Jordanian Arabic

Jordanian Arabic is a dialect continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of Arabic spoken in Jordan.

Jordanian Arabic
اللهجة الأردنية
Native to	Jordan
Native speakers	9.9 million (2022)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic West Central Arabic Levantine Jordanian Arabic
Dialects	Fellahi (rural) Madani (urban)
Writing system	Arabic alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3	(covered by apc)
Glottolog	sout3123 east2690
IETF	apc-JO
South Levantine   Levantine Bedawi

Jordanian Arabic can be divided into sedentary and Bedouin varieties. Sedentary varieties belong to the Levantine Arabic dialect continuum. Bedouin varieties are further divided into two groups, Northwest Arabian Arabic varieties of the south, and Najdi Arabic and Shawi Arabic varieties of the north. Jordan Arabic incorporates vocabulary and expressions influenced by neighboring dialects, including those from Palestine, Syria, and Iraq.

Jordanian Arabic varieties are Semitic. They are spoken by more than 8.5 million people, and understood throughout the Levant and, to various extents, in other Arabic-speaking regions. As in all Arab countries, language use in Jordan is characterized by diglossia; Modern Standard Arabic is the official language used in most written documents and the media, while daily conversation is conducted in the local colloquial varieties.

Regional Jordanian Arabic varieties

Although there is a common Jordanian dialect mutually understood by most Jordanians, the daily language spoken throughout the country varies significantly through regions. These variants impact altogether pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

Jordanian Arabic can primarily be divided into sedentary and Bedouin varieties, each of which can be further divided into distinct subgroups:

Sedentary varieties

• Hybrid variety (Modern Jordanian)/Ammani: It is the most current spoken language among Jordanians. This variety was born after the designation of Amman as capital of the Jordanian kingdom early in the 20th century. It is the result of the merger of the language of populations who moved from northern Jordan, southern Jordan, Saudi Arabia and later from Palestine. For this reason, it mixes features of the Arabic varieties spoken by these populations. The emergence of the language occurred under the strong influence of the northern Jordanian dialect. As in many countries English is used to substitute many technical words, even though these words have Arabic counterparts in modern standard Arabic.
• Balgawi-Horani: Mostly spoken in the area from Amman to Irbid in the far north. As in all sedentary areas, local variations are many. The pronunciation has /q/ pronounced [g] and /k/ mostly ([tʃ]). This dialect is part of the southern dialect of the Levantine Arabic language.
• Southern/Moab: Spoken in the area south of Amman, in cities such as Karak, Tafilah, Ma'an, Shoubak and their countrysides, it is replete with city-to-city and village-to-village differences. In this dialect, the pronunciation of the final vowel (æ~a~ə) commonly written with tāʾ marbūtah (ة) is raised to [e]. For example, Maktaba (Fuṣḥa) becomes Maktabe (Moab), Maktabeh (North) and Mektaba (Bedawi). Named after the ancient Moab kingdom that was located in southern Jordan, this dialect belongs to the outer southern dialect of the Levantine Arabic language.
• Aqaba variety

Bedouin varieties

• Northwest Arabian Arabic: Spoken by the Hwetat, Bani Atiya, the Bdul of Petra, and N’emat tribes in Southern Jordan. According to Palva, the dialects spoken in Jordan belong to the Eastern group of NWA dialects. Nevertheless, the dialects of the Bdul and N’emat share features with the Western group of NWA dialects spoken in the Negev. In addition, the dialect of the Zawaida tribe is argued to be closely related to Negev Arabic.
• North Arabian dialects: Spoken by the Sirhan, Bani Saxar, and Bani Khalid tribes. They are further divided into Anazi-type dialects which are related to Central Najdi Arabic, and Shammari-type dialects which are related to Northern Najdi Arabic.
• Syro-Mesopotamian Bedouin dialects: These dialects show many similarities with Iraqi “gelet”-dialects and with Gulf Arabic. Herin divides this group into a Central “ygulu” and Northern “ygulun” Shawi Arabic, both types being identical except for the presence of /n/ in the plural imperfect of the latter group. The Central “ygulu” dialects are spoken by the Ajarma, Adwan, and Ababid tribes.

Social dynamics

In addition to geographical distinctions, variations in speech patterns are also influenced by social factors, including gender. In Jordanian society, women engaged in public activities and social media platforms typically employ a manner of speech characterized by politeness and indirectness. This contrasts with the more direct and assertive communication style commonly adopted by men. Understanding these nuances is crucial for grasping the full spectrum of language variation in Jordanian Arabic.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Interdental		Dental/Alveolar		Palatal	Velar	Pharyngeal	Glottal
			plain	emph.	plain	emph.
Nasal		m			n
Stop	voiceless				t	tˤ	(t͡ʃ)	k		ʔ
	voiced	b			d	dˤ	d͡ʒ	ɡ
Fricative	voiceless	f	θ		s	sˤ	ʃ	x	ħ	h
	voiced		ð	ðˤ	z		(ʒ)	ɣ	ʕ
Tap/Trill					ɾ ~ r
Approximant					l		j	w

• /d͡ʒ/ is realized as a voiced fricative /ʒ/, across different speakers and dialects.
• /t͡ʃ/ is a lexically-distributed alternant of /k/ in sedentary Horani/Balqawi dialects. [t͡ʃ] is historically also an allophone of /k/ in the Syro-Mesopotamian Bedouin dialects.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i iː		u uː
Mid	(e) eː		(o) oː
Open		a aː

• /e/ and /i/ are only contrastive word-finally as shown by the minimal pair kalbe “dog (f.)” and kalbi “my dog”.
• /o/ and /u/ are only contrastive word-finally as shown by the minimal pair katabo “he wrote it” vs. katabu “they wrote”.
• /i u/ can be heard as [ɪ, ʊ] in lax form.
• /a/ can occur as a back [ɑ] mostly after /r/, an open-front [a] before /r/, and as [ɛ] in word-final positions, except after velarized, emphatic, back or pharyngeal sounds.
• /aː/ is heard within the position or /r/ as a long back [ɑː] or front [æː] among speakers. Among people who are first generation, Palestinian-dialect speakers, it can also be heard as [eː].
• A central [ə] can be epenthetic within some long vowel sounds like /eː/ as [eːə].

Stress

One syllable of every Jordanian word has more stress than the other syllables of that word. Some meaning is communicated in Jordanian by the location of the stress of the vowel. So, changing the stress position changes the meaning (e.g. ['katabu] means they wrote while [kata'bu] means they wrote it). This means one has to listen and pronounce the stress carefully.

Grammar

Nominal morphology

Definiteness

/il-/ is used in most words that don't start with a vowel. It is affixed onto the following word. Il-bāb meaning the door. /iC-/ is used in words that start with a consonant produced by the blade of the tongue (t, ṭ, d, ḍ, r, z, ẓ, ž, s, ṣ, š, n. Sometimes [l] and [j] as well depending on the dialect). This causes a doubling of the consonant. This e is pronounced as in a rounded short backward vowel or as in an e followed by the first letter of the word that follows the article. For example: ed-desk meaning the desk, ej-jakét meaning the jacket, es-seks meaning the sex or hāda' et-téléfón meaning that is the telephone.

Pronouns

Contrary to MSA, dual pronouns do not exist in Jordanian; the plural is used instead. Because conjugated verbs indicate the subject with a prefix or a suffix, independent subject pronouns are usually unnecessary and mainly used for emphasis. Feminine plural forms modifying human females are found primarily in rural and Bedouin areas.

Jordanian Arabic independent personal pronouns

		Amman	Salt
1st person sg. (m/f)		ana	ana ~ ani
2nd person sg.	m	inta	int ~ inte
	f	inti	inti
3rd person sg,	m	huwwe	hū ~ huwwe
	f	hiyye	hī ~ hiyye
1st person pl. (m/f)		niḥna / iḥna	iḥna
2nd person pl.	m	intu	intu
	f		intin
3rd person pl.	m	humme	hummu
	f		hinne

Bound pronouns typically attach to nouns, prepositions, verbs andalso to certain adverbs, conjunctions and other discourse markers:

Jordanian Arabic bound pronouns

		Amman		Salt
		after-C	after-V	after-C	after-V
1st person sg. (m/f)		-i, -ni	-y	-i, -ni	-y(e)
2nd person sg.	m	-ak	-k	-ak	-k
	f	-ik	-ki	-ič	-č
3rd person sg,	m	-o	-(h)	-o	-(h)
	f	-ha		-ha
1st person pl. (m/f)		-na		-na
2nd person pl.	m	-kum		-ku
	f			-čin
3rd person pl.	m	-hum		-hum
	f			-hin

Indirect object / dative pronouns arise from the merging of l- “for, to”, and the bound pronouns. Note that geminated forms like Ammani after-CC katabt-illo “I wrote for him” are not to be found in Salti, which has katab(ə)t-lo:

Jordanian Arabic indirect object / dative pronouns

		Amman			Salt
		after-V	after-C	after-CC	after-V	after-C
1st person sg. (m/f)		-li		-illi	-li
2nd person sg.	m	-lak		-illak	-lak
	f	-lik		-illik	-lič
3rd person sg,	m	-lo		-illo	-lo
	f	-lha	-ilha		-lha	-ilha
1st person pl. (m/f)		-lna	-ilna		-lna (-nna)	-ilna (-inna)
2nd person pl.	m	-lkum	-ilkum		-lku	-ilku
	f				-lčin	-ilčin
3rd person pl.	m	-lhum	-ilhum		-lhum	-ilhum
	f				-lhin	-ilhin

Demonstratives can appear pre-nominally or post-nominally

Jordanian Arabic demonstrative pronouns

			Amman	Salt
Near	sg.	m	hād(a)	hāḏ(a), hāḏ̣(a)
		f	hāy ~ hādi	hāy(e) ~ hāḏi
	pl.	m	hadōl	haḏōl(a), haḏ̣ōl(a)
		f
Far	sg.	m	hadāk	haḏāk(a), haḏ̣āk(a)
		f	hadīk	haḏīč(e)
	pl.	m	hadolāk	haḏ(o)lāk(a), haḏ̣(o)lāk(a)
		f

Verbal morphology

Form I

Strong verbs

In Amman, Form I strong verbs usually have perfect CaCaC with imperfect CCuC/CCaC, and perfect CiCiC with imperfect CCaC. In Salt, CaCaC and CiCiC can occur with imperfect CCiC.

Form I Strong (CaCaC/CCuC)

			Amman	Salt
Perfect (CaCaC)	1st person sg. (m/f)		daras(i)t	maragt
	2nd person sg.	m	daras(i)t	maragt
		f	darasti	maragti
	3rd person sg,	m	daras	marag
		f	darsat	margat
	1st person pl. (m/f)		darasna	maragna
	2nd person pl.	m	darastu	maragtu
		f		maragtin
	3rd person pl.	m	darasu	maragu
		f		maragin
Imperfect (CCuC)	1st person sg. (m/f)		adrus, badrus	amrug, bamrug
	2nd person sg.	m	tudrus, btudrus	tumrug, btumrug
		f	tudrusi, btudrusi	tumurgi, btumurgi
	3rd person sg,	m	yudrus, b(y)udrus	yumrug, bumrug
		f	tudrus, btudrus	tumrug, btumrug
	1st person pl. (m/f)		nudrus, bnudrus	numrug, mnumrug
	2nd person pl.	m	tudrusu, btudrusu	tumurgu, btumurgu
		f		tumurgin, btumurgin
	3rd person pl.	m	yudrusu, b(y)udrusu	yumurgu, bumurgu
		f		yumurgin, bumurgin

Form I Strong (CiCiC/CCaC)

			Amman	Salt
Perfect (CiCiC)	1st person sg. (m/f)		kbirt	gdirt
	2nd person sg.	m	kbirt	gdirt
		f	kbirti	gdirti
	3rd person sg,	m	kibir	gidir
		f	kibrat	gidrat
	1st person pl. (m/f)		kbirna	gdirna
	2nd person pl.	m	kbirtu	gdirtu
		f		gdirtin
	3rd person pl.	m	kibru	gidru
		f		gidrin
Imperfect (CCaC)	1st person sg. (m/f)		akbar, bakbar	agdar, bagdar
	2nd person sg.	m	tikbar, btikbar	tigdar, btigdar
		f	tikbari, btikbari	tigdari, btigdari
	3rd person sg,	m	yikbar, b(y)ikbar	yigdar, bigdar
		f	tikbar, btikbar	tigdar, btigdar
	1st person pl. (m/f)		nikbar, bnikbar	nigdar, mnigdar
	2nd person pl.	m	tikbaru, btikbaru	tigdaru, btigdaru
		f		tigdarin, btigdarin
	3rd person pl.	m	yikbaru, b(y)ikbaru	yigdaru, bigdaru
		f		yigdarin, bigdarin

Geminated verbs

Geminate verbs generally have perfect CaCC and imperfect CiCC. In Amman and Salt, the 2nd person singular masculine and the 1st person singular perfect inflect as CaCCēt: ḥassēt, šaddēt. In Amman, the active participle alternates between CāCC and CāCC (ḥāss and ḥāsis). In Salt, only CāCC (ḥāss) is present.

Verbs Iʾ

Form I Weak Iʾ

			Amman	Salt
Perfect (CaCaC)	1st person sg. (m/f)		ʾakalt	ʾakalt
	2nd person sg.	m	ʾakalt	ʾakalt
		f	ʾakalti	ʾakalti
	3rd person sg,	m	ʾakal	ʾakal
		f	ʾaklat	ʾaklat
	1st person pl. (m/f)		ʾakalna	ʾakalna
	2nd person pl.	m	ʾakaltu	ʾakaltu
		f		ʾakaltin
	3rd person pl.	m	ʾakalu	ʾakalu
		f		ʾakalin
Imperfect	1st person sg. (m/f)		ākul, bākul	ʾōkil, bōkil
	2nd person sg.	m	tākul~tōkil, btākul~btōkil	tōkil, btōkil
		f	tākli~tōkli, btākli~btōkli	tōkli, btōkli
	3rd person sg,	m	yākul~yōkil, byākul~b(y)ōkil	yōkil, bōkil
		f	tākul~tōkil, btākul~btōkil	tōkil, btōkil
	1st person pl. (m/f)		nākul~nōkil, bnākul~bnōkil	nōkil, mnōkil
	2nd person pl.	m	tāklu~tōklu, btāklu~btōklu	tōklu, btōklu
		f		tōklin, btōklin
	3rd person pl.	m	yāklu~yōklu, byāklu~b(y)ōklu	yōklu, bōklu
		f		yōklin, bōklin

Verbs Iw/y

Note that Salt forms the perfect on a different template than Amman. In any case, the perfect is conjugated as a strong verb:

Form I Weak Iw/y

			Amman	Salt
Perfect	1st person sg. (m/f)		wṣil(i)t	waṣalt
	2nd person sg.	m	wṣil(i)t	waṣalt
		f	wṣilti	waṣalti
	3rd person sg,	m	wiṣil	waṣal
		f	wiṣlat	waṣlat
	1st person pl. (m/f)		wṣilna	waṣalna
	2nd person pl.	m	wṣiltu	waṣaltu
		f		waṣaltin
	3rd person pl.	m	wiṣlu	waṣalu
		f		waṣalin
Imperfect	1st person sg. (m/f)		ʾawṣal, bawṣal	ʾaṣal, baṣal
	2nd person sg.	m	tuwṣal, btuwṣal	taṣal, btaṣal
		f	tuwṣali, btuwṣali	taṣali, btaṣali
	3rd person sg,	m	yuwṣal, b(y)uwṣal	yaṣal~yiṣal, baṣal
		f	tuwṣal, btuwṣal	taṣal, btaṣal
	1st person pl. (m/f)		nuwṣal, bnuwṣal	naṣal, mnaṣal
	2nd person pl.	m	tuwṣalu, btuwṣalu	taṣalu, btaṣalu
		f		taṣalin, btaṣalin
	3rd person pl.	m	yuwṣalu, b(y)uwṣalu	yaṣalu~yiṣalu, baṣalu
		f		yaṣalin~yiṣalin, baṣalin

Verbs IIw/y

The vowel of the short base of the perfect usually has the same quality as the vowel of the imperfect: gām~ygūm~gumt and gām~ygīm~gimt. An exception is šāf~yšūf~šuft. Verbs with yCāC imperfects usually have CiCt perfects.

Verbs IIIw/y

In the perfect, both CaCa and CiCi are found.

Form IV

Form IV is not productive in the sedentary dialects of Amman or Karak. A conservative feature of the sedentary Balqāwi-Hōrani group is the preservation of Form IV, which is productive in three uses:

• to create transitive verbs from nouns and adjectives:
  • bʿad—yibʿid “to go away” (from bʿīd “far”)
• to create “weather verbs”:
  • štat—tišti “to rain”
• to derive causative verbs from intransitive verbs with stem CvCvC:
  • gʿad—yigʿid “to wake sth. up” (from gaʿad—yugʿud “to sit down”)

Negation

Qdar is the infinitive form of the verb can. Baqdar means I can, I can't is Baqdareş, adding an eş or ış to the end of a verb makes it negative; if the word ends in a vowel then a ş should be enough.

An in-depth example of the negation: Baqdarelhomm figuratively means I can handle them, Baqdarelhommeş means I cannot handle them, the same statement meaning can be achieved by Baqdareş l'ıl homm

Legal status

Jordanian Arabic is not regarded as the official language even though it has diverged significantly from Classic Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). A large number of Jordanians, however, call their language "Arabic", while referring to the original Arabic language as Fusħa. This is common in many countries that speak languages or dialects derived from Arabic and can prove to be quite confusing. Whenever a book is published, it is usually published in English, French, or in MSA and not in Levantine.

Writing systems

General remarks

There are many ways of representing Levantine Arabic in writing. The most common is the scholastic Jordanian Latin alphabet (JLA) system which uses many accents to distinguish between the sounds (this system is used within this article). Other Levantine countries, however, use their own alphabets and transliterations, making cross-border communication inconvenient.

Consonants

There are some phonemes of the Jordanian language that are easily pronounced by English speakers; others are completely foreign to English, making these sounds difficult to pronounce.

Arabic consonant	JLA	IPA	Explanation
ب	b	[b]	As English ⟨b⟩.
ت	t	[t]	As English ⟨t⟩ in still (without the English aspiration).
ث	ṯ	[θ]	As English ⟨th⟩ in thief. It is rare, mostly in words borrowed from MSA.
ج	j	[dʒ]	As English ⟨j⟩, jam or ⟨s⟩ in vision (depending on accent and individual speaker's preference).
ح	ḥ	[ħ]	Somewhat like English ⟨h⟩, but deeper in the throat.
خ	ẖ	[x]	As German ⟨ch⟩ in Bach.
د	d	[d]	As English ⟨d⟩.
ذ	ḏ	[ð]	As English ⟨th⟩ in this. It is rare, mostly in words borrowed from MSA.
ر	ṛ	[ɾˤ]	Simultaneous pronunciation of ⟨r⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ر	r	[ɾ]	As is Scottish, Italian or Spanish.
ز	z	[z]	As English ⟨z⟩.
س	s	[s]	As English ⟨s⟩.
ش	š	[ʃ]	As English ⟨sh⟩.
ص	ṣ	[sˤ]	Simultaneous pronunciation of ⟨s⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ض	ḍ	[dˤ]	Simultaneous pronunciation of ⟨d⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ط	ṭ	[tˤ]	Simultaneous pronunciation of unaspirated ⟨t⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ظ	ẓ	[zˤ]	Simultaneous pronunciation of ⟨z⟩ and a weak ayn below.
ع	ʿ	[ʕ]	This is the ayn. It is pronounced as ḥ but with vibrating larynx.
غ	ġ	[ɣ]	As in ⟨g⟩ of Spanish pagar.
ف	f	[f]	As English ⟨f⟩.
ق	q	[q]	Similar to English ⟨k⟩, but pronounced further back in the mouth, at the uvula. It is rare, mostly in words borrowed from MSA apart from the dialect of Ma'daba or that of the Hauran Druzes.
ك	k	[k]	As English ⟨k⟩ in skill (without the English aspiration).
ل	l	[l]	As English ⟨l⟩
م	m	[m]	As English ⟨m⟩.
ن	n	[n]	As English ⟨n⟩.
ه	h	[h]	As English ⟨h⟩.
و	w	[w]	As English ⟨w⟩.
ي	y	[j]	As English ⟨y⟩ in yellow.

Vowels

Contrasting with the rich consonant inventory, Jordanian Arabic has much fewer vowels than English. Yet, as in English, vowel duration is relevant (compare /i/ in bin and bean).

JLA	IPA	Explanation
a	[a] or [ɑ]	As English hut or hot (the latter linked to the presence of ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, ẓ, ẖ, ʿ, ḥ or ṛ).
ā	[a:] or [ɑ:]	The previous one but longer (you hear [ɑ:] in father). Amman is [ʕɑm'ma:n].
i	[i]	As in English hit.
ī	[i:]	As in English heat.
u	[u]	As in English put.
ū	[u:]	As in English fool.
e	[e]	French été.
ē	[e:]	As in English pear, or slightly more closed.
o	[o]	As in French côté.
ō	[o:]	As French (faune) or German (Sohn).

Influences

Social factors have a noticeable impact on the Jordanian language, especially in how people classify everyday items like fruits and vegetables. In Amman, for instance, these factors influence whether individuals prefer idiomatic or neutral terms for these foods. Research shows that older men and those with less formal education often favor idiomatic expressions, which may reflect traditional values and a lower social status. This reveals how language choices can mirror broader societal norms and the connections between age, education, and cultural identity. Understanding these preferences offers valuable insights into the local culture and its dynamics.

External Influences

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is spoken in formal TV programs, and in Modern Standard Arabic classes, as well as to quote poetry and historical phrases. It is also the language used to write and read in formal situations if English is not being used. However, MSA is not spoken during regular conversations. MSA is taught in most schools and a large number of Jordanian citizens are proficient in reading and writing formal Arabic. However, foreigners residing in Jordan who learn the Levantine language generally find it difficult to comprehend formal MSA, particularly if they did not attend a school that teaches it.

Other influences include English, French, Turkish, and Persian. Many loan words from these languages can be found in the Jordanian dialects, particularly English. However, students also have the option of learning French in schools. Currently, there is a small society of French speakers called Francophone and it is quite notable in the country. The language is also spoken by people who are interested in the cultural and commercial features of France.

See also

• English-based creole language
• Jordan Academy of Arabic

Further reading

• Doughan, Yazan (2017). "Imaginaries of Space and Language: A historical view of the scalar enregisterment of Jordanian Arabic". International Journal of Arabic Linguistics. 3 (2): 77–109. ISSN 2421-9835.