لغة

Arabic

Etymology

Like لَغَا (laḡā, “to speak”), from the root ل غ و (l-ḡ-w). Related to Hebrew לוע / לֹעַ (lṓaʿ, “throat, pharynx, maw”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lu.ɣa/

• Audio:

  (file)

Regional pronunciation:

• Kuwaiti: IPA^(key): /ˈlʊʁə/

Noun

لُغَة • (luḡa) f (plural لُغَات (luḡāt))

1. language

   Synonym: لِسَان (lisān)

2. dialect, vernacular

   Synonym: لَهْجَة (lahja)

3. jargon
4. (linguistics) a variant
   • 1290, Ibn Manẓūr, “وي”, in لسان العرب [The tongue of the Arabs]‎^[1], فصل الحاء المهملة [The section of the undotted letter ح (ħāʾ)], page 211:

     حَيِيَ حَياةً وحَيَّ يَحْيَا وَيَحَيُّ فَهُوَ حَيٌّ، وللجميع حَيُّوا، بالتشديد، قال: ولغة أُخرى حَيَّ يَحَيُّ وللجميع حَيُوا، خفيفة.

     ḥayiya ḥayātan wa-ḥayya yaḥyā wa-yaḥayyu fa-huwa ḥayyun, wa-li-l-jamīʿi ḥayyū, bi-t-tašdīdi, qāla: wa-luḡatun ʾuḵrā ḥayya yaḥayyu wa-li-l-jamīʿi ḥayū, ḵafīfa

     He lived a life, and he lived, he lives and he lives so he is alive, and in the plural they lived, with gemination; [it was] said: another variant is he lived, he lives, and in the plural they lived, [without gemination].

   • (Can we date this quote?), الفَرَّاء، أَبُو زَكَرِيَّا يَحْيَا بِن زِيَاد [Al-Farrāʾ], edited by جَابِر بِن عَبْدِ اللهِ السُّرَيِّع, كِتَابٌ فِيهِ لُغَاتُ القُرْآن (kitābun fīhi luḡātu al-qurʔān) [A book containing variant readings of the Qur'an], published 2014:

     وَفِي (نَسْتَعِينُ) لُغَتَانِ: قُرَيْشٌ وَكِنَانَةُ يَنْصِبُونَ النُّونَ، وَعَامَّةُ العَرَبِ مِن بَنِي قَيْسِ وَرَبِيعَةَ يَقُولُونَ: نِسْتَعِينُ...

     wafī (nastaʕīnu) luḡatāni: qurayšun wakinānatu yanṣibūna n-nūna, waʕāmmatu l-ʕarabi min banī qaysi warabīʕata yaqūlūna: nistaʕīnu...

     And there are two variants of نَسْتَعِينُ (nastaʕīnu): Quraysh and Kinanah pronounce it with na-, [whereas] the general Arab public of the tribes Tamim, Qays, and Rabīʿa say: nistaʿīnu...

5. (with the definite article) Classical Arabic

Declension

Declension of noun لُغَة (luḡa)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	لُغَة luḡa	اللُّغَة al-luḡa	لُغَة luḡat
Nominative	لُغَةٌ luḡatun	اللُّغَةُ al-luḡatu	لُغَةُ luḡatu
Accusative	لُغَةً luḡatan	اللُّغَةَ al-luḡata	لُغَةَ luḡata
Genitive	لُغَةٍ luḡatin	اللُّغَةِ al-luḡati	لُغَةِ luḡati
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	لُغَتَيْن luḡatayn	اللُّغَتَيْن al-luḡatayn	لُغَتَيْ luḡatay
Nominative	لُغَتَانِ luḡatāni	اللُّغَتَانِ al-luḡatāni	لُغَتَا luḡatā
Accusative	لُغَتَيْنِ luḡatayni	اللُّغَتَيْنِ al-luḡatayni	لُغَتَيْ luḡatay
Genitive	لُغَتَيْنِ luḡatayni	اللُّغَتَيْنِ al-luḡatayni	لُغَتَيْ luḡatay
Plural	sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	لُغَات luḡāt	اللُّغَات al-luḡāt	لُغَات luḡāt
Nominative	لُغَاتٌ luḡātun	اللُّغَاتُ al-luḡātu	لُغَاتُ luḡātu
Accusative	لُغَاتٍ luḡātin	اللُّغَاتِ al-luḡāti	لُغَاتِ luḡāti
Genitive	لُغَاتٍ luḡātin	اللُّغَاتِ al-luḡāti	لُغَاتِ luḡāti

Derived terms

• لُغَة أَجْنَبِيَّة (luḡa ʾajnabiyya, “foreign language”)
• لُغَة عَامِّيَّة (luḡa ʿāmmiyya, “popular language”)
• لُغَة الْمُحَادَة (luḡat al-muḥāda, “colloquial language”)
• لُغَة الْمِحْنَة (luḡat al-miḥna, “professional jargon, slang”)
• لُغَة الْمَوْلِد (luḡat al-mawlid, “mother tongue”)
• أَهْل اللُّغَة (ʔahl al-luḡa, “philologists, lexicographers”)
• عِلْم اللُّغَة (ʕilm al-luḡa, “lexicography, philology, linguistics”)
• لُغَوِيّ (luḡawiyy, “linguistic, philological, lexicographical”)

Related terms

• لَغَا (laḡā)
• لَغِيَ (laḡiya)
• أَلْغَى (ʔalḡā)
• لَغْوَة (laḡwa, “dialect, idiom, vernacular”)

Descendants

• Gulf Arabic: لغة (luḡa)
• → Azerbaijani: lüğət
• → Malay: loghat (“dialect”)
  • Indonesian: logat
• → Ottoman Turkish: لغت (lüğat)
  • Turkish: lügat
• → Persian: لغت (loğat)
• → Swahili: lugha
• → Tajik: луғат (luġat)
• → Urdu: لغت (luġat, “dictionary”)
• → Uzbek: lug'at
• → Uyghur: لۇغەت (lughet)

References

• Wehr, Hans (1979) “لغو”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN