DUBAI // The Emirati dialect is in decline, say experts, as more residents are increasingly speaking better English than their native Arabic.
While the emphasis in recent years has been on teaching Arabic-speaking Emiratis to master English, the balance, at least in Dubai, has now swung the other way.
Joanne Seymour, an academic based in Dubai, is studying for her PhD from the University of Bath on Emiratis studying Fusha in the classroom.
Ms Seymour, who speaks fluent Arabic, began her research after hearing about the home life of expatriate Arabs and Emiratis, particularly how their parents who would speak to them only in English in an attempt to give their children a “head start” with the language.
“Of those who had been through private education, some went to university abroad and others felt they wanted to give their children a better head start than they had with English being such a prevalent language here.
“People began asking me to help with their Arabic and I saw a family where the parents spoke to the children in English while the Filipino nanny spoke to them in Arabic.”
The phenomena is something fairly unique to Dubai, said Ms Seymour, where last year almost 31,000 Emirati students were enrolled in private schools. That figure is about 55 to 60 per cent of all Emirati pupils in the emirate.
“You don’t see this in countries like Egypt or Qatar, or even in other emirates as much,” said Ms Seymour, adding she believed it was the responsibility of the community to bring about change.
“We can’t rely just on schools to teach Arabic, it must be the responsibility of parents, teachers, the media and advertisers. I hate to see signs or adverts not in Arabic or with no Arabic translation.
“We’re not changing Facebook or Twitter, but there needs to be Arabic equivalents of Harry Potter, not just literature that is translated.”
The problem also stemmed from early years education that in the majority is provided in English.
“This is where the home is so important,” said Ms Seymour. To address the issue, Hanan Al Fardan established the Al Ramsa Institute in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce to teach the Emirati dialect. She had been overwhelmed by the amount of interest from locals.
“They come to me because they feel shame. Maybe one of their parents is non-Emirati or maybe they studied in private education but they don’t know their own dialect,” said Ms Al Fardan, who is Emirati.
The typical client was in their 20s and employed in a job where they needed to be bilingual, such as a government department where they needed to display their Emirati roots through a grasp of the local language.
“I would like to see more Emirati teachers,” said Ms Al Fardan. “They don’t realise there is a demand for Emirati dialect. It’s becoming a dying language and the kids are speaking English because of the schools and media here. Sometimes they express themselves better in English.”
Shaikha Al Attas, who lives in Abu Dhabi, overcame this challenge with her two sons, aged 12 and 9, by insisting they attend government schools.
“I want them to interact with other Arabic-speaking students. It supports the language more than other schools and friends influence them.”
When her children are at home, Ms Al Attas, who was raised in Indonesia and married an Emirati, insists they converse with their father in Arabic.
“Now they are bilingual but it has been a challenge,” she said.
mswan@thenational.ae
