Dear Ali: I’m trying to learn Arabic, and I’ve found that people in the UAE speak the language differently from the classical Arabic I’ve been learning. What makes it so different? KN, Dubai
Dear KN: I’m glad you’re interested in learning Arabic.
In regards to the Emirati dialect, we speak different dialects even within the same country. The reason for these differences can be traced back to times when people who lived in this land were involved in pearling and trading. Many words were borrowed, some mixed and others were recreated from people and countries with whom they had been dealing: India, Africa, Portugal, Britain and neighbouring Arab countries. For example, when instructing a taxi driver to go straight, you say, “seedha”. That’s not Arabic – it’s Hindi.
They had to learn new words to be able to communicate with each other, therefore people from different areas or emirates speak differently.
Many people assume Bedouins have their own language, but the truth is they speak Arabic with a special dialect that could vary from one tribe to another.
The so-called language of the Bedouins isn’t very easily understood, even by some Emiratis. Bedouins were far from those hubs of trading, so they preserved unique words in the vocabulary. There are no books on this dialect. People can learn this language only from the Bedouin people themselves.
In the Northern Emirates, people speak the Shehhi dialect, which is widely spoken by Al Shehhi people. But linguistics experts admit some of the dialects in the region are vanishing because of the effects of globalisation. I hope we can stop this happening.
I’ve started adding Khaleeji (Gulf) Arabic dialect video lessons on Instagram, so visit the account (@GulfTongue) to start learning some words.
Dear Ali: Is it OK for Emirati women to drive a car with an open-top roof in the UAE? I was told that it’s not acceptable and I haven’t seen any women drive such cars in the same way I saw it in Europe. AR, Sweden
Dear AR: The short answer is of course it’s fine – why wouldn’t it be? I have to admit though, I’ve never thought about this issue.
Generally speaking, you won’t see many people at all driving such cars in the UAE. The main reason is our climate. The only good season to drive a cabriolet is during winter.
Regarding your assumption that Emirati ladies can’t drive such cars, it’s not true. I’m sure some still enjoy this type of driving, but we just don’t witness it that much. Besides, driving a convertible car gets your hair messy. It’s not comfortable, which is a key to getting Arabs into something and doing it all the time.
These cars don’t have the same privacy as hard-topped vehicles either, which means that the driver or passengers are more exposed – something that isn’t preferred by the women of the region and in our culture.
Ali Al Saloom is a cultural adviser and public speaker from the UAE. Follow @AskAli on Twitter, and visit www.ask-ali.com to ask him a question.
