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Brief Description
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Introduced in the 8th century following the Arab conquest of Spain, Arabic became heavily influenced by the Romance dialects of the Iberian peninisular, and evolved into a distinct colloquial language with numerous Romance loanwords. It became the vehicle of a lively literary and musical tradition, and is found in numerous texts. It continued to be spoken in Spain until the sixteenth century, and songs in this dialect are still sung by North African Andalusī musicians. In medieval times, Ibn Khaldūn described it as the third major non-nomadic Arabic variety, alongside Maghrebī and Mashreqī. It is characterized by strong fronting of low vowels ("'imāla") and stress-based phonology. (Information in part from Lameen Souag)
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