Silent struggle: Language barrier between non-Arab expatriates and Arab speakers
KUWAIT: Even with Arabic being the most common spoken language in Kuwait, it remains a great hindrance for non-Arab expats, who can barely understand it. While the struggle might arise in daily communication including work or social interactions, it almost becomes inevitable in critical situations such as accessing essential services of healthcare or legal procedures. Fatima Shamoon, an Indian Muslim expat who has taught spoken Arabic for almost 25 years to over hundreds of students, addressed the communication challenges that she has witnessed non-native Arab speakers encounter while living in Kuwait.
“Many of my relatives and friends have asked me: ‘Can you please come with me to my doctor’s appointment today, since the doctor speaks very poor English and all the nurses there are Arabs’,” Shamoon recounted, as she recalled witnessing another situation of a person asking an Asian worker at a government institution: “Can you please take my documents and finish this legal procedure for me? I don’t know how to speak to anyone there.”
She noted that even though these people might have been living in the country for years, they still lack the proper understanding of the language, which might get them in trouble like being defrauded or cheated, as she has seen people signing official contracts without even understanding the Arabic words written in them.
Shamoon pointed out there are many reasons for a lack of Arabic understanding among expats, starting with an absolute scarcity of sufficient learning resources. She echoed her students’ struggles, saying the problem begins very early, since they start studying Arabic in school. It continues at university and also exists at educational institutes providing Arabic courses that they decide to join.
All these institutes, she said, teach classical Arabic that is only used in Google translate, in books or newspapers, which works for people who want to professionally master reading or writing the language, but it never works in daily communication. Classical Arabic is very complicated and doesn’t align with the Arabic dialects spoken in Kuwait, mostly include Levantine, Gulf and Egyptian, she said. “So, even after spending years of learning Arabic as part of their curriculum, non-Arab expats end up not being able to speak it, as everywhere they go to learn it, they feel lost even more,” Shamoon said.
Another leading factor behind the issue, she emphasized, is that communities are now more isolated than ever, unlike in the past when people used to smoothly integrate and communicate with different nationalities and cultures. “Everyone’s doors are now shut,” she rued.
Shamoon referred to places such as Salmiya, which is mostly populated by Indians, and how all its residents prefer to enroll in Indian schools, visit Indian supermarkets and frequent Indian restaurants to avoid interactions with Arabs, out of fear of not being able to properly communicate with them. “It has become very easy to find your own people around you, which makes people stick to their comfort zone,” she said. Even when they incidentally interact with Arabs, they often respond in English, or speak to them in broken sentences that fail to accurately reflect the actual Arabic language.
What made the situation even worse was the death of cable TV that used to only feature Kuwaiti shows. With platforms such as Netflix and YouTube taking over, it became easier for everyone to be selective in the language of shows that suit their understanding, Shamoon said.
Living her entire childhood around Arabs in Kuwait, in addition to spending most of her free time avidly reading every Arabic newspaper or book that came along her way, Shamoon strongly mastered the Arabic language, which she aims to pass now to every non-Arab expat here. She has created a full syllabus, including the vocabulary and basic grammar rules that people need to initially learn to confidently use the language in all aspects of their lives.
“I really love this country and I want more people to enjoy their life here. So, I want them to be able to comfortably communicate without hesitation,” she told Kuwait Times. She highlighted some basic tips and tricks that she always gives to her students. She advised people to always pay attention to Arabic signs in the streets, always tune to Arabic radio or watch Arabic TV shows, even if they will just have them playing in the background.
“There’s Arabic all around us; sometimes we just need a guide to tell us how to pick it,” Shamoon said. To develop self-confidence, she advised people to look in the mirror while practicing the language. “Always think in your own language, but speak your thoughts out loud in Arabic, and imagine yourself speaking to an Arab person,” she explained.