Andalusian Arabic

Andalusi Arabic or Andalusian Arabic (Arabic: اللهجة العربية الأندلسية, romanized: al-lahja al-ʿarabiyya al-ʾandalusiyya) was a variety or varieties of Arabic spoken mainly from the 8th to the 15th century in Al-Andalus, the regions of the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule.

Arabic spread gradually over the centuries of Muslim rule in Iberia, primarily through conversion to Islam, although it was also learned and spoken by Christians and Jews. Arabic became the language of administration and was the primary language of literature produced in al-Andalus; the Andalusi vernacular was distinct among medieval Arabic vernaculars in that it was used in poetry, in zajal and the kharjas of muwaššaḥāt.

Arabic in al-Andalus existed largely in a situation of bilingualism with Andalusi Romance (known popularly as Mozarabic) until the 13th century. Arabic in Iberia was also characterized by diglossia: in addition to standard written Arabic, spoken varieties could be subdivided into an urban, educated idiolect and a register of the less-privileged masses.

From Wikipedia · Andalusi Arabic · CC BY-SA 4.0