‘Arabic remains vital part of Middle East life’
Arabic still covers quite a large population of the world and a very influential part of the globe, the Middle East
MUSCAT: Although 59 per cent of Omanis and their fellow Gulf Cooperation Council citizens believe that Arabic is losing its value as a language, according to the 2017 Arab Youth Report, residents and experts in the Sultanate disagree, saying the language is still a very prominent part of life in the Middle East.
The trend is more pronounced in North Africa, where an overwhelming 69 per cent of people shared that sentiment, compared with just 53 per cent in the Levant and Yemen.
Overall, 60 per cent of all Arabs across the Middle East and Africa believed that their language was decreasing in popularity, up from just 47 per cent in 2015, and 57 per cent last year. “I actually don’t think the use of Arabic is declining, though I feel it is better for the youth to use English in their studies,” said Jassim Al Balushi, deputy head of Educational and Professional Development at the Caledonian College of Engineering.
“From grade one to grade 12, students are taught in Arabic, so it is good for them to learn in English when they come to colleges. Many channels on TV are broadcast in Arabic, and when the youth talk to their parents and in society, they primarily speak to each other in Arabic, so I would say there are many sources of the language.”
College courses
“It is important, though for college courses to be taught in English, because we are preparing our students not just to work in Oman, but around the world. In schools, you only have four periods a week for English, but eight or nine for Arabic, so it’s important for students to develop English as a language,” he added.
Social media
“The media might attempt to claim the use of Arabic is declining, but even if Arabs communicate on Facebook or Twitter or WhatsApp, they primarily do so in Arabic so I don’t believe this is on the decline.”
Eliot Wright, director of Pathway Programmes at Muscat University, also held a similar opinion. “I just think that in this part of the world, it has to do with work,” he told the Times of Oman.
“I was actually recently having a discussion about why college courses were taught in English, given that Arabic is the national language, and they said it was because of the affiliates from the United Kingdom or the United States, which means there aren’t a lot of books printed in Arabic.” “Arabic still covers quite a large population of the world and a very influential part of the globe i.e. the Middle East. Here, Arabic is still the number one language. Arabic is already promoted and kept up in schools, where it is a central part of the school curriculum. The Omanisation policies of the future may also help further promote that in the workplace, but that will need to be balanced with English, because if you want to work on the world’s stage, it’ll have to be in English.”
“I don’t think the use of Arabic is diminishing because if you look for recruitment options across the world these days, there are openings for Arabic interpreters, teacher etc., so I disagree with this,” said Fahad, a local, while Ismail added, “Arabic is a very important part of our culture and that is why it will never die out. It is part of who we are so it will continue to thrive in the Middle East.” The Arab Youth Survey was commissioned by public relations agency ASDA BursonMarsteller in January 2017, with interviews with residents across 16 countries – the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and the Palestinian Territories—taking place in February and March.