Arabic is a language that has always had a profound relationship with the written word. From the Bayt Al Hikmah library in 8th century Baghdad to Al Qarawiyyin university library in Morocco – still going strong after 12 centuries – Arabic has proved to be an invaluable vehicle for the preservation and sharing of knowledge.
But with new times come new challenges. Humanity now finds itself in a digital age of technological breakthroughs, instant communication and real-time global interaction. These rapid – and somewhat dizzying – developments are largely conducted through a different tongue: English. The reasons for the current prominence of English, such as the legacy of British imperialism across large parts of the world and the rise of the US as a global military, economic and cultural power, are well known.
Over the years, these forces have propelled English into its current position as the default language of many international institutions, scientific research and the digital revolution. The task facing other tongues, even those of the other five languages recognised by the UN as leading official languages including Arabic, is how to adapt to this reality. How do Arabic – or French or Mandarin for that matter – maintain their place not just as culturally important languages but as conduits for international diplomacy, original thought, technological discovery and economic prosperity?
For a glimpse of Arabic’s place in modernity, one should look to the UAE. On Sunday, the opening day of the International Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena, it was announced that an Arabic digital library will be created through a partnership involving the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and US tech multinational Amazon. The new institution will join the Dubai Digital Library in expanding electronic Arabic resources across the Middle East.
It is a significant step and one that reveals much joined-up thinking about Arabic’s journey further into the 21st century. The UAE is playing its part in marrying the language with the latest technology. One example can be found in Arabic AI; alert to the problems of most AI large-language models being trained on English-language content, Abu Dhabi developed the Falcon Arabic language model, which was launched in May.
Concerns about Arabic’s place in the digital era are held by many young people across the Middle East. Also presented in the UAE capital on Sunday were the findings of a survey of 4,000 young Arabs across 10 countries commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre. It found that although 84 per cent of respondents said Arabic is central to their identity, two thirds worry about its diminishing use in science and the digital domain.
As an Arab nation and an English-using hub with technological prowess and international convening power, the UAE is in a key position to work through such issues. As with much of its progress as a country thus far, working with global partners while prioritising indispensable aspects of the UAE’s identity – such as its official language – is playing an instrumental role. It is exemplifying how to maintain meaningful linguistic diversity in the years ahead.
