Everyone can play a part to help keep Arabic alive

Studying Arab history is a great way to encourage a deeper relationship with the Arabic language in young people, writes Rym Ghazal

Students from the Dubai International Academy practice Arabic calligraphy at the KHDA conference. Antonie Robertson / The National

It has become a kind of a tradition that whenever my friends’ children come over to my home, they get to pick out a book from my library. Then we spend time discovering it in a fun way, where I pick out passages and they react to them.

One time they were shocked to find out that Ibn Battuta was a person. “Wow, we thought it was just a cool mall,” said one of the youngsters. Until then, the only Ibn Battuta this group of youth had heard of was the mall in Dubai. They were fascinated by this 14th century traveller, and wanted to hear more about Arab explorers from the past.

The thing is, since all of them are Arab nationals, I try to use Arabic as much as I can. But it is difficult, as almost all of them only use fragments of spoken Arabic, have rarely written Arabic and mostly speak English.

“I hate it, I know it is part of our identity, but it is difficult and adults stress me out when I can’t speak it well,” said one of the teenagers, who has developed an aversion to Arabic from one of her teachers who always made her feel guilty for being an Arab who didn’t speak “proper” Arabic.

So I wasn’t surprised by the results of the latest Arab Youth Survey, which found that while young Arabs believe the Arabic language is central to their identity, many say it is losing its value as the use of English becomes more prevalent. Of 3,500 people aged 18 to 24 polled for this year’s survey, two-thirds say they are concerned about Arabic’s decline and more than a third use English more than Arabic.

One of the times we all sat and wrote our names in beautiful Arabic calligraphy and learnt about typography. Again and again, we hear about how we should make Arabic fun – and it is. Arabic literature is full of legends and stories, historic figures and heroes, as well as villains – something the boys always want to hear about.

So many families have children speaking three or four languages fluently, so there should be no fear of confusing or perfecting one or two. English will be learnt whether you want to or not, so focus on building the other languages whatever they may be.

It is hilarious when the parents barely speak proper English, but insist on using it when they could have a greater effect by speaking to their children in Arabic.

So many parents blame the schools and the teachers, who of course have a big role, but it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure a language stays alive.

We have to admit that while many can speak it, many can’t read or write Arabic. The different dialects are quite alive, with the classical Arabic falling to the side with mainly scholars, researchers, poets, writers and some Arabic newspapers using it. So it is not all gloom and doom. I find it paradoxical that western expatriates often want to learn Arabic and are far more fascinated with Arab history than many Arabs. Maybe we take our beautifully turbulent multifaceted heritage for granted and dislike being dissected like an exotic discovery.

One time, after a long day spent with families who kept complaining about the Arabic tutors and teachers yet haven’t spoken one word of Arabic to their children, I improvised by using Khalil Gibran’s “pity the nation” line, and said: “Pity the nation that can’t pronounce or remember the names of its Arabic heroes, but sure can name all the Italian, French and German designer brands fluently without hesitation.” It sounded better in Arabic.

Thankfully they all laughed and we all realised we need a good brush up on our Arabic.

The Arabic language is so deep and profound, with so many ways to say the word “love”. Instead, some people like to focus on the negative and are quick to put someone down for using wrong grammar or the wrong Arabic word. Help them love it, instead of hating it and turning away from it.

On Twitter: @Aranianmau