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If I asked you what language is spoken in Egypt, I guess the first language that would pop up in your head is ‘Arabic’. As common as it may seem, this statement is not entirely true. Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is very familiar of course to Egyptians. However, Egyptians actually speak dialects that have almost nothing to do with MSA.
As I mentioned in many episodes of my YouTube channel: Linguamid, Egypt is a very versatile country, geographically and historically. The rich geography of Egypt allowed for huge diversity in Egyptian languages. For instance, people living in upper Egypt speak differently from Cairo and Delta inhabitants.
Another equally important factor is history. The Historical fabric of Egypt is very complex due to the influence of many ethnic groups that interacted with Egyptians through colonization and immigration.
Examples of the different cultures that influenced Egyptians are Persians, Romans, Greek, Arabs, Turkish, Albanians, English, and French. This complex fabric of demographics is the reason behind the vast diversity of languages/dialects existing in Egypt today.
In my online Arabic courses, I talk about this topic very often and clarify to you how to approach communication in Egypt with confidence.
Now let’s have a look at the most prominent languages and dialects that Egyptians speak.
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The Cairo dialect
The main dialect of Egypt and by far the most important one is the Cairo dialect or ‘Cairene dialect’ العامية (el-3ammeyyah). This might be a short and direct answer to the ‘what language is spoken in Egypt’ question.
This is because the powerful Cairo dialect is not only the main dialect of the entire country. Not only this, The Cairo dialect is easy to understand for almost all Arabs.
In my Egyptian Arabic 101 free course, I talk about the following reasons in detail
- The influence of Egyptian media on the Arab region throughout the 20th century
- Egypt leading political and social role
- Egyptians laying the infrastructure and educational systems in many Arab countries
The Upper Egyptian (Saidi) dialects
The Upper Egyptian dialects or the ‘Saidi dialects’ are a very important group of dialects in Egypt. ‘Saidi’ can be regarded as a mother dialect with several descending sub-dialects that differ from town to town in Upper Egypt
The reason behind this variation and sub-dialects is the tribal nature of life in upper Egypt. Saidi is spoken in different towns along the Nile river, the stripe of towns from El-Fayyom up to Aswan.
You will observe that ‘Saidi’ dialects are much closer to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) as compared to the Cairo dialect. Still, almost all Saidi speakers have their distinct style (For example they switch the ‘k’aaf’ ق letter in ‘geem’ ج. The letter ج , on the other hand, is pronounced ‘jeem’
The Delta dialects
The Delta dialects are the ones concentrated in the delta inverted triangle formed by the two branches of the Nile river, the branch of Domyaat and the one of ‘Rasheed’.
This region is the richest region for agriculture. This is because of the high quality of the soil that gets all the necessary nutrients from the Nile river. Therefore, the inhabitants of this region are called ‘el-falla7een’ (the farmers).
Towns like ‘Tanta’, ‘El-Zagazig’ and ‘Shebeen El-Koom’ share almost the same category of dialects: Delta dialects. That is very close to the one of Cairo. The only notable differences are the pronunciation of some letters (the ‘geem’ becomes ‘jeem’). Also, you may hear different vocabulary.
To conclude, the Delta dialects are very near to the Cairo dialect, that Cairines can easily understand all Delta dialects
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North-coast dialects
North-coast dialects are the ones characterizing towns like Alexandria and Port Said. Both towns for instance show a very distinctive way of pronunciation. In addition, they use specific vocabulary not existing anywhere else in Egypt.
For instance, Alexandrians say ‘ayooh أيوووه ‘ to emphasize wonder and beauty. They also say ‘mashroo3 مشروع’ to refer to a specific type of public transportation: the micro-bus. These words do not exist in the ‘Cairene’ dialect.
A very notable thing about these dialects is that old generations use the first person in the plural form instead of the singular. This is a similar feature to ‘Maghrebi Arabic’.
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Bedawi dialect
In the Sinai peninsula and the easter parts of Egypt prevails the bedawi dialect. This dialect is also common in neighboring countries like Syria, Jordan, and Palestine.
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Nubian dialect
The Nubian dialect is a very special dialect that is completely difficult for Cairo residents. You can think of it as a completely different language. Nubians live in the southern part of Egypt near the Sudan border.
If you watch classic Egyptian movies (as of the 1920s – 1960s) you will find that Nubians come to Egypt to work as servants and for buildings’ security and service (the job ‘bawwaab’ or doorman).
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Berber (Amazigh)
The Berber language, the Amazigh, belongs to the residents of Morocco. This language is abundant in the Egyptian Oases of Siwa and Gara as well. This is because of the vast immigration that occurred in the past from Morroco and North Africa to the West desert of Egypt.
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Domari
From its name, the ‘Domari’ dialect belongs to the people of DOM, who reside now in Luxor and north of Cairo. These groups came from west Asia and the Levantine region. The Domari is more of a language than a dialect and is completely different from the Cairo dialect. This language still exists in many other countries like Sudan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the whole Levantine area.
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Now you have a clear idea of what language is spoken in Egypt. If you want to hit the ground running with spoken Egypt, it is the perfect time to join my Egyptian Arabic 101 course. The course will give you the foundation you need to communicate easily in Egyptian.
Also, feel free to watch my YouTube episode about the same topic below. Don’t forget to leave me a comment and tell me, what dialects you heard from Egyptians? Did you notice the difference between them?