According to a recent study, teachers say that a growing number of students are studying the Arabic language – but most of them are non-Arabs. Many of the teachers interviewed attributed this to the fact that Arab students spend most of their time communicating in English.
I think the main reason that many of my peers struggle with formal Arabic comes from the fact that Arabic is a pluricentric language, meaning that it is a language with several centres, each providing a national variety with at least some of its own codified norms.
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the standard form of Arabic that is the official language of all Arabic-speaking countries. It is the form that is taught in school and is used in writing, but it is very rarely spoken on a daily basis. It is only used in formal situations, sermons, media and the courts of law.
Therefore, the Arabic that most Arabs speak differs on various levels from the Arabic they are taught. As a result, many students don’t have the impetus to learn formal Arabic or take it seriously.
I was raised abroad and received almost all of my formal Arabic training from a tutor. I learnt quickly when I came back to the UAE to visit my family that if you spoke MSA, your peers would make fun of you. So, I made a conscious effort as a teenager to focus on the ability to speak several dialects rather than study MSA. The only formal Arabic I came across was when reading the news or the Quran (which is actually written in yet another form, classical Arabic).
What truly surprised me after moving back to Abu Dhabi nearly two years ago is that my level of Arabic, which I had always assumed was subpar, is in some cases better than that of my Arab friends who have grown up in the UAE. I discovered that many of them felt discouraged at school either by archaic teaching methods or by being made fun of for their dialects, accents or general lack of mastery of the language. In any case, they were driven away from the language.
The main issue that needs to be addressed is how Arabic is taught. While there have been several initiatives and studies into this issue, more work is needed to make a very complex, beautiful language more accessible to people. This is especially true for children who feel that, since they already speak their own version of Arabic, there is no need for them to learn MSA.
There are several ways to extend MSA beyond Arabic classes, into debating clubs, public-speaking workshops, calligraphy, poetry and literature classes. These kinds of electives at a young age could motivate children to learn the language because its usage would be spread beyond just one mandatory class. In addition, by broadening its use schools could tie the skill to future employment.
We live in a country of many languages, and that extends to the workplace. Being able to send emails, write reports and make presentations in formal Arabic is a skill that many will need in the future.
I have not been to any public or semi-public organisation in the UAE that didn’t employ a translator, but I find that these people are often undervalued in social circles. The complexity of the work they do needs to be appreciated and valued. In the same way that we try to develop students’ interest in science and maths education, we should create the right incentives such as compelling content to build a real interest in the Arabic language.
Furthermore, why must we keep dialects and formal Arabic separate? Why not add major spoken dialects as a small part of the curriculum to make the whole experience more relevant to students? This way students could be exposed to the variety that exists within the Arab world. It would also fit in with moves to include Emirati culture in school curriculums.
While it is difficult to learn, Arabic is one of the most beautiful languages, because of its highly expressive nature and its artistic script. With some creative solutions formal Arabic could make a comeback.
Fatima Al Shamsi is a globetrotting Emirati foodie, film buff and football fanatic
