The official language of Libya is Modern Standard Arabic. Most residents speak one of the varieties of Arabic as a first language, most prominently Libyan Arabic, but also Egyptian Arabic and Tunisian Arabic.

The official language of Libya is Arabic. The local Libyan Arabic variety is the common spoken vernacular.

Berber

Various Berber languages are also spoken, including Tamahaq, Ghadamès, Nafusi, Zuwara, Yefren, Fezzan, Kufra and Awjilah. Both Berber and Arabic languages belong to the wider Afroasiatic family.

The most significant berber speaking group, the Nafusi, is concentrated in the Tripolitanian region. Berber languages are also spoken in some cases, including Ghadamès, Awjilah, and formerly Sawknah. Tamahaq is spoken by the Tuareg people.

Libya's former Head of State Muammar Gaddafi denied the existence of Berbers as a separate ethnicity, and called Berbers a "product of colonialism" created by the West to divide Libya. The Berber language was not recognized or taught in schools, and for years it was forbidden in Libya to give children Berber names.

During the First Libyan Civil War, the National Transitional Council broadcast in Tamazight for two hours a day.

Domari