Lebanese Arabic — Pronunciation for English Speakers
This guide is based on a phoneme-by-phoneme comparison of Lebanese Arabic and English. Lebanese Arabic and English share 15 sounds — about 30% of Lebanese Arabic's inventory. The remaining sounds are where English speakers will need to focus their practice.
Sounds to learn from scratch (35)
These phonemes exist in Lebanese Arabic but not in English. English speakers will need to learn to produce and perceive them as new categories — not just a variation of an existing English sound.
Familiar sounds (15)
These phonemes exist in both Lebanese Arabic and English. You already produce and perceive them — though they may appear in different positions or syllable structures.
English sounds not used in Lebanese Arabic (30)
These English phonemes don't exist in Lebanese Arabic. Native Lebanese Arabic speakers learning English will face the reverse challenge with these sounds.