Darja
Maghrebi Arabic, often known as ad-Dārija to differentiate it from Literary Arabic, is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb. It includes the Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Libyan, Hassaniya and Saharan Arabic dialects.
Maghrebi Arabic has a predominantly Semitic and Arabic vocabulary, although it contains a significant number of Berber loanwords, which represent 10–15% of the vocabulary of Moroccan Arabic, 8–9% of Algerian and Tunisian Arabic, and 2–3% of Libyan Arabic. Maghrebi Arabic was formerly spoken in Sicily and Al-Andalus until the 13th and 17th centuries, respectively, in the extinct forms of Siculo-Arabic and Andalusi Arabic. The Maltese language is believed to have its source in a language spoken in Muslim Sicily that ultimately originates from Tunisia, as it contains some typical Maghrebi Arabic areal characteristics.
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