Omani Arabic
اللهجة العمانية
Native toOman, United Arab Emirates
RegionHajar mountains and a few coastal towns
EthnicityOmanis
Speakers3.2 million (2020)[1]
Arabic alphabet, Arabic chat alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3acx
Glottologoman1239
Areas where Omani Arabic is spoken (in dark blue those areas where it is more widely spoken).

Omani Arabic (Arabic: اللهجة العمانية, romanized: al-Lahjah al-ʻUmānīyah; also known as Omani Hadari Arabic) is a variety of Arabic spoken in the Al Hajar Mountains of Oman and in a few neighboring coastal regions. It is the easternmost Arabic dialect. It was formerly spoken by colonists in Kenya and Tanzania, but these days, it mainly remains spoken on the island of Zanzibar.

Phonology

Consonants

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

Vowels

Front Back
Close i iː u uː
Mid eː oː
Open a aː

See also

References

  1. ^ Omani Arabic at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Glover, Bonnie C. (1988). The morphophonology of Muscat Arabic. University of California at Los Angeles.
  3. ^ Al-Balushi, Rashid (2017). "Omani Arabic: More than a Dialect" (PDF). Omani Arabic: More than a Dialect: 89–90.
  4. ^ Al-Balushi, Rashid (2017). "Omani Arabic: More than a Dialect" (PDF). Omani Arabic: More than a Dialect: 89.
  5. ^ Al Nabhani, H (2011). "Language and Identity in Oman through the Voice of Local Radio Broadcasters" (PDF). Language and Identity in Oman through the Voice of Local Radio Broadcasters. The University of Edinburgh.
  6. ^ Grünbichler, Elisabeth (2015). Grammatik und Lexik des arabischen Dialekts von Buraimi (Oman). Universität Wien.


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