Lebanon exists in a state of diglossia: MSA is used in formal writing and the news, while Lebanese Arabic—the variety of Levantine Arabic—is used as the native language in conversations and for informal written communication.

[6] MSA is the language of literature, official documents, and formal written media (newspapers, instruction leaflets, school books),[6] and in spoken form, it is mostly used when reading from a scripted text (e.g., news bulletins) and for prayer and sermons in the mosque or church.

[13][2] They differ significantly in their phonology, morphology, lexicon and syntax,[14] and exposure to MSA in the early childhood of native speakers of an Arabic variety results in a linguistic system that behaves like that of bilinguals.

[26][27] This prevalence of code-switching has led to phrases that naturally embed multiple linguistic codes being used in daily sentence, like the typical greeting "hi, كيفك؟[b] Ça va ?

MSA, despite being Lebanon's second language by number of users,[1] is almost never used in conversations,[5] while English[33] and French[34] are, even between some native speakers of Levantine.

[36] Egypt was the most influential center of Arab media productions (movies, drama, TV series) during the 20th century,[37] but Levantine is now competing with Egyptian.

[41][43] The release of Frozen with an MSA dub and without an Egyptian one caused a controversy in the Arab world.

[6] In formal media, Levantine is seldom written, except for some novels, plays, and humorous writings.

[53] Especially among younger generations, Arabizi is commonly used on social media and discussion forums, SMS messaging, and online chat.

[59][60] Between 1994 and 1997, the Council of Ministers passed a new National Language Curriculum that required schools to use either English or French in natural sciences and mathematics.

[41][34] Foreign language proficiency, therefore, is highly beneficial to Lebanese graduates, as it helps them find jobs abroad.

[64] Additionally, Syrian refugees in Lebanon transitioning from the MSA-centric Syrian education system to the English- and French-centric Lebanese system struggle with English and French and are therefore often placed several grade levels below their age level, causing negative consequences on their psychosocial well-being.

"[66][67] A member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Lebanon's official languages used to be French and MSA.

[33][69] French is also used, alongside MSA, on road signs, the Lebanese lira, and public buildings.

[33][70] This process, according to a report funded and led by the World Bank, "risks an edit or an omission in the restatement by the judge.

[77] Their mother tongue remains widespread,[45] and some Armenians in Lebanon can also speak Turkish, more than a century after their ancestors left Turkey.

[citation needed] There is no unified consensus on a specific Lebanese Sign Language used among educational establishment.

It aims "to meet the needs of integration of deaf persons into society" by giving them a similar language situation to that of hearing people.

[80] Lebanon's deaf population is estimated at 12,000,[35][1] and the Lebanese Deaf communicate mainly through six means: sign language (71%), writing (60%), gestures (54%), online communication applications (typing and video messages; 24%), talking (22%) and lip reading (15%).

[86] Initially restricted to the steppe, Arabic-speaking nomads started to settle in cities and fertile areas after the Plague of Justinian in 542 CE.

[85] These Arab communities stretched from the southern extremities of the Syrian Desert to central Syria, the Anti-Lebanon mountains, and the Beqaa Valley.

[91] Arabic became the language of trade and public life in cities, while Aramaic continued to be spoken at home and in the countryside.

[88] The language shift from Aramaic to vernacular Arabic was a long process over several generations, with an extended period of bilingualism, especially among non-Muslims.

[93][94] In its spoken form, Aramaic nearly disappeared, except for a few Aramaic-speaking villages,[94] but it has left substrate influences on Levantine.