Features Nasser speaking Siwan Berber (Siwi language) and Egyptian Arabic; both are Egyptian languages. Siwi is in the Berber language family, and Arabic is in the Semitic language family.
This video was recorded in Egypt’s Siwa Oasis and features Nasser speaking Egyptian Arabic and Siwa Berber, also known as Siwi. Egyptian Arabic is a variety of Arabic, a Semitic language of the broader Afro-Asiatic language family, spoken by 49 million people in Egypt and an additional 51 million speakers around the world. Egyptian Arabic is a North African variety of Arabic, which derived from Quranic Arabic brought to Egypt in the 7th century during the Muslim conquest. Its grammar is heavily influenced by the Egyptian Coptic language, the native language of many Egyptians before the Muslim conquest. There is a strong film and music industry in Egypt, making Egyptian Arabic a widely-known Arabic variety around the world.
In the Siwa Oasis and Gara Oasis, as well as near the Libyan border, Siwi is an Indigenous language of Egypt. Siwi is an Eastern Berber language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. It is spoken by an estimated 20,000 people, yet it has no official status in Egypt, is not taught in schools, and has little to no appearance in the media. Heavily influenced by Egyptian Arabic, Siwi also has a number of linguistic features not typically found across Berber languages. Some of these features include addressee agreement on demonstratives, no gender distinctions in plural forms, and the absence of dedicated negative forms of verbs. Siwi has no standardized orthography, so speakers generally use the Modern Standard Arabic orthography. Siwi has an extensive tradition of oral poetry and folk tales, as well as riddles and proverbs. Although there is no official recognition of Siwi, there is work in establishing language courses at the House of Culture, the local cultural center in Siwa.
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ساعدنا في عنونة وترجمة هذا الفيديو!
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