Arabic (Lebanese)

Lebanese Arabic is a set of Levantine Arabic varieties spoken throughout Lebanon, not only the urban speech of Beirut. Pronunciation varies by region and community; in much urban speech historical qāf is commonly [ʔ], jīm is [ʒ], and final /a/ is often raised toward [e], while rural and other varieties may use different reflexes. Like other Levantine vernaculars, it has largely lost Classical Arabic case endings and uses particles and clitics to mark tense, aspect, negation, possession, and objects. Its vocabulary has an Arabic core together with effects of older contact with Aramaic and many loans, especially from Turkish, French, and English. It is the main language of informal conversation and much popular media; Modern Standard Arabic is used in formal writing, and Arabic is Lebanon's sole official national language, with French permitted by law in specified cases.