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Ethnologue: Languages of the World
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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Asia > Oman > Arabic, Omani Spoken

Arabic, Omani Spoken

A language of Oman

ISO 639-3: acx

Population  720,000 in Oman (1996). Population total all countries: 853,900.
Region  Mainly in Hajar Mountains highlands; a few coastal regions. Also in Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates.
Language map  Oman
Alternate names   Omani Hadari Arabic
Classification  Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
A member of macrolanguage Arabic [ara] (Saudi Arabia).
Comments  SVO.

Also spoken in:

Kenya

Language name   Arabic, Omani Spoken
Population  15,000 in Kenya (1995), increasing.
Region  Coastal.
Language use  Important for religious practice. GIDS 5. Home, religion. All ages. Positive attitude.
Language development  Literacy is in Standard Arabic [arb].
Comments  Kiswahili [swh] is the L1 of most or all. Reportedly came to Kenya as early as 900 A.D., originally from Yemen and Oman. Muslim.
 

Tanzania

Language name   Arabic, Omani Spoken
Population  Ethnic population: 195,000 in Tanzania (Johnstone 1993).
Region  Zanzibar.
Language use  Second and third generation in Tanzania, originally from Yemen and Oman. Some or all may speak Swahili [swh] as L1.
Language development  Literacy is in Arabic.
Comments  Muslim.