Mashriqi Arabic, or ʿAmmiya, is the varieties of Arabic spoken in the Mashriq, including the countries of Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. The Eastern Arabic known also as Mashriqi Arabic (as opposed to the Western Arabic known as Maghrebi Arabic) that includes Mesopotamian Arabic and Peninsular Arabic along with Levantine Arabic. In Lebanon, Mashriqi Arabic as a colloquial language was taught as a separate subject under French colonization, and some textbooks exist. Speakers of Mashriqi call their language ʿAmmiya, which means "dialect" in Modern Standard Arabic. It is primarily used as a spoken language; written communication is primarily done in Modern Standard Arabic (or English or French), al