Algerian Arabic

Infobox Language
name=Algerian Arabic
nativename= Dza:jri جزائري
familycolor=Afro-Asiatic
states=Algeria
speakers=20,000,000 (60% of Algerians)
fam2=Semitic
fam3=West Semitic
fam4=Central Semitic
fam5=South Central Semitic
fam6=Arabic
script=Arabic alphabet
nation="none"
agency="none"
iso2="none"
iso3=arq

Algerian Arabic is the variety or varieties of Arabic spoken in Algeria. In Algeria, as elsewhere, spoken Arabic differs from written Arabic; Algerian Arabic has an essentially Berber phonetic , a vocabulary with many new words and some loanwords from Berber, Turkish, Spanish, and French, and like all Arabic dialects, has dropped the case endings of the written language. In Algeria, Algerian Arabic or Darija isn't used in schools, television or newspapers, which usually use Arabic or French, but is more likely heard in music like Raï if not just heard in Algerian homes and on the street , and there is no real motivation among Algerians to write it and make of it the official language of the country. Algerian Arabic is spoken daily by about 20 million Algerians representing about 60% of the population, the remaining 12 million Algerians speak the Amazigh / Berber languageFact|date=August 2008.

Variations within Algerian Darija

Within Algerian Arabic itself, there are significant local variations. Algerian Arabic changes from place to place and town to town. Even two towns near one another may not speak the same dialect or accent. It gets more extreme as you head towards the Moroccan and Tunisan borders. These are the major local variations of Algerian Darija:
*West Algerian dialects, for instance, are particular in pronouncing the third singular masculine objective pronoun as "h",example, IPA|/ʃʊfteh/ شُفتـَه, I saw himthat would be IPA|/ʃʊftʊ/ in the other dialects.
*Tlemcen is noticeable for more than two dialects, mainlyIPA|/qʊlt/ قلت dialectand IPA|/ʔʊlt/ ألت dialect, q is pronounced as a hamza, glottal stop.
*Jijel Arabic, in particular, is noteworthy for its pronunciation of "qaf" as "kaf" and its profusion of Berber loanwords.

Certain ports' dialects show influence from Andalusi Arabic brought by refugees from al-Andalus. Algerian Arabic is part of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum, and fades into Moroccan Arabic and Tunisian Arabic along the respective borders.

Algerian Arabic vocabulary is pretty much similar throughout Algeria, although the Easterners sound closer to Tunisians while the Westerners speak an Arabic closer to that of the Moroccans.

The Berber languages (Tamazight) are also used in and nearby countries.

Phonology

List of phonemes as transliterated in this article: 24 consonants:

Prepositions act just like any other noun or just like English prepositions.

Example : « Ana tani. » — "Me too."

Pronouns of the verb

ee also

* Varieties of Arabic
* Maghrebi Arabic
* Moroccan Arabic
* Tunisian Arabic
* Hassaniya Arabic
* Libyan Arabic
* Languages of Algeria

External links

* [http://www.dicodialna.com Online Dictionary of Algerian Arabic]
* [http://my.algeria.com/forums/language-langue/7173-learning-algerian-arabic.html]
* [http://www.e-dz.com/site/content/view/51/75/ Learn Algerian Darja (beginners)]
* [http://musique.arabe.over-blog.com/categorie-10240207] (Algerian Music)
* [http://music.calabashmusic.com/world/africa/algeria] (Algerian Music)