With Arabic being the official language in Saudi Arabia, there are three regional dialects spoken: Najdi Arabic, Gulf Arabic, and Hejazi Arabic. Najdi Arabic is spoken by 8 million people.This dialect of Arabic is spoken in the Nadj region in central Saudi Arabia, especially in the capital city, Riyadh. Within Najdi Arabic, there are three more dialects: Northern Najdi, Central Najdi, and Southern Najdi.

In Riyahd, the Central Najdi dialect is used. Gulf Arabic Is spoken by small number of people in Saudi Arabia, 200,000. It is used in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. More people speak it in the surrounding nations of the Persian Gulf than in Saudi Arabia.

Arabic is the only official language in Saudi Arabia. However, there are other languages that are spoken, mainly by immigrants from place such as The Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Egypt. Tagalog is the most spoken non-Arabic language in Saudi Arabia, with around 700,000 speakers. Urdu and Rohingya are spoken in Saudi Arabia, reflecting immigration from South Asia. Egyptian Arabic is spoken in Saudi Arabia as well.

Gulf Arabic is not always mutually intelligible with other dialects of Arabic used in Saudi Arabia. Hejazi Arabic is spoken by 6 million people. This dialect is spoken in the western regions of Saudi Arabia, specifically the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia. Cities where this dialect are spoken include Mecca, Jeddah, and Medina.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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