Egyptian Arabic ( 'aammiyya )

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Egyptian Arabic, or Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, is the national language of Egypt. It also serves as a second language in many countries of the Middle East.

Prior to the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th century AD, the Egyptians spoke Coptic, a later phase of ancient Egyptian. Following the Arab conquest, there was a prolonged period when both Coptic and Arabic were spoken in Egypt. Egyptian Arabic, as distinct from Classical Arabic and the variety spoken by the Arab invaders, is thought to have developed in the first Islamic capital of Egypt, that is now part of Cairo, the capital of present-day Egypt. With increased Islamization and Arabization of the country, Egyptian Arabic slowly replaced Coptic. However, there is evidence that Coptic Egyptian continued to be spoken until the 17th century AD. Coptic is still the liturgical language of the Egyptian Coptic Church.

It is estimated that Egyptian Arabic is spoken by over 44 million people in Egypt, the most populous Arabic-speaking country of 77 million people. It is also spoken in Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (Ethnologue). The total number of speakers of Egyptian Arabic is estimated to be over 46 million.

Although Egyptian Arabic is for the most part a spoken dialect, it is also used in vernacular literature, including novels, plays, and poems, as popular media, such as in comics, advertising, some newspapers, and in transcriptions of popular songs. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is used In most other written media and in TV broadcasts. MSA is spoken on all formal occasions and for all formal purposes.

Egyptian Arabic is widely understood throughout the Arab world because Egypt has been a dominant force in film and in the media. Egypt developed the first Arab-speaking local film industry, and Egyptian films are widely distributed throughout the Arab world. The Egyptian film industry has created some 3,000 full-length films since 1924 and has earned the name of 'Hollywood on the Nile.' As a result, Egyptian Arabic is usually chosen as the spoken dialect taught to students of Arabic as a foreign language.

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