Languages of Egypt

The official language of Egypt is Arabic, and most Egyptians speak one
of several vernacular dialects of that language. As is the case in other
Arab countries, the spoken vernacular differs greatly from the literary
language. Modern literary Arabic (often called Modern Standard Arabic
or al-fuṣḥā, “clear” Arabic) is learned only in school and is the lingua
franca of educated persons throughout the Arab world.

Alongside the written language, there exist various regional vernaculars

and dialects of Arabic (these are termed collectively al-ʿammiyyah,
“common” Arabic), which differ widely from the literary variant as well
as from one another. Within the amorphous grouping referred to as
Egyptian colloquial, a number of separate vernacular groups can be
discerned, each fairly homogeneous but with further strata of variation
within the group. (Variations from one locale to another are often subtle
but at other times are quite profound.)

One of these is the dialect of the Bedouin of the Eastern Desert and of
the Sinai Peninsula; the Bedouin of the Western Desert constitute a
separate dialect group. Upper Egypt has its own vernacular, markedly
different from that of Cairo. The Cairo dialect is used, with variations,
throughout the towns of the delta, but rural people have their own
vernacular. Direct contact with foreigners over a long period has led to
the incorporation of many loanwords into Cairene colloquial Arabic.
(Cairo’s prominence as a centre of the Arab film industry has also
ensured that its dialect is widely understood throughout the Arab world.)
The long contact with foreigners and the existence of foreign-language
schools also explain the polyglot character of Egyptian society. Most
educated Egyptians are fluent in English or French or both, in addition to
Arabic.