Lebanese Arabic is spoken in Lebanon and has a few dialects that can be roughly categorized into its main geographical areas, but that remain largely undocumented. Lebanese Arabic is characterized by 27 consonants, 8 vowels and 2 diphthongs; consonant clusters are permissible in coda position but onset clusters that result from vowel elision are also attested. Lebanese Arabic has no tones and uses an Arabic writing system. There are very few studies of children’s acquisition of Lebanese Arabic. Researchers have focused on children with speech sound disorders. Common speech assessments include Epreuve de Discrimination Phonémique Arabe (EDiPhAr), the LITMUS Quasi-Universal Nonword Repetition Test (QU-NWR), and Evaluation du Langage Oral Libanais (ELO-L) and interventions include phonological awareness, traditional articulation therapy, auditory discrimination, and minimal pair therapy.

Key words:
Lebanese Arabic, multilingual, communication, speech, language, children’s development, interdisciplinary, international communities, assessment, intervention

Book Chapter:
Khattab, G. (2025). Arabic (Lebanese) speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.

Language overview presentation:

• Khattab, G. (forthcoming). Arabic (Lebanese): Multilingual children’s speech development. Charles Sturt University, Australia. https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/languages

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals