Varieties of Arabic
There are many varieties of Arabic (also called dialects of Arabic or vernacular languages) in existence. Arabic is a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. It is classified as a macrolanguage comprising 30 modern varieties, including its standard form. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. Some varieties of Arabic in North Africa, for example, are not easily comprehensible to an Arabic speaker from the Levant or the Persian Gulf. Within these broad regions further and considerable geographic distinctions exist, within countries, across country borders, even between cities and villages.
International Association of Arabic Dialectology
AIDA is nowadays the leading international association in this field of research and it has become a center that joins scholars from all over the world who are interested in any aspect of Arabic dialectology, including dialects which have not been described yet, dialectal geography, specific aspects of phonology, morphology and syntax, code-switching, koiné language, pidgin, creole, the lexicon of Arabic dialects, dialectal atlases, comparative and diachronic studies, sociolinguistics, teaching of Arabic dialects, and so on.