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Syria Arabs
The Arabs identify with speakers of their language throughout
the Middle East. The majority of Syrian Arabs are Muslims;
chiefly Sunni, they also include the Alawis,
Ismailis (see Glossary), and
Shia (see Glossary). All the Druzes are Arabic-speaking, as are
the Jews and half the Christian population; most
Christian Arabs are Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, or Greek
Catholic
(see Religious Life
, this ch.). Being both Arab and
Muslim leads many Syrians to feel that the two characteristics
are natural companions and that one cannot be an Arab without
being Muslim and vice versa.
Syrian Arabs are highly conscious of the Islamic-Arab
tradition. This is also true of Arab Christians, who follow
Muslim customs in many of their daily activities and look with
pride to the greatness of the Arab past.
Most Syrian Arabs think of the nomadic tribesman as the ideal
Arab type. This attitude is common among both villagers and city
dwellers, though the latter may also speak of the tribesman as
quaint and backward. Arabs generally think of non-Arabs as
inferior, but, because these groups are comparatively small and
constitute no possible threat to the social position of the Arab
majority, the feeling is not very strong.
Arabic, one of the most widely spoken languages in the world,
is the mother tongue of about 200 million people, from Morocco to
the Arabian Sea. One of the Semitic languages, it is related to
Aramaic, Phoenician, Syriac, Hebrew, various Ethiopic languages,
and the Akkadian of ancient Babylonia and Assyria.
Throughout the Arab world, the language exists in three
forms: the Classical Arabic of the Quran; the literary language
developed from the classical and referred to as Modern Standard
Arabic, which has virtually the same structure wherever used; and
the spoken language, which in Syria is Syrian Arabic. Educated
Arabs, therefore are bilingual, with knowledge of both Modern
Standard Arabic and their own dialect of spoken Arabic. Even
uneducated Arabic speakers, who in Syria comprise over 40 percent
of the population, usually comprehend the meaning of something
said in Modern Standard Arabic, although they are unable to speak
it; however, they may have difficulty fully understanding radio
and television programs, which are usually broadcast in Modern
Standard Arabic. Because Classical Arabic is the language of the
Quran and is regarded literally as the language of God, Arabs
almost unanimously believe that the Arabic language is their
greatest historical legacy.
Syrian Arabic is similar to Lebanese Arabic, but differs
significantly from colloquial Arabic in neighboring Iraq and
Jordan. A Syrian would find colloquial Moroccan Arabic virtually
incomprehensible. Like most people speaking dialects, Syrians
proudly regard their dialect as the most refined. However, few
Syrians believe that their dialect is actually correct Arabic.
Although they converse in Syrian Arabic, there is general
agreement that Modern Standard Arabic, the written language, is
superior to the spoken form. Arabs generally believe that the
speech of the beduin resembles Classical Arabic most closely and
that the local dialects used by settled villagers and townsmen
are unfortunate corruptions. To overcome these linguistic
barriers, educated Arabs speak Modern Standard Arabic to one
another. Uneducated and illiterate Arabs, if Muslim, can converse
with other Arabs in Classical Arabic learned from oral recitation
of the Quran.
Within Syria, regional differences in colloquial vocabulary,
grammar, and accent are wide enough that a native speaker can
readily identify another speaker's home province, tribe, city,
and even his neighborhood from his dialect. For example, Alawis
from Al Ladhiqiyah Province are called "Al Qaf" because of their
distinct pronunciation of this letter, the "Q".
Data as of April 1987
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