Afro-Asiatic · ISO 639-3 arq
Algerian Arabic Language الدارجة الجزائرية
Algerian Arabic is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by about 42 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script.
Where Algerian Arabic is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Algerian Arabic
Language family
- Afro-Asiatic
- Semitic
- West Semitic
- Central Semitic
- Arabian
- Arabic
- North African Arabic
- Western Middle Arabic
- Maghrebi
- Algerian Arabic
Writing system
Perso-Arabic script
Related languages
About the Algerian Arabic language
Algerian Arabic (الدارجة الجزائرية) is spoken by about 42 million people, which makes it the 41st most spoken language in the world — just behind Hausa (44 million) and ahead of Malayalam (42 million). It belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family and, more precisely, to the Maghrebi group within the West Semitic branch.
Where is Algerian Arabic spoken?
Algerian Arabic is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Algeria (39 million). More than half of the population speaks it in Algeria — the places where travellers will hear it everywhere.
Algerian Arabic is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Algerian Arabic is written in the Perso-Arabic script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Moroccan Arabic, Tunisian Arabic, Maltese, Hassaniyya, Libyan Arabic, Standard Arabic and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 arq.
Frequently asked questions about Algerian Arabic
How many people speak Algerian Arabic?
Where is Algerian Arabic spoken?
What language family does Algerian Arabic belong to?
What is Algerian Arabic called in Algerian Arabic?
Is Algerian Arabic an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.