Egyptian Arabic edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Egyptian Arabic (in Egyptian Arabic written in Arabic script: اللهجة العامية المصرية, il-luɣa l-Maṣriyya l-ḥadīsa, Egyptian pronunciation: [elˈloɣæ l.mɑsˤˈɾ(ˤ)e̙jːɑ l.ħæˈdiːsæ]; formally: اللغه المصريه العاميه il-luɣa l-maṣriyya l-ʕammiyya, Egyptian pronunciation: [elˈloɣæ l.mɑsˤˈɾ(ˤ)e̙jːɑ l.ʕæmˈmejːæ])^[2][3]; compare the Modern Standard Arabic pronunciation: /al.luɣa(tu) (a)l.misˤrijja(tu) (a)l.ħadiːθa(ta)/, /al.luɣa(tu) (a)l.misˤrijja(tu) (a)l.ʕaːmmijja(ta)/) is a variety of the Arabic language of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. It originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt around the capital Cairo. Descended from the spoken Arabic brought to Egypt during the AD seventh-century Muslim conquest, its development was influenced mainly by the indigenous Copto-Egyptian language of pre-Islamic Egypt,^[4][5][6] and later by other languages such as Turkish, French and English. The 76 million Egyptians speak a continuum of dialects, among which Cairene is the most prominent. It is also understood across most of the Arab World due to the predominance of Egyptian media, making it the most widely spoken and one of the most widely studied varieties of Arabic.

The terms Egyptian Arabic and Masri are usually used synonymously with "Cairene Arabic", the dialect of the Egyptian capital. The country's native name, Maṣr, is used locally to refer to the capital Cairo itself. Similar to the role played by Parisian French, Masri is by far the most dominant in all areas of national life. While it is essentially a spoken language, it is encountered in written form in novels, plays, poems (vernacular literature) as well as in comics, advertising, some newspapers and transcriptions of popular songs. In most other written media and in TV news reporting, a standard register of Classical Arabic is used. The Egyptian vernacular is normally written in the Arabic alphabet for local consumption, although it is commonly transcribed into Latin letters or in the International Phonetic Alphabet in linguistics text and textbooks aimed at teaching non-native learners.

[edit] Geographic distribution

A continuum of varieties of Arabic is spoken by more than 77 million Egyptians in Egypt as well as by immigrant Egyptian communities in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Australia and South East Asia. Accents of all regions of Egypt have been increasingly adapting idioms. This has accelerated with the proliferation of education and central, government-controlled radio and TV during the past 30 years.

Among the spoken varieties of Arabic, Egyptian Cairene is the only one to have become a lingua franca in other parts of the Arabic-speaking world, in addition to within Egypt, for two main reasons^[7][8]: the proliferation and popularity of Egyptian films and other media in the region since the early 20th century; and the great number of Egyptian teachers and professors who were instrumental in setting up the education systems of various countries in the Arabian Peninsula and who also taught there and in other countries such as Algeria and Libya.

Similar occurrences to varying degrees can be found in elsewhere in Arabia, Sudan, the Levant (particularly Palestine) and in Libya.^[9] This trend may now be shifting^{[citation needed]} with the recent ascendancy of Lebanese media in the region, though many Lebanese artists choose to sing in Egyptian as well as Lebanese.

[edit] History

The Egyptians slowly adopted the Arabic language following the Arab-Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century AD. Up till then, they were speaking Egyptian in its Coptic form. For more than three centuries, there existed a period of Coptic-Arabic bilingualism in Lower Egypt. This trend would last for many more centuries in the south. Arabic may have been already familiar to Egyptians through pre-Islamic trade with Bedouin Arab tribes in the Sinai and the easternmost part of the Nile Delta. Egyptian Arabic seems to have begun taking shape in Fustat, the first Islamic capital of Egypt, and now part of modern-day Cairo. The variety of Arabic spoken by the Muslim military troops stationed in Fustat was already different from Classical Arabic^[10], which in part accounts for some of the unique characteristics of the Egyptian dialect.

One of the earliest linguistic sketches of Egyptian Arabic is a 16th century document entitled Daf` al-'iṣr`an kalām 'ahl Miṣr ('The Removal of the Burden from the Language of the People of Egypt') by Yūsuf al-Maġribi. It contains key information on early Egyptian Arabic and the language situation in medieval Egypt. The main purpose of the document was to show that while the Egyptians' vernacular contained many critical "errors" vis-à-vis Classical Arabic, according to Maġribi, it was also related to Arabic in other respects. With the ongoing Islamization and Arabization of the country, Egyptian Arabic slowly supplanted spoken Egyptian. Local chroniclers mention the continued use of Coptic Egyptian as a spoken language until the 17th century AD by peasant women in Upper Egypt. Coptic is still the liturgical language of the Egyptian Coptic Church.

[edit] Official status

Egyptian Arabic has no official status, and to date it is not officially recognized. Standard Arabic, a modernized (constructed) form of Classical Arabic, is the official language of Egypt (see diglossia). Interest in the local vernacular began in the 1800s as the Egyptian national movement for independence was taking shape. Questions about the reform and modernization of Arabic came to the fore, and for many decades to follow they were hotly debated in Egyptian intellectual circles. Proposals ranged from developing neologisms to replace archaic terminology in Standard Arabic; to the simplification of syntactical and morphological rules and the introduction of colloquialisms; to complete 'Egyptianization' (tamṣīr) by abandoning the so-called Standard Arabic in favor of Masri or Egyptian Arabic.^[11]

Proponents of language reform in Egypt included Qasim Amin, who also wrote the first Egyptian feminist treatise, former president of the Egyptian University, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, and noted intellectual Salama Moussa. They adopted a modernist, secular approach and disagreed with the assumption that Arabic was an immutable language because of its association with the Qur'an. For a while, Egyptian Arabic enjoyed a period of rich literary output until the movement was halted with the continuing rise of Islamism and Arab nationalism in Egypt and the Middle East, particularly with Gamal Abdel Nasser's assumption of power in 1954. The first modern Egyptian novel to be written in the vernacular was Muhammad Husayn Haykal's Zaynab in 1913. Other notable novelists such as Ihsan Abdel Quddous and Yusuf Idris, and poets such as Salah Jaheen, Abnudi and Fagoumi, helped solidify vernacular literature as a distinct literary genre.^[11]

Nasser undertook an Arabization campaign in Egypt's education system and government administration, which stoutly relegated Egyptian Arabic to secondary status. In the last fifty years, educated Egyptian as a result became heavily influenced by the official language - Standard Arabic. Following Nasser's death, interest in the Egyptian dialect was rekindled by vernacular authors, and calls for making Egyptian Arabic an official language and the language of education reappeared, after it did when Egypt's independence was recognized by the United Kingdom in 1922. In the 21st century, the Liberal Egyptian Party was founded by a group of secular activists promoting political reform in Egypt, and calling for the official recognition of both Egyptian Arabic and indigenous Egyptian ('the languages of Egypt'). Some of its views continue to be a source of controversy among Egyptians, particularly with organizations such as the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

As the status of Egyptian Arabic vis-à-vis Classical Arabic can have such political and religious implications in Egypt, the question of whether Egyptian Arabic should be considered a "dialect" or "language" can be a source of debate. In sociolinguistics, Egyptian Arabic can be seen as one of many distinct varieties which, despite arguably being languages on abstand grounds, are united by a common dachsprache in Literary Arabic (MSA).

[edit] Dialects

The Egyptian variants spoken in central and southern Egypt, referred to collectively as Sa'idi Arabic (Upper Egyptian) and given a separate identity in Ethnologue and ISO 639-3, are mainly descended from the northern Egyptian dialect but are distinct from the Cairene sociolect in their phonology due to early contacts with Bedouin Arab dialects. They carry little prestige nationally though continue to be widely spoken, including in the north by rural migrants who have adapted partially to Lower Egyptian dialect. For example, the Sa'idi genitive exponent is usually replaced with Lower Egyptian bitāʕ, but the realization of /q/ as /ɡ/ is retained. Second and third-generation southern Egyptian migrants are monolingual in Cairene Arabic, but maintain cultural and familial ties to the south.

The traditional division between Lower and Upper Egypt and their respective dialectal differences go back to ancient times. Egyptians today commonly refer to the people of the north as baḥarwa and to those of the south as ṣaʻayda. The dialectal differences throughout Egypt, however, are more wide ranging and do not neatly correspond to this simple division. There is a linguistic shift from the eastern to the western parts of the delta, and the dialects spoken from Gizah to el Minya are further grouped into a Middle Egypt cluster. Despite these differences, there are features distinguishing all the Egyptian Arabic dialects of the Nile Valley from any other Arabic variety. Such features include reduction of long vowels in open and unstressed syllables, the postposition of demonstratives and interrogatives, the modal meaning of the imperfect, and the integration of the participle.^[12]

The dialect of the western desert is different from all forms of Egyptian, as linguistically it forms part of the Maghrebi group of dialects. The same was formerly true of the Egyptian form of Judaeo-Arabic.

[edit] Phonology

[edit] Vowels

[edit] Vowel phonemes

The Egyptian Arabic vocalic system has changed from the Classical system. The main system of vowels is as follows:

• 1. Main short vowels:

• /a/: [æ], or [ɑ] (usually in emphatic environment)
• /i/: [e]~[ɪ], & [i] (at the end of a word)
• /u/: [o]~[ɵ]. See also Tenseness

• 2. Main long vowels:

• /aː/: [æː], or [ɑː] (usually in emphatic environment)
• /iː/: [iː]
• /uː/: [uː]
• /eː/: [eː]
• /oː/: [oː]

• 3. Marginal vowels: In Emphatic environment: [ɨː] (only in primary & medial positions), [-ɨ] (only in final position), [ɔ(ː)], [ʉː], [e̙(ː)]^{see Retracted tongue root}.
• 4. Main diphthongs:

• /aj/: [æj], [ɑj]
• /ij/: [ej]
• /aw/: [æw], [ɑw]
• /iw/: [ew]
• /uw/^{[citation needed]}: [ow] ([ew] predominates [ow], though one diphthong of the two may be used instead of the other.)

/eː/ and /oː/ are derived from the Classical Arabic diphthongs /aj/ and /aw/, respectively, when occurring in closed syllables (i.e. not followed by a vowel). Note that the diphthongs /aj/ and /aw/ also occur in the same environment, due to later deletion of unstressed vowels and resulting contraction, e.g. /mudawla/ "consultation" < Classical /mudaːwala/.^[13] Minimal pairs such as /ʃajla/ "carrying (fem. sg.)" vs /ʃeːla/ "burden" also occur, both derived from */ʃaːjila/, from Classical /ʃaːˈila/. In this case, short /i/ and /u/ are regularly deleted from open unstressed internal syllables. Historically, this occurred prior to monophthongization, and /ʃeːla/ is the expected result; /ʃajla/ is an analogical reformation based on masculine /ʃaːjil/. (Deletion of /a/ in a similar environment is not normal. It regularly occurs only in form III verbal nouns such as /mudawla/ above, and apparently occurred too late for monophthongization to apply.)

Egyptian Arabic maintains in all positions the early post-Classical distinctions between short /i/ and /u/. Contrast, for example, Levantine dialects, which merge /i/ and /u/ into /ə/ in most positions. In particular, note the different shapes and vowel distinctions between /kitaːb/ "book", /ɡumaːl/ "beautiful (pl.)" vs. /ɡimaːl/ "camels", /ixtaːr/ "he chose"; in most dialects, all the short vowels in these words are elided, leading to the identical shapes /ktaːb/, /d͡ʒmaːl/, /xtaːr/.

[edit] Emphasis spreading

Egyptian Arabic is in the process of splitting the two allophones each of /a/ and /aː/ into separate phonemes. In general, the back allophone ([ɑ] or [ɑː]) occurs in the vicinity of an emphatic consonant or of /q/, or sometimes also in the vicinity of /r/. This process by which certain (generally "emphatic" consonants) affect the quality of nearby vowels is called "emphasis spreading". Some /r/'s appear to cause emphasis spreading and some don't; hence, some linguists postulate the existence of two separate /r/-like phonemes, which differ mainly in whether they trigger emphasis spreading. Originally, whether the /r/ triggered emphasis spreading was determined by the nature of adjacent vowels: if /r/ was adjacent to /i/, it became "plain" and triggered no emphasis spreading; however, when adjacent to /a/ or /u/, the emphatic version resulted. However, there are many exceptions to this rule, so it is no more than a rough guideline.

The rule works specifically as follows: If the /r/ is directly followed by /i(ː)/ (short or long), or if not followed by a vowel and directly preceded by /i(ː)/ (short or long), the /r/ will be "plain" and trigger no emphasis spreading; in other cases (i.e. the adjacent vowel in question is /a/ or /u/), the /r/ will be "emphatic" and trigger emphasis spreading. The /r/ is able to "see across" derivational but not inflectional morphemes. For example, /tigaːra/ [tegɑːɾˤɑ] ('commerce') but /tigaːri/ [tegæːɾi] ('commercial'); on the other hand, /tikbar/ [tekbɑɾˤ] ('you (masc.) grow') and /tikbari/ [tekbɑɾˤi] ('you (fem.) grow'). In this case, the derivational ending /i/ (which forms new dictionary entries) is visible to the /r/ and changes it to the non-emphatic type, but the inflectional /i/ (which in this case indicates the feminine singular form of the word, but does not create a new dictionary entry) is invisible to the /r/.

When emphasis spreading occurs, it generally spreads forward and backward throughout the entire word, including any prefixes and suffixes. Unlike in some other dialects, there are no specific sounds that stop spreading from preceding (as e.g. /ʃ/ or /j/ in spoken Palestinian Arabic). However, emphasis spreading is not completely reliable in its operation, and sometimes may not extend through to prefixes or suffixes in words of many syllables.

In words of native extraction or borrowed from Classical Arabic that contain the backed allophones [ɑː] and [ɑ], there is essentially always a consonant of the "emphatic" sort in the word, which can be said to be the cause of the backed allophones. In words borrowed from European languages, however, this is often not the case, with [æ(ː)] and [ɑ(ː)] seeming to lead a separate existence (and in particular, many words containing [ɑ(ː)] without any possible emphatic trigger). Hence, [ɑ(ː)] can be said to be minor phonemes in that they only occur independently in a small number of words, and incipient phonemes in that a phoneme split is in process of taking place.

[edit] Vowel shortening, lengthening, deletion, insertion, elision, linking

[edit] Vowel shortening

All long vowels are shortened when followed by two consonants (including geminated consonants), and usually also in unstressed syllables (but note /qa:híra/ "Cairo" and a few other borrowings from Classical Arabic with similar shapes). For some speakers^{[weasel words][who?][citation needed]}, the long vowels maintain their same quality even when shortened; as a result, /gibna/ [ˈɡɪbna] ('cheese') is distinguished both from [ˈɡibna] ('bring us!') (from /ɡiːb/ + /na/) and [ˈɡebna] ('our pocket', from [ɡeːb] + /na/).^[14] More commonly, shortened [eː] and [iː] both merge with /i/. Similar variation applies to the back vowels [oː], [uː] and /u/.

Example:

• /ʔaːl/ ('he said') + /li/ ('to me') (*/ʔaːlli/) → /ʔalli/ ('he said to me')

[edit] Vowel lengthening

Final short vowels are lengthened when the stress is brought forward onto them as a result of the addition of a suffix:

• /kátabu/ "they wrote" + -/ha/ "it (fem.)" → /katabúːha/ "they wrote it (fem.)"

[edit] Vowel deletion (syncope)

Unstressed /i/ and /u/ are deleted (i.e. syncope) when occurring in the context /VCVCV/, i.e. in an internal syllable with a single consonant on both sides. This also applies across word boundaries in cases of close syntactic connection, e.g.:

• /fiː/ "in" + /kiˈtaːb/ "a book" → /fi-ktaːb/ "in a book"

[edit] Vowel insertion (epenthesis)

Three consonants are never allowed to appear together, including across a word boundary. When such a situation would occur, an epenthetic short /i/ (often indicated as such by superscripting it) is inserted between the second and third consonants:

• il-bintⁱ di "this girl" (from /il-bint/ + /di/)

[edit] Vowel elision, linking

Unlike in most Arabic dialects, Egyptian Arabic has many words that logically begin with a vowel (e.g. ana "I"), in addition to words that logically begin with a glottal stop (e.g. ʔawi "very", from Classical qawiyy "strong"). When pronounced in isolation, both types of words will be sounded with an initial glottal stop. However, when following another word, words beginning with a vowel will often follow smoothly after the previous word, while words beginning with a glottal stop will always have the glottal stop sounded, e.g.:

• il-wálad áħmar [ʔelˈwælæˈdɑħmɑrˤ] "the boy is red"
• il-wálad ʔáwi kbí:r [ʔelˈwælæd ˌʔæwikˈbiːr] "the boy is very big" (from 'kibi:r' "big" with deletion of /i/)

The phonetic pronunciations indicated above also demonstrate the phenomenon of linking, a normal process in Egyptian Arabic where syllable boundaries are adjusted across word boundaries to ensure that every syllable begins with exactly one consonant.

Elision of vowels often occurs across word boundaries when a word ending with a vowel is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, especially when the two vowels are the same:

• int-áħmar [ʔenˈtɑħmɑrˤ] "you are red" (ínta + áħmar)

More specifically, elision occurs in the following circumstances:

• When both vowels are the same
• With final /i/ is followed by initial /a/, e.g. b-áktib "I write" (bi- + áktib), ná:w-arú:ħ "I intend to go" (ná:wi + arú:ħ), xallí:n-aráwwaħ "let me go home" (xallí:-ni + aráwwaħ, where xallí:-ni is xálli + -ni with lengthening of /i/ before a suffix along with stress movement)
• When any vowel follows initial /i/, e.g. dá-ll-ana-ʕáwzu "that's what I want" (da + illi + ana + ʕáwz-u, where ʕáwz-u is ʕá:wiz + -u, with deletion of /i/ leading to shortening of /a:/)

[edit] Multiple processes

Multiple processes often apply simultaneously. Example of insertion and deletion together:

• il-bintⁱ kbiːra "the girl is big (i.e. grown up)" (from /il-bint/ + /kibiːra/); compare il-walad kibiːr "the boy is big", where neither process applies.

Example of both syncope and long-vowel shortening:

• /ˈsˁaːħib/ (friend m.) + /-a/ "fem." (*/ˈsˁaːħiba/) → [ˈsˁɑħbɑ] (compare with Classical Arabic /sˁaːħiba/)

The operation of the various processes can often produce ambiguity:

• ana-ʕawz-aːkul "I want to eat", ambiguously masculine or feminine (ana "I" + ʕaːwiz "want (masc.)" + aːkul "I eat", with elision of glottal stop, syncope of /i/ in the resulting open environment, and then shortening of /aː/ in the subsequently resulting closed environment; or ana "I" + ʕawza "want (fem.)" + aːkul "I eat", with ʕawza from /ʕaːwiz/ + /a/ by syncope and vowel shortening, followed by elision of the /a/ suffix)

[edit] Stress

The position of stress is essentially automatic. The basic rule is that, preceding from right to left in a word, the stress goes on the first encountered syllable of any of these types:

• (1a, 1b) a heavy syllable: i.e. a syllable closed with a long vowel (1a) (i.e. ...C'V:...) or with two consonants (including a geminate) (1b) (i.e. ...C'VCC...)
• (2a, 2b) a non-final light syllable that directly follows a heavy syllable
• (3) a non-final light syllable that directly follows two light syllables (i.e. ...CVCVC'VCV...)
• (4) the first syllable of the word.

Examples, followed by the number of the rule that applies: /kátab/ (4) "he wrote", /katábt/ (1b) "I wrote", /ká:tib/ (1a) "writer", /kátba/ (1b) "female writer", /kitá:b/ (1a) "book", /máktab/ (1b) "desk", /maktába/ (2b) "library", /tíktib/ (1b) "you (masc.) write", /tiktíbi/ (2b) "you (fem.) write", /tiktibí:/ (1a) "you (fem.) write it", /kátabit/ (4) "she wrote", /katabítu/ (3) "she wrote it", /qa:híra/ (2a) "Cairo".

[edit] Consonants

¹  [mˤ], [p], [bˤ], [v], /rˤ/, [q], [dˤ], [lˤ], [ʒ] might be pronounced, depending on the speaker. If not pronounced, they are approximated to [m], [b], [b], [f], /r/, [k], [d], [l], [ʃ], respectively.

• [q], [dˤ], [lˤ] are exclusively Modern Standard Arabic & are approximated to [k], [d], [l], respectively.
• [q] may be Egyptianized to [ʔ].
• [v], [ʒ], [p] are pronounced by educated speakers in loanwords, from other languages than Modern Standard Arabic.
• [ʒ] tends to be Egyptianized & merge with [ʃ]; example: 'garage' جراش is only pronounced /gɑrɑːʃ/ even by educated speakers.

²  Few rural speakers pronounce [ʒ] instead of [g]; away from Cairo. Pronouncing [ʒ] instead of [g] is not considered prestigious.

• Non-Egyptianized Arabic loanwords which have interdental consonants ([θ], [ð], [ðˤ]) are always approximated to [s], [z], [zˤ], respectively. Egyptians usually never pronounce [ðˤ] even when pronouncing Modern Standard Arabic, & pronounce instead [zˤ].

Traditionally the interdental consonants /θ ð ðˤ/ corresponded to the /t d dˤ/. This is a feature common to all North African Arabic varieties, and is attested in pre-modern words:

• /ˈtaʕlab/ تعلب (fox) as opposed to /ˈθaʕlab/ (and never /ˈsaʕlab/). Likewise: /ˈtalɡ/ تلج (ice); /ˈtaman/ (price); /taˈlaːta/ (three); /niˈtaːja/ نتاية (female); /miħˈraːt/ محرات (plough); /ˈʕatar/ عَتَر (tripped/found)
• [ˈdeːl] ديل (tail) as opposed to /ˈðajl/ and never /ˈzajl/. Likewise [ˈdɑkɑɾˤ] دكر (male); /ˈkidib/ كِدِب (lied); [ˈdiːb] ديب (wolf)
• /ˈdˤufr/ ضفر as opposed to /ˈðˤufr/ ظُفر (nail) and never /ˈzˤufr/. Likewise [ˈdˤɑlmɑ] ضلمة (darkness)

Unlike other North African varieties, Egyptian Arabic also shows another feature where /θ ð ðˤ/ correspond to sibilant consonants /s z zˤ/ ^[16]. This has been specially the result of modernisation and the increase of literacy, and the classicisation practice in official media, as well as a tendency to imperfectly imitate the pronunciation of the Levant and Arabia as it is commonly perceived more suitable for Islamic religious^{[citation needed]} preaching, and as a trait of Egyptian diaspora. But also due to historical influence^{[citation needed]} by Levantine dialects which constitute the eastern influx of the continuum.

• [ˈsɑwɾˤɑ] ثَورة (revolution) as opposed to /ˈθawra/
• /iˈzaːʕa/ إذاعة (broadcasting) as opposed to /iˈðaːʕa/
• [ˈbɑzˤɾ] بظر (clitoris) as opposed to /ˈbaðr/

Classical Arabic reflex <d͡ʒim> ج is realized velar in Cairene in the same way as it is in some southern Arabic dialects since antiquity and still present in Yemen and Oman. So that جَبَل (mountain) is pronounced /ˈɡabal/ rather than /ˈd͡ʒabal/.

Other consonants are more marginal. In addition to appearing in native words, /rˤ/ also appears in loanwords from European languages, such as /barˤaˈʃut/ (parachute), and native words with guttural vowels, such as [ˈbɑʔɑɾˤi] (my cows).^[17] Labial emphatics /bˤ/ and /mˤ/ also come from loanwords; minimal pairs include /bˤaːbˤa/ (pope/pontiff/patriarch) vs /baːba/ (Paopi).^[18] Classical Arabic /q/ became /ʔ/ in Cairo and the eastern Delta (a feature shared with Lebanese and other forms of Levantine Arabic), but /q/ is retained natively in some dialects of the western Delta outside of Alexandria,^[19] and has been reintroduced as a marginal phoneme from Standard Arabic in other dialects.^[16] /v/, /p/, and /ʒ/ also appear in loanwords, though only the latter is not restricted to more educated speakers, /ʒaˈkitta/ (jacket).^[20] ~/ˈʒakit/

[edit] Morphology

[edit] Nouns

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Verbs

Verbs in Arabic are based on a stem made up of three or four consonants. The set of consonants communicates the basic meaning of a verb. Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with prefixes and/or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as tense, person and number, in addition to changes in the meaning of the verb that embody grammatical concepts such as causative, intensive, passive or reflexive.

Each particular lexical verb is specified by two stems, one used for the past tense and one used for non-past tenses along with as subjunctive and imperative moods. To the former stem, suffixes are added to mark the verb for person, number and gender, while to the latter stem, a combination of prefixes and suffixes are added. (Very approximately, the prefixes specify the person and the suffixes indicate number and gender.) The third person masculine singular past tense form serves as the "dictionary form" used to identify a verb, similar to the infinitive in English. (Arabic has no infinitive.) For example, the verb meaning "write" is often specified as kátab, which actually means "he wrote". In the paradigms below, a verb will be specified as kátab/yíktib (where kátab means "he wrote" and yíktib means "he writes"), indicating the past stem (katab-) and non-past stem (-ktib-, obtained by removing the prefix yi-).

The verb classes in Arabic are formed along two axes. One axis (described as "form I", "form II", etc.) is used to specify grammatical concepts such as causative, intensive, passive or reflexive, and involves varying the stem form. For example, from the root K-T-B "write" is derived form I kátab/yíktib "write", form II káttib/yikáttib "cause to write", form III ká:tib/yiká:tib "correspond", etc. The other axis is determined by the particular consonants making up the root. For example, defective verbs have a W or Y as the last root consonant, which is often reflected in paradigms with an extra final vowel in the stem (e.g. ráma/yírmi "throw" from R-M-Y); meanwhile, hollow verbs have a W or Y as the middle root consonant, and the stems of such verbs appear to have only two consonants (e.g. gá:b/yigí:b "bring" from G-Y-B).

[edit] Strong Verbs

Strong verbs are those that have no "weakness" (e.g. W or Y) in the root consonants.

[edit] Regular verb, form I, fáʕal/yífʕil

Example: kátab/yíktib "write"

Note that, in general, the present indicative is formed from the subjunctive by the addition of /bi-/ (/bi-a-/ is elided to /ba-/). Similarly, the future is formed from the subjunctive by the addition of /ħa-/ (/ħa-a-/ is elided to /ħa-/). The /i/ in /bi-/ or in the following prefix will be deleted according to the regular rules of vowel syncope:

• híyya b-tíktib "she writes" (híyya + bi- + tíktib)
• híyya bi-t-ʃú:f "she sees" (híyya + bi- + tiʃú:f)
• an-áktib "I write (subjunctive)" (ána + áktib)

Example: kátab/yíktib "write": non-finite forms

[edit] Regular verb, form I, fíʕil/yífʕal

Example: fíhim/yífham "understand"

Boldfaced forms fíhm-it and fíhm-u differ from the corresponding forms of katab (kátab-it and kátab-u due to vowel syncope). Note also the syncope in ána fhím-t "I understood".

[edit] Regular verb, form II, fáʕʕil/yifáʕʕil

Example: dárris/yidárris "teach"

Boldfaced forms indicate the primary differences from the corresponding forms of katab:

• The prefixes /ti-/, /yi-/, /ni-/ have elision of /i/ following /bi-/ or /ħa-/ (all verbs whose stem begins with a single consonant behave this way).
• The imperative prefix /i-/ is missing (again, all verbs whose stem begins with a single consonant behave this way).
• Due to the regular operation of the stress rules, the stress in the past tense forms darrís-it and darrís-u differs from kátab-it and kátab-u.

[edit] Regular verb, form III, fá:ʕil/yifá:ʕil

Example: sá:fir/yisá:fir "travel"

The primary differences from the corresponding forms of darris (shown in boldface) are:

• The long vowel /a:/ becomes /a/ when unstressed.
• The /i/ in the stem /sa:fir/ is elided when a suffix beginning with a vowel follows.

[edit] Defective Verbs

Defective verbs have a W or Y as the last root consonant.

[edit] Defective verb, form I, fáʕa/yífʕi

Example: ráma/yírmi "throw"

The primary differences from the corresponding forms of katab (shown in boldface) are:

• In the past, there are three stems: ráma with no suffix, ramé:- with a consonant-initial suffix, rám- with a vowel initial suffix.
• In the non-past, the stem rmi becomes rm- before a (vowel initial) suffix, and the stress remains on the prefix, since the stem vowel has been elided.
• Note also the accidental homonymy between masculine tí-rmi, í-rmi and feminine tí-rm-i, í-rm-i.

[edit] Defective verb, form I, fíʕi/yífʕa

Example: nísi/yínsa "forget"

This verb type is quite similar to the defective verb type ráma/yírmi. The primary differences are:

• The occurrence of /i/ and /a/ in the stems are reversed: /i/ in the past, /a/ in the non-past.
• In the past, instead of the stems ramé:- and rám-, the verb has nisí:- (with a consonant-initial suffix) and nísy- (with a vowel initial suffix). Note in particular the /y/ in nísyit and nísyu as opposed to rámit and rámu.
• Elision of /i/ in nisí:- can occur, e.g. ána nsí:t "I forgot".
• In the non-past, because the stem has /a/ instead of /i/, there is no homonymy between masculine tí-nsa, í-nsa and feminine tí-ns-i, í-ns-i.

Note that some other verbs have different stem variations, e.g. míʃi/yímʃi "walk" (with /i/ in both stems) and báʔa/yíbʔa "become, remain" (with /a/ in both stems). The verb láʔa/yilá:ʔi "find" is unusual in having a mixture of a form I past and form III present (note also the variations líʔi/yílʔa and láʔa/yílʔa).

Verbs other than form I have consistent stem vowels. All such verbs have /a/ in the past (hence form stems with /-é:-/, not /-í:-/). Forms V, VI, X and IIq have /a/ in the present (indicated by boldface below); others have /i/; forms VII, VIIt, and VIII have /i/ in both vowels of the stem (indicated by italics below); form IX verbs, including "defective" verbs, behave as regular doubled verbs:

• Form II: wádda/yiwáddi "take away"; ʔáwwa/yiʔáwwi "strengthen"
• Form III: ná:da/yiná:di "call"; dá:wa/yidá:wi "treat, cure"
• Form IV (rare, classicized): ʔárdˤa/yírdˤi "please, satisfy"
• Form V: itʔáwwa/yitʔáwwa "become strong"
• Form VI: itdá:wa/yitdá:wa "be treated, be cured"
• Form VII (rare in the Cairene dialect): inħáka/yinħíki "be told"
• Form VIIt: itnása/yitnísi "be forgotten"
• Form VIII: iʃtára/yiʃtíri "buy"
• Form IX (very rare): iħláww/yiħláww "be/become sweet", iʕmáyy/yiʕmáyy??? "be/become blind"
• Form X: istákfa/yistákfa "have enough"
• Form Iq: need example
• Form IIq: need example

[edit] Hollow Verbs

Hollow have a W or Y as the middle root consonant. Note that for some forms (e.g. form II and form III), hollow verbs are conjugated as strong verbs (e.g. form II ʕáyyin/yiʕáyyin "appoint" from ʕ-Y-N, form III gá:wib/yigá:wib "answer" from G-W-B).

[edit] Hollow verb, form I, fá:l/yifí:l

Example: gá:b/yigí:b "bring"

This verb works much like dárris/yidárris "teach". Like all verbs whose stem begins with a single consonant, the prefixes differ in the following way from those of regular and defective form I verbs:

• The prefixes /ti-/, /yi-/, /ni-/ have elision of /i/ following /bi-/ or /ħa-/.
• The imperative prefix /i-/ is missing.

In addition, the past tense has two stems: gíb- before consonant-initial suffixes (first and second person) and gá:b- elsewhere (third person).

[edit] Hollow verb, form I, fá:l/yifú:l

Example: ʃá:f/yiʃú:f "see"

This verb class is identical to verbs such as gá:b/yigí:b except in having stem vowel /u/ in place of /i/.

[edit] Doubled Verbs

Doubled verbs have the same consonant as middle and last root consonant, e.g. ħább/yiħíbb "love" from Ħ-B-B.

[edit] Doubled verb, form I, fáʕʕ/yifíʕʕ

Example: ħább/yiħíbb "love"

This verb works much like gá:b/yigí:b "bring". Like that class, it has two stems in the past, which are ħabbé:- before consonant-initial suffixes (first and second person) and ħább- elsewhere (third person). Note that /é:-/ was borrowed from the defective verbs; the Classical Arabic equivalent form would be *ħabáb-, e.g. *ħabáb-t.

Other verbs have /u/ or /a/ in the present stem: basˤsˤ/yibúsˤsˤ "to look", sˤaħħ/yisˤáħħ "be right, be proper".

As for the other forms:

• Form II, V doubled verbs are strong: ħáddid/yiħáddid "limit, fix (appointment)"
• Form III, IV, VI, VIII doubled verbs seem non-existent
• Form VII and VIIt doubled verbs (same stem vowel /a/ in both stems): inbáll/yinbáll "be wetted", itʕádd/yitʕádd
• Form VIII doubled verbs (same stem vowel /a/ in both stems): ihtámm/yihtámm "be interested (in)"
• Form IX verbs (automatically behave as "doubled" verbs, same stem vowel /a/ in both stems): iħmárr/yiħmárr "be red, blush", iħláww/yiħláww "be sweet"
• Form X verbs (stem vowel either /a/ or /i/ in non-past): istaħáʔʔ/yistaħáʔʔ "deserve" vs. istaʕádd/yistaʕídd "be ready", istamárr/yistamírr "continue".

[edit] Assimilated Verbs

Assimilated verbs have W or Y as the first root consonant. Most of these verbs have been regularized in Egyptian Arabic, e.g. wázan/yíwzin "to weigh" or wísˤíl/yíwsˤal "to arrive". Only a couple of irregular verbs remain, e.g. wíʔif/yúʔaf "stop" and wíʔiʕ/yúʔaʕ "fall" (see below).

[edit] Doubly Weak Verbs

"Doubly weak" verbs have more than one "weakness", typically a W or Y as both the second and third consonants. This term is in fact a misnomer, as such verbs actually behave as normal defective verbs (e.g. káwa/yíkwi "iron (clothes)" from K-W-Y, ʔáwwa/yiʔáwwi "strengthen" from ʔ-W-Y, dá:wa/yidá:wi "treat, cure" from D-W-Y).

[edit] Irregular Verbs

The irregular verbs are as follows:

• ídda/yíddi "give" (endings like a normal defective verb)
• wíʔif/yúʔaf "stop" and wíʔiʕ/yúʔaʕ "fall" (áʔaf, báʔaf, ħáʔaf "I (will) stop"; úʔaf "stop!")
• kal/yá:kul "eat" and xad/yá:xud "take" (kalt, kal, kálit, kálu "I/he/she/they ate", also regular ákal, etc. "he/etc. ate"; á:kul, bá:kul, ħá:kul "I (will) eat", yáklu "they eat"; kúl, kúli, kúlu "eat!"; wá:kil "eating"; mittá:kil "eaten")
• ga/yí:gi "come". This verb is extremely irregular (with particularly unusual forms in boldface):

   gá:-ni (or -li)
  "he came to me"
  but not *gé:-ni 

   but gu:-ni (or -li)
  "they came to me" 

Example: ga/yí:gi "come": non-finite forms

[edit] Table of Verb Forms

In this section all verb classes and their corresponding stems are listed, excluding the small number of irregular verbs described above. Verb roots are indicated schematically using capital letters to stand for consonants in the root:

• F = first consonant of root
• M = middle consonant of three-consonant root
• S = second consonant of four-consonant root
• T = third consonant of four-consonant root
• L = last consonant of root

Hence, the root F-M-L stands for all three-consonant roots, and F-S-T-L stands for all four-consonant roots. (Traditional Arabic grammar uses F-ʕ-L and F-ʕ-L-L, respectively, but the system used here appears in a number of grammars of spoken Arabic dialects and is probably less confusing for English speakers, since the forms are easier to pronounce than those involving /ʕ/.)

The following table lists the prefixes and suffixes to be added to mark tense, person, number and gender, and the stem form to which they are added. The forms involving a vowel-initial suffix, and corresponding stem PA_v or NP_v, are highlighted in silver. The forms involving a consonant-initial suffix, and corresponding stem PA_c, are highlighted in gold. The forms involving a no suffix, and corresponding stem PA₀ or NP₀, are unhighlighted.

The following table lists the verb classes along with the form of the past and non-past stems, active and passive participles, and verbal noun, in addition to an example verb for each class.

Notes:

• Italicized forms are those that follow automatically from the regular rules of vowel shortening and deletion.
• Multisyllabic forms without a stress mark have variable stress, depending on the nature of the suffix added, following the regular rules of stress assignment.
• Many participles and verbal nouns have acquired an extended sense. In fact, participles and verbal nouns are the major sources for lexical items based on verbs, especially derived (i.e. non-Form-I) verbs.
• Some verb classes do not have a regular verbal noun form; rather, the verbal noun varies from verb to verb. Even in verb classes that do have a regular verbal noun form, there are exceptions. In addition, some verbs share a verbal noun with a related verb from another class (in particular, many passive verbs use the corresponding active verb's verbal noun, which can be interpreted in either an active or passive sense). Some verbs appear to lack a verbal noun entirely. (In such a case, a paraphrase would be used involving a clause beginning with inn.)
• Outside of Form I, passive participles as such are usually non-existent; instead, the active participle of the corresponding passive verb class (e.g. Forms V, VI, VIIt/VIIn for Forms II, III, I respectively) is used. The exception is certain verbs in Forms VIII and X that contain a "classicized" passive participle that is formed in imitation of the corresponding participle in Classical Arabic, e.g. mistáʕmil "using", mustáʕmal "used".
• Not all forms have a separate verb class for hollow or doubled roots. When no such class is listed below, roots of that shape appear as strong verbs in the corresponding form, e.g. Form II strong verb dˤáyyaʕ/yidˤáyyaʕ "waste, lose" related to Form I hollow verb dˤá:ʕ/yidˤí:ʕ "be lost", both from root Dˤ-Y-ʕ.

[edit] Negation

One characteristic of Egyptian syntax which it shares with other North African varieties as well as some southern Levantine dialect areas is in the two-part negative verbal circumfix /ma-...-ʃ(i)/

• Past: /ˈkatab/ "he wrote" /ma-katab-ʃ(i)/ "he didn't write" ماكتبشِ

• Present: /ˈjik-tib/ "he writes" /ma-bjik-tib-ʃ(i)/ "he doesn't write" مابيكتبشِ

/ma-/ comes from the Classical Arabic negator /ma:/. /-ʃ(i)/ is a development of Classical /ʃayʔ/ "thing". The development of a circumfix is similar to the French circumfix ne ... pas, where ne comes from Latin non "not" and pas comes from Latin passus "step". (Originally, pas would have been used specifically with motion verbs, as in "I didn't walk a step", and then was generalized to other verbs.)

The structure can end in a consonant (ʃ) or in a vowel (i), varying according to the individual or region. The fuller ending /ʃi/ is considered rural, and nowadays Cairene speakers usually use the shorter /ʃ/. However, /ʃi/ was more common in the past, as attested in old films.

The negative circumfix often surrounds the entire verbal composite including direct and indirect object pronouns:

• /ma-katab-hum-ˈliː-ʃ/ "he didn't write them to me"

However, verbs in the future tense typically instead use the prefix /miʃ/:

• /miʃ-ħa-ˈjiktib/ (or /ma-ħa-jikˈtibʃ/ "he won't write"

Interrogative sentences can be formed by adding the negation clitic "miʃ" before the verb:

• Past: /ˈkatab/ "he wrote"; /miʃ-ˈkatab/ "didn't he write?"

• Present: /ˈjiktib/ "he writes"; /miʃ-bi-ˈjiktib/ "doesn't he write?"

• Future: /ħa-ˈjiktib/ "he will write"; /miʃ-ħa-ˈjiktib/ "won't he write?"

Addition of the circumfix can cause complex changes to the verbal cluster, due to the application of the rules of vowel syncope, shortening, lengthening, insertion and elision described above:

• The addition of /ma-/ may trigger elision or syncope:
  • A vowel following /ma-/ is elided: /ixtá:r/ "he chose" -> /maxtárʃ/.
  • A short vowel /i/ or /u/ in the first syllable may be deleted by syncope: /kíbir/ "he grew" -> /makbírʃ/.
• The addition of /-ʃ/ may result in vowel shortening or epenthesis:
  • A final long vowel preceding a single consonant shortens: /ixtá:r/ "he chose" -> /maxtárʃ/.
  • An unstressed epenthetic /i/ is inserted when the verbal complex ends in two consonants: /kunt/ "I was" -> /makúntiʃ/.
• In addition, the addition of /-ʃ/ triggers a stress shift, which may in turn result in vowel shortening or lengthening:
  • The stress shifts to the syllable preceding /ʃ/: /kátab/ "he wrote" -> /makatábʃ/.
  • A long vowel in the previously stressed syllable shortens: /ʃá:fit/ "she saw" -> /maʃafítʃ/; /ʃá:fu/ "they saw" or "he saw it" -> /maʃafú:ʃ/.
  • A final short vowel directly preceding /ʃ/ lengthens: /ʃá:fu/ "they saw" or "he saw it" -> /maʃafú:ʃ/.

In addition, certain other morphological changes occur:

• /ʃafú:/ "they saw it" -> /maʃafuhú:ʃ/ (to avoid a clash with /maʃafú:ʃ/ "they saw/he saw it").
• /ʃá:fik/ "He saw you (fem. sg.)" -> /maʃafkí:ʃ/.
• /ʃúftik/ "I saw you (fem. sg.)" -> /maʃuftikí:ʃ/.

[edit] Syntax

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Coptic substratum

Egyptian Arabic appears to have retained a significant Coptic substratum in its lexicon, phonology, and syntax. Coptic was the latest stage of the indigenous Egyptian language spoken until the mid-17th century when it was finally completely supplanted by Arabic. Some features that Egyptian Arabic shares with the original ancient Egyptian language include certain prefix and suffix verbal conjugations, certain emphatic and glottalized consonants, as well as a large number of biliteral and triliteral lexical correspondences.

Two syntactic features that are particular to Egyptian Arabic inherited from Coptic^[21] are:

• postposed demonstratives "this" and "that" are placed after the noun.

Examples: ir-rᾱ̄gil da "this man" (lit. "the man this"; in Standard Arabic hāðā-r-radʒul) and il-bintⁱ di "this girl" (lit. "the girl this"; in Standard Arabic hāðihi-l-bint).

It should be noted^{[citation needed]}, however, that this order is correct with regard to Standard Arabic - classic and modern - in is in use by other dialects, like beduin (الولد ذا).

• in-situ wh words (i.e. "who", "when", "why" remain in their "logical" positions in a sentence rather than being preposed, or moved to the front of the sentence, as in Standard Arabic and English).

Examples:

• rᾱħ mɑṣrⁱ ʔimta ? (راح مصر إمتى؟) "When (imta) did he go to Egypt/Cairo?" (lit. "He went to Egypt/Cairo when?")
• rᾱħ mɑṣrⁱ lēh ? (راح مصر ليه؟) "Why (lēh) did he go to Egypt/Cairo? (lit. "He went to Egypt/Cairo why?")
• mīn [illi] rᾱħ mɑṣr ? (مين [اللي] راح مصر؟) "Who (mīn) went to Egypt/Cairo? (literally - same order)

The same sentences in Standard Arabic (with all the question words (wh-words) in the beginning of the sentence) would be:

• متى ذهب إلى مصر؟ matā ðahaba ʔilā miṣr?
• لِمَ ذهب إلى مصر؟ lima ðahaba ʔilā miṣr?
• من ذهب إلى مصر؟ man ðahaba ʔilā miṣr?

Also since Coptic, like other North African languages, lacked interdental consonants it could possibly have influenced the manifestation of their occurrences in Classical Arabic /θ ð ðˤ/ as their dental counterparts /t d/ and the emphatic dental /dˤ/ respectively. (see consonants)

[edit] Studying Egyptian Arabic

Egyptian Arabic has been a subject of study by scholars and laypersons in the past and the present for many reasons, including personal interest, egyptomania, business, news reporting, and diplomatic and political interactions. Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) is now a field of study in both graduate and undergraduate levels in many higher education institutions and universities in the world. When added to academic instruction, Arabic language schools and university programs provide Egyptian Arabic courses in a classroom fashion, while others facilitate classes for online study.

[edit] Text example

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Egyptian/Masri (Arabic script):

Egyptian (phonemic transcription):

ʔil-iʕlān il-ʕālami li-ħʔūʔ il-insān, ʔil-band il-ʔawwalāni

ʔil-baniʔadmīn kulluhum mawludīn ħurrīn wi-mitsawwiyīn fil-kɑrᾱmɑ w-il-ħuʔūʔ. ʔitwahab-luhum il-ʕɑʔlⁱ w-iḍ-ḍɑmīr w-il-mɑfrūḍ yiʕamlu bɑʕḍīhum be-rōħ il-ʔaxawiyya.

Egyptian/Masri - (Arabic Chat Alphabet):

el e3lan el 3alami le 72u2 el ensan, el band el awalani

el bani2admin kollohom mawlodin 7orrin we metsawyin fel karama wel 7o2u2. Etwahablohom el 3a2l wel damir, wel mafrud ye3amlo ba3dihom be ro7 el akhaweya.

English:

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood.

[edit] Characteristic words and sentences in Egyptian Arabic

• إزيك - ʔizˈzayyak? ("How are you [m.]")
• إزيك - ʔizˈzayyik? ("How are you [f.]")
• إزيكو - ʔizzayˈyuku (ʔizzayˈyuku)? ("How are you [pl.]")
• إيه ده - ˈʔēh da? ("What's all this?", "What's the point", "What's this?" - expression of annoyance)
  • Ex.: (ˈʔinta) bitʔulˈluhum ʕaˈlayya ˈkida ˈlēh, ˈʔēh da? "Why are you telling them such things about me, what's all this?"
• خلاص - xɑˈlɑṣ: several meanings, often adverbial
  • "Stop it!" Ex.: ziˈhiʔt, xɑˈlɑṣ! "I'm annoyed, stop it!"
  • "It's over!", "finally, eventually" Ex.: ˈʔummi ˈkānit ʕayˈyāna w-ˈmātit, xɑˈlᾱṣ. "My mother was ill and died finally." [or "...and it's over now."]
  • "Ok, then!" Ex.: "خلاص، أشوفك بكرة" "xɑˈlᾱṣ, ʔaˈʃūfak ˈbukrɑ" meaning "I'll see you tomorrow then"
• خالص - ˈxᾱliṣ "at all"
  • maʕandiˈnāʃ ˈħāga naˈkulha ˈxᾱliṣ "We have nothing at all to eat."
• كفاية - kiˈfāya! ("It's enough!" or "That's enough")
• يعني - ˈyaʕni ("that's to say" or "meaning" or "y'know")
  • As answer to إنت عامل إيه؟ ˈinta ˈʕāmil ˈʔēh? ("How do you do [m.]?") (as an answer: "I am so so" or "half half" = "not perfect")
  • يعني إيه؟ ˈyaʕni ˈʔēh? ("What does that mean?")
  • إمتى هتخلص يعني؟** ˈimta hatˈxɑllɑṣ ˈyaʕni? ("When are you finishing exactly, then?)
• بقى - ˈbaʔa (particle of enforcement --> "just" in imperative clauses and "well,...then?" in questions)
  • .هاته بقى ˈhātu ˈbaʔa! "Just give it to me!"
    عمل إيه بقى؟ ˈʕamal ˈʔēh ˈbaʔa? "Well, what did he do then?"

[edit] See also

Egyptian Arabic edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Egyptian Arabic test of Wiktionary at Wikimedia Incubator

• Arabic language
• Bayoumi Andil
• Coptic language
• Egypt
• Egyptian language
• Egyptian Arabic Swadesh list
• Egyptian Arabic Wikipedia
• Futuh or early Muslim military expansions
• UCLA Language Materials Project
• Varieties of Arabic

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Abdel-Massih, Ernest T.; A. Fathy Bahig (1978). Comprehensive Study of Egyptian Arabic: Conversation Texts, Folk Literature, Cultural Ethnological and Socio Linguistic Notes. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. ISBN 0-932098-11-8. 
• Peter, Behnstedt; Manfred Woidich (1985). Die ägyptisch-arabischen Dialekte, vols. I, II. Wiesbaden: L. Reichert. 
• Gary, Judith Olmsted, & Saad Gamal-Eldin. 1982. Cairene Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. Lingua Descriptive Studies 6. Amsterdam: North Holland.
• Haeri, Niloofar (2003). Sacred Language, Ordinary People: Dilemmas of Culture and Politics in Egypt. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-23897-5. 
• Harrell, Richard S. 1957. The Phonology of Colloquial Egyptian Arabic. American Council of Learned Societies Program in Oriental Languages Publications Series B, Aids, Number 9. New York: American Council of Learned Societies.
• Hinds, Martin; El-Said Badawi (1987). A Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic. French & European Pubns. ISBN 0-8288-0434-6. 
• Mitchell, T.F. 1956. An Introduction to Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Mitchell, T.F. 1962. Colloquial Arabic: the Living Language of Egypt. London: The English Universities Press.
• Presse, Karl G.; Katrine Blanford, Elisabeth A. Moestrup, Iman El-Shoubary (2000). 5 Egyptian-Arabic One Act Plays: A First Reader (Bilingual edition ed.). Museum Tusculanum. ISBN 87-7289-612-4. 
• Youssef, Ahmad Abdel-Hamid (2003). From Pharaoh's Lips: Ancient Egyptian Language in the Arabic of Today. American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 977-424-708-6. 
• Tomiche, Nada. 1964. Le parler arabe du Caire. Paris: Mouton.
• Versteegh, Kees (2001). The Arabic Language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0748614362. 
• Watson, Janet (2002), written at New York, The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic, Oxford University Press

[edit] External links

• Wikipedia Masry, an Egyptian Wikipedia.
• Wiktionary Masry, a proposal for an Egyptian Wiktionary.
• Egyptian Spoken Arabic at Ethnologue
• Arabic and its variations - Article at Study-Arabic.info
• Book on Egyptian roots of Egyptian Arabic (Arabic)
• Egyptian Colloquial Arabic Lessons In English Let's talk in Arabic
• Coptic Words in Egyptian Arabic (Arabic)
• Description of Egyptian Arabic from UCLA's Language Materials Project
• Egyptian Arabic Dialect Course (through song lyrics)
• Free Arabic and Egyptian lessons
• Il Loğa-l Masri-g Gidiida - a Latin-based alphabet for the Egyptian language
• Learn to Speak and Read Egyptian Arabic Using a highly visual approach to learning with color-coded text, up to 6,000 audio clips, videos, and podcasts.
• Egyptian Arabic Introductory article

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