A newly released study shows, for the first time in French history, that the second most widely spoken language in the country is dialectal Arabic, with an estimated population of between three and four million speakers. The resulting population ratio in favour of people mainly of North African origin is fraught with consequences. These include dialectal Arabic, which, according to Le Figaro, is ahead of the Creole languages spoken in the French overseas territories, Berber, Alsatian, Occitan, and Breton. In France, there is also dialectal Arabic of Lebanese, Egyptian, or Syrian origin, but this is in a minority. Depending on their country of origin, speakers of this dialectal Arabic do not necessarily understand each other, as there are so many variants.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 24, 2023 20:20 UTC