Languages of Egypt
| Languages of Egypt | |
|---|---|
Multilingual sign at an Egyptian hotel; Egypt attracts tourists from all over the world. | |
| Official | Literary Arabic |
| Vernacular | Egyptian Arabic (66.7%) (de facto lingua franca) |
| Minority | Sa'idi Arabic (24%) Sudanese Arabic (3.5%) Levantine Arabic (1.8%) Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic (1.1%) Western Egyptian Bedawi (0.8%) Nobiin (0.4%) Domari (0.3%) Beja (0.07%) Kenzi (0.03%) Siwi (0.02%) Coptic (mostly liturgical) |
| Immigrant | Greek Armenian Italian Russian |
| Foreign | English (39.98%) French (3.02%) |
| Signed | Egyptian Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
| Historical language(s) | Ancient Egyptian Meroitic |
Egyptians speak a continuum of dialects. The predominant dialect in Egypt is Egyptian Colloquial Arabic or Masri/Masry (مصرى Egyptian), which is the vernacular language. Literary Arabic is the official language and the most widely written. The Coptic language is used liturgically by Copts as it is the liturgical language of Coptic Christianity.