In what regions outside of the Arab world is Arabic the main language?

Jafato

North and Western Africa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_official_languages Dec 06 07, 3:53 PM

author

With the 'Arab world' I mean the countries which are normally known as 'Arab'. This include the countries you can see on this map. As you will see, all of North Africa and large parts of West Africa are included in the Arab world. My question refers to Arabic speaking areas outside of the Arab world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_world Dec 06 07, 4:16 PM

Baloo55th

I can only think of the Comoros - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cn.html Dec 06 07, 4:45 PM

Arpeggionist

In Turkey and Turkey and Iran Arabic is used as a second language. Dec 06 07, 4:50 PM

author

Arab is probably a second language in most Muslim states (for religious purposes), but in parts of Iran (Khuzestan) Arabic is also the main language. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khuzestan Dec 06 07, 5:32 PM

author

To Baloo 55th: I realize that my question was unprecise. I really wanted to exclude all countries within the Arab 'realm', for example the members of the Arab League. The Comores is actually a member state of the Arab League. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_League Dec 06 07, 5:35 PM

MonkeyOnALeash

Large parts of Queens, New York! Not a Region, but a densely populated area. Reference: 30+ years of residence in New York. Dec 06 07, 5:52 PM

baldricksmum

Could it be Israel? Dec 06 07, 6:28 PM

Arpeggionist

Arabic is the second official language in Israel, though it is only used for official purposes in places populated heavily enough by Arabs. (Israel does have one or two daily news broadcasts on television and on the radio.) Dec 06 07, 8:04 PM

author

Some of the versions of Arab outside of the Arab world are near extinction, for example Central Asian Arabic. Central Asian Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and currently facing extinction. It was once spoken among Central Asia's numerous settled and nomadic Arab communities, which inhabited areas in Samarqand, Bukhara, Qashqadarya, Surkhandarya (present-day Uzbekistan), and Khatlon (present-day Tajikistan), as well as Afghanistan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asian_Arabic Dec 06 07, 10:05 PM

author

Some languages, such as Chadian Arabic, Nigerian Arabic and Nubi Arabic are by some regarded as creole (mixed) languages rather than Arabic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadian_Arabic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Arabic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubi_language Dec 06 07, 10:10 PM

author

There are also East African Arabs in Zanzibar and Tanzania who speak Arabic, but according to this site they are few. Quote: Omani Arabic is the primary linguistic influence in Arabic in East Africa. Most Swahili forms borrowed from Arabic where different from Standard Arabic. Earlier Arab traders who settled on the East African coast settled down and learned the local Bantu language, married local women, introduced Islam and thus much Arab culture and vocabulary. The Swahili language and culture grew up this way. The Arabs may have maintained their Arabic, but also spoke Swahili, the form of Bantu language common on the coast. Arabic was a minority language. East African (Zanzibari and Tanzanian) Arabic should likely be classified as a dialect of Omani Arabic. But there aren’t many left who speak it. http://orvillejenkins.com/profiles/arablang.html Dec 06 07, 10:22 PM

author

This is a list of the total of Arabic speaking persons in each country. http://www.arabic-language.org/arabic/facts.asp Dec 06 07, 10:24 PM

author

Finally, a word should be said about Andalusian Arab. It is now extinct, but it had a great impact on the culture and is still alive in the music. Quote: Andalusian Arabic (also known as Andalusi Arabic and Spanish Arabic) was a dialect of the Arabic language spoken in Al-Andalus, the regions of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) under Muslim rule. It became an extinct language in Iberia after the expulsion of the Moriscos following the Christian Reconquest (Reconquista), though it is still used in Andalusi music. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalusi_Arabic Dec 06 07, 10:30 PM