Lebanon Languages

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Record Types

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Lebanon Genealogical Word Lists

Arabic French

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Lebanon

Languages

Description

Arabic is the official national language. The majority of Lebanese people speak Lebanese Arabic.
A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used. There is a significant presence of French. Almost 40% of Lebanese are considered francophone.
The majority of Lebanese people speak Lebanese Arabic, while Modern Standard Arabic is mostly used in magazines, newspapers, and formal broadcast media.

Word List(s)

• French Genealogical Word List
• Arabic Genealogical Word List
• Lebanese Arabic phrasebook - Wikitravel
• Common Lebanese Terms and Phrases - Lebanese Language Institute
• Useful phrases in Arabic Lebanese - Omniglot
• Modern_Standard_Arabic Common phrases - Wikipedia

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Alphabet

• Lebanese Arabic Consonants & Vowels - Wikipedia
• Lebanese Arabic online alphabet - Omniglot
• Lebanese Arabic Vowels - Omniglot
• Modern Standard Arabic Alphabet - Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• Pronunciation of Lebanese Arabic - Omniglot
• Arabic Pronunciation guide - WikiTravel

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Dictionaries

• Arts, Tressy. Oxford Arabic dictionary : Arabic-English · English-Arabic. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Available at: WorldCat.
• Cousin, Pierre-Henri. Collins French dictionary. Glasgow [Scotland], Great Britain: HarperCollins Publishers, 2012. Available at: WorldCat.

Online Dictionaries

• Arabic dictionary - Lexilogos
• Dictionary Arabic - English - Glosbe
• Lebanese Arabic Dictionary - Arabic Words

Language Aids

• Ryding, Karin C. A reference grammar of modern standard Arabic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Available at: WorldCat.
• Alhawary, Mohammad T. Modern Standard Arabic Grammar. Somerset: Wiley, 2011. Available at: WorldCat.
• Bucher, Urs. Vocabulary of modern standard Arabic. Grossdietwil: Tobun, 1984. Available at: WorldCat.
• Arabic grammar - Wikipedia

References

Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used".The majority of Lebanese people speak Lebanese Arabic, while Modern Standard Arabic is mostly used in magazines, newspapers, and formal broadcast media. Lebanese Sign Language is the language of the deaf community. Almost 40% of Lebanese are considered francophone, and another 15% "partial francophone," and 70% of Lebanon's secondary schools use French as a second language of instruction. By comparison, English is used as a secondary language in 30% of Lebanon's secondary schools.The use of French is a legacy of France's historic ties to the region, including its League of Nations mandate over Lebanon following World War I; as of 2004, some 20% of the population used French on a daily basis.The use of Arabic by Lebanon's educated youth is declining, as they usually prefer to speak in French and, to a lesser extent, English, which are seen as 'hipper'. English is increasingly used in science and business interaction. As of 2007 the presence of English in Lebanon has increased. Lebanese citizens of Armenian, Greek, or Kurdish descent often speak Armenian, Greek, or Kurdish with varying degrees of fluency. As of 2009, there were around 150,000 Armenians in Lebanon, or around 5% of the population. (Wikipedia)

For word lists and help researching in Lebanon records, see:

• Arabic Genealogical Word List
• French Genealogical Word List