Arabic, Mesopotamian Spoken
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A language of Iraq
ISO 639-3
Alternate Names
Arabic, Baghdadi, Furati, Iraqi Arabic, Mesopotamian Gelet Arabic
Autonym
عراقي (ʕirāgi)
Population
13,400,000 (Leclerc 2014). Total users in all countries: 15,649,800.
Location
Widespread. (Tigris and Euphrates area, southeast from Baghdad to Kuwait and Persian Gulf; An Anbar governorate: Al-Q’aim district, small area).
Language Maps
Language Status
3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language.
Classification
Dialects
Geographical and sectarian divisions correlate with Iraqi dialects. The vernacular standard based on Baghdad speech. Also Bedouin dialects. Nearly unintelligible to speakers of certain other vernacular Arabic varieties. Anatolian Cluster in Turkey. A member of macrolanguage Arabic [ara].
Typology
SVO.
Language Use
Used as L2 by Mandaic [mid].
Language Development
Radio. TV.
Language Resources
Writing
Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab].
Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Yezidi.