Gulf Arabic

Gulf Arabic (خليجي Khalījī local pronunciation: [χɐˈliːdʒi] or اللهجة الخليجية el-lahja el-Khalijiyya local pronunciation: [elˈlɑhdʒɐ lχɐˈliːdʒɪj.jɐ]) is a variety of the Arabic language spoken in Eastern Arabia around the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Iraq,Bahrain, eastern Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iran and northern Oman. These dialects are mutually intelligible.

Gulf dialects differ in vocabulary, grammar and accent. There are many differences between Kuwaiti Arabic and the dialects of Qatar and UAE—especially in accent. Most Saudis do not speak Gulf Arabic because most Saudis do not live in Eastern Arabia. There are only 200,000 Gulf Arabic speakers in Saudi Arabia, mostly in the coastal eastern province. Gulf Arabic is distinct from Saudi Arabic. Most Saudis speak Hejazi Arabic, Najdi Arabic and Bareqi Arabic dialects.

Name

The dialect's full name el-lahja el-Khalijiyya (اللهجة الخليجية local pronunciation: [elˈlɑhdʒɐ lχɐˈliːdʒɪj.jɐ]) can be translated as 'the dialect of the gulf'. However, it is most commonly referred to as Khaliji (خليجي Khalījī local pronunciation: [χɐˈliːdʒi]), in which the noun خليج (Arabic pronunciation: [χɐˈliːdʒ]; Khalīj) has been suffixed with the Nisba, literally meaning 'of the bay' or 'of the gulf'.