The official language of Jordan is Arabic, in its Modern Standard form used for government, media, education and writing. In everyday life, Jordanians speak a local dialect known as Jordanian Arabic, part of the larger Levantine Arabic family, with influences visible in vocabulary and pronunciation across the country.
English is widely spoken and understood, especially in Amman, in business, universities, hotels and tourist areas, and many road signs are bilingual. It is taught as a compulsory second language in schools from an early age. French is also present through cultural and educational institutions.
Minority communities speak their own languages: Circassian, Chechen and Armenian are used within their communities, and among the many foreign residents, languages such as Filipino and various South Asian languages can be heard. For visitors, a few words of Arabic, such as marhaba (hello) and shukran (thank you), open doors everywhere, and English alone is enough for most travel.