Distinctive pronouns are 2SG.F suffix -ke. The a-Type perfects take the form ḍarōb and the i-type lbēs. The suffix of the verbal 3SG a-Type is -et, with allophony ḍarbet - ḍárbatu.

Eastern Qalamūn
Characterized by *q > ʔ and ʾimāla of the i-umlaut type. Distinctive pronouns are 3SG.M suffix -a/-e. The suffix of the verbal 3SG a-Type is -at.

Mʿaḏ̣ḏ̣amīye
Characterized by *q > ʔ and unconditioned ʾimāla in hēda. Distinctive pronouns are 2SG.F suffix -ki. The 1SG perfect conjugation is of the type katabtu, similar to the qǝltu dialects of Iraq. Also like qǝltu dialects, it has lengthened forms like ṣafṛā "yellow [fem.]".

Qalamūn
The Qalamūn dialects have strong links to Central Lebanese. The short vowels i/u are found in all positions. Pasual kbīr > kbeyr# and yrūḥ > yrawḥ#. The a-elision is not strongly pronounced. Shortening of unstressed long vowels is characteristic: *sakākīn > sakakīn ‘knives’, fallōḥ/fillaḥīn ‘peasant/peasants’, or fillōḥ/filliḥīn, as in Northwest Aramaic. Conservation of diphthongs and *q > ʔ are common, as well as splitting of ā into ē and ō. As for negation, the type mā- -š is already attested along with the simple negation.

Qara
No interdentals

Yabrūdi
No interdentals

Central Qalamūn
Conservation of interdentals, subdialects:


 * 1) Ain al-Tinah
 * 2) Central, tends to East Qalamūn
 * 3) Rās ilMaʿarra
 * 4) Gubbe
 * 5) Al-Sarkha (Bakhah) (Western Neo-Aramaic is also spoken in the village)
 * 6) Maʿlūla (Western Neo-Aramaic is also spoken in the village)
 * 7) Jubb'adin / GubbʿAdīn (Western Neo-Aramaic is also spoken in the village)

Southern Qalamūn
Conservation of interdentals, a-elision katab+t > ktabt, distinctive pronouns are 3PL.C hunni. Subdialects are:


 * 1) ʿAssāl ilWard, ilHawš
 * 2) ʿAkawbar, Tawwane, Hile
 * 3) Hafīr ilFawqa, Badda
 * 4) Qtayfe
 * 5) Sēdnāya
 * 6) Maʿarrit Sēdnāya
 * 7) Rankūs
 * 8) Talfita
 * 9) Halbūn
 * 10) Hafīr itTahta
 * 11) itTall
 * 12) Mnin
 * 13) Drayj

Northern Barada valley
No interdentals, conservation of diphthongs


 * 1) Sirgāya
 * 2) Blūdān
 * 3) izZabadāni
 * 4) Madāya

Transitional Damascus - Qalamūn
These dialects have no interdentals, no diphthongs, and a reflex of *g > ž. The suffix of the verbal 3SG a-Type is -it, ḍarab+it > ḍárbit. The short vowels i/u are found in all positions. Demonstrative plural pronoun hadunke.

Horan dialects
The Hauran area is split between Syria and Jordan and speak largely the same dialect
 * 1) Central dialects
 * 2) Gēdūri (transitional)
 * 3) Mountain dialects
 * 4) Zāwye (transitional)
 * 5) Mixed dialect Čanāčer/Zāčye

Mount Hermon and Jabal idDrūz area
Dialects of Mount Hermon and Druze have a Lebanese origin
 * 1) Autochthonous sedentary dialects
 * 2) Mount Hermon dialect
 * 3) Druze dialect

Mesopotamian (Turkey)

 * 1) Qsōrāni
 * 2) Tall Bēdar
 * 3) Mardilli
 * 4) Azxēni (ǝlMālkīye)

Mesopotamian (Syria)

 * 1) Dēr izZōr
 * 2) Albū Kmāl

Autochthonous

 * 1) Xātūnī

Bedouin dialects
Shawi Arabic and Najdi Arabic are also spoken in Syria.