Palestine

Summary

Official Name: State of Palestine
Population: 5,223,000
General Remarks: Recognized by the United Nations based on the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles of 1993 (also known as the Oslo Accords), and the Interim agreement of 1995
Principal Languages: Standard Arabic
Literacy Rate: 97% (2018 UNESCO)
International Conventions: CDE (1960), CPPDCE (2006), CSICH (2012), ICCPR (1966), UNCRPD (2006)
General References: Fischer and Jastrow 1980
Language Counts: The number of established languages listed for Palestine is 8. All are living languages. Of these, 4 are indigenous and 4 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 1 is institutional, 2 are developing, 1 is vigorous, 1 is in trouble, and 3 are dying. Also listed are 2 unestablished languages.

Languages

Arabic, Egyptian Spoken arz: Users: 45,700 in Palestine (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Levantine Bedawi Spoken avl: Jericho and Al Aghwar, Jerusalem and Bethlehem governorates, Judean desert, Jordan river and Dead Sea area. Users: 28,300 in Palestine (2019). Status: 6a* (Vigorous). Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, North Levantine Spoken apc: Users: 14,800 in Palestine (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, South Levantine Spoken ajp: Widespread. Users: 4,260,000 in Palestine (2021). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Alternate Names: Palestinian Arabic Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Standard arb: Widespread. Users: 4,040,000 in Palestine (2014 SIL), all users. Status: 1 (National). De facto national language. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Armenian, Western hyw: Jerusalem; Ramallah and Al-Bireh: Ramallah. Users: 1,900 in Palestine (2019). Status: 6b* (Threatened). Classification: Indo-European, Armenian
Domari rmt: Jerusalem governorate; refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza. Users: 1 in Palestine (Matras 2019). Ethnic population: 650 (Matras 1999). Status: 8b (Nearly extinct). Alternate Names: Dom, Nawari, Near-Eastern Gypsy Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Intermediate Divisions, Western, Dom
Hebrew heb: Users: 705,000 in Palestine (2021 EU). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Canaanite
Samaritan Aramaic sam: Nablus governorate. Users: No known L1 speakers in Palestine. Ethnic population: No ethnic community. Total users in all countries: none known. Status: 9 (Second language only). Alternate Names: Shamerim Autonym: ארמית‎ (Arāmît) Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Western
Samaritan Hebrew smp: Nablus governorate. Users: No known L1 speakers in Palestine. Ethnic population: No ethnic community. Total users in all countries: none known. Status: 9 (Second language only). Alternate Names: Samaritan, Shamerim Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Canaanite

Languages by Status

1 (National)

Arabic, Standard

[arb] 1 (National). De facto national language. 4,040,000 in Palestine (2014 SIL), all users.

5 (Dispersed)

Arabic, South Levantine Spoken

[ajp] 5* (Dispersed). 4,260,000 in Palestine (2021).

Hebrew

[heb] 5* (Dispersed). 705,000 in Palestine (2021 EU).

6a (Vigorous)

Arabic, Levantine Bedawi Spoken

[avl] 6a* (Vigorous). 28,300 in Palestine (2019).

6b (Threatened)

Armenian, Western

[hyw] 6b* (Threatened). 1,900 in Palestine (2019).

8b (Nearly extinct)

Domari

[rmt] 8b (Nearly extinct). 1 in Palestine (Matras 2019). Ethnic population: 650 (Matras 1999).

Unestablished

Arabic, Egyptian Spoken

[arz] Unestablished. 45,700 in Palestine (2019).

Arabic, North Levantine Spoken

[apc] Unestablished. 14,800 in Palestine (2019).

Maps

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Palestine with respect to their level of language vitality. Each individual language that has an entry for Palestine is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of vitality. The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level.
The vitality levels and the color coding of the bars match the scheme used in the guide on How many languages are endangered? In this scheme, the levels and colors are as follows:
- Dark green = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Light green = Stable (EGIDS 5-6a) — The language is not being sustained by formal institutions, but It is still the norm in the home and community that all children learn and use the language.
- Red = Endangered (EGIDS 6b-9) — It is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.
These three summary levels have been derived by grouping levels in the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which is the more fine-grained scale that Ethnologue uses to assess the status of every language in terms of development versus endangerment; see the Language Status page for a description of the levels of that scale. See also the pages on Development and Endangerment for more discussion.
Language Status Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Palestine with respect to their status of language development versus language endangerment. Each individual language that has an entry for Palestine is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of development or endangerment as measured on the EGIDS scale. (See the pages on Development and Endangerment for a fuller explanation.) The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level. Consult the Status listings for Palestine in order to see the specific languages for each level.
The color coding of the bars matches the color scheme used in the summary profile graphs on the navigation maps for the site. In this scheme, the EGIDS levels are grouped as follows:
- Purple = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Blue = Developing (EGIDS 5) — The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable.
- Green = Vigorous (EGIDS 6a) — The language is unstandardized and in vigorous use among all generations.
- Yellow = In trouble (EGIDS 6b-7) — Intergenerational transmission is in the process of being broken, but the child-bearing generation can still use the language so it is possible that revitalization efforts could restore transmission of the language in the home.
- Red = Dying (EGIDS 8a-9) — The only fluent users (if any) are older than child-bearing age, so it is too late to restore natural intergenerational transmission through the home; a mechanism outside the home would need to be developed.
- Black = Extinct (EGIDS 10) — The language has fallen completely out of use and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with the language.

Resources

View Terms
Each Ethnologue country digest is a licensed product with restricted terms of use. Before downloading the product, you must agree to the following terms:
- This is a license for individual use. Just as with a conventionally published book, it is a violation of copyright to make a copy and give it to others.
- You may not redistribute this work in any form, including ingesting the contents into a database that is shared with others or posting it on a web site (whether public or private).
To inquire about permission for reuse or redistribution, please use the Contact Us form in the footer.
I agree to the digest terms of use.
Digest of the languages of Palestine ($149.95, 21 page PDF)

Palestine

Summary

Languages

Languages by Status

Maps

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile

Language Status Profile

Resources

Contributions

Editorial Action