Arablish

Arablish, a portmanteau combining the words "Arabic" and "English", is a slang term for an interlanguage and refers to the phenomenon of code-switching between the two languages. It is alternatively termed Arbalizi, a portmanteau combining the words Arabic and Inglizi (the word for English in Arabic).

Usage of Arablish/Arbalizi particularly among the youth may be as a result of poor knowledge of one language or the other or both, or may be usage for introducing a humorous effect. Arablish/Arablizi is being increasingly used in ordinary conversations and online.^[1]

Arablish usually consists of either filling in gaps in one's knowledge of Arabic with English words, speaking Arabic in such a manner that (although ostensibly "Arabic") would be incomprehensible to an Arab language speaker who does not also have a working knowledge of English.

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