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In Arabic: اللهجة البيضاء

Arabic and its dialects

A softened spoken Arabic that drops very local words and leans towards standard vocabulary while keeping a colloquial sound and rhythm, so a wider audience understands it. It is common in ads aimed at several Gulf countries.

Example: Instead of a hyper-local Saudi idiom, the script uses wording any Gulf viewer recognises, keeping the casual tone without the regional slang.
Related pageAll terms
  • Arabic and its dialectsالعربية الفصحى

    Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)

    The standard modern form of Arabic used in news, books, official documents and education across the Arab world. Everyone understands it, but it sounds more formal than the spoken dialects in ads and social content.

  • Arabic and its dialectsاللهجة

    Arabic dialect

    The spoken form of Arabic in a particular country or region, such as Saudi, Emirati, Kuwaiti, Egyptian or Levantine. Dialects differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and some grammar, and matching your audience's dialect makes a voice sound local.

  • Arabic and its dialectsالتشكيل

    Tashkeel (Arabic diacritics)

    The vowel and pronunciation marks written above or below Arabic letters: fatha, damma, kasra, sukun, shadda and tanween. Most Arabic is written without them, so a text to speech engine has to guess; adding tashkeel to ambiguous words tells it exactly how to read them.

  • Arabic and its dialectsاللهجة النجدية

    Najdi Arabic

    The dialect of central Saudi Arabia, around Riyadh and Qassim, and what most people hear as "Saudi". It often pronounces qaf as a hard g and uses words like wesh (what), abi (I want) and alheen (now).

  • Arabic and its dialectsاللهجة الحجازية

    Hejazi Arabic

    The dialect of western Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah, Mecca and Medina, distinct from Najdi in sound and vocabulary. Typical words include eish (what), abgha (I want) and dahheen (now).

  • Arabic and its dialectsاللهجة الخليجية

    Khaleeji (Gulf) Arabic

    An umbrella name for the dialects of the Gulf states: Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and eastern Saudi Arabia. They share many words such as wayed (a lot) and shlon (how), but each country has a flavour local listeners spot immediately.

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