The Levantine-Mesopotamian dialect continuum is the result of important linguistic contacts through the centuries, and the existence of an Aramaic substrate in both areas.

The linguistic situation in the Levant today is extremely heterogeneous. Among the different vernaculars spoken there, Damascus Arabic has established itself as the model urban Levantine variety. Therefore, it is commonly heard in the media and easily understandable for speakers of other varieties of Arabic, inside and outside Syria.

This paper examines fourteen linguistic features of Damascus Arabic related to phonology, morphology, and syntax. Moreover, it compares them with urban varieties of the Levant and Mesopotamia (qǝltu), thus providing further evidence for the Levantine-Mesopotamian dialectal continuum. It also confirms the close relationship between different Levantine varieties—particularly the urban ones. Finally, it shows the difficulty in setting linguistic hallmarks for both the entire Levant and the Syro-Lebanese region, to which Damascus Arabic belongs.

黎凡特-美索不达米亚方言的连续体是几个世纪以来重要的语言交往的结果，也是两个地区都存在阿拉姆语的基础。

当今黎凡特的语言状况极为不同。在这里所说的不同乡土语言中，阿拉伯大马士革已把自己确立为城市黎凡特品种的典范。因此，在叙利亚境内外，它在媒体上是很容易听到的，并且对于其他阿拉伯语的讲者也很容易理解。

本文研究了大马士革阿拉伯语的十四种与语音，形态和句法有关的语言特征。此外，它将它们与黎凡特和美索不达米亚（qǝltu）的城市变种进行了比较，从而为黎凡特-美索不达米亚方言连续体提供了进一步的证据。它还证实了不同黎凡特品种之间的密切关系，尤其是城市品种。最后，它显示了为整个黎凡特和大马士革阿拉伯语所属的西拉-黎巴嫩地区设置语言标记的困难。