Abstract
AbstractIn this chapter, I present the case studies of the State of Qatar and the UAE, two countries in the Arabian Gulf where although Arabic is the de jure official language, many foreign languages are widely used for communication because of a large non-Arab, non-national population. In addition to English, which is used as a lingua franca among the educated people, a host of Asian languages are used by blue-collar workers from South and Southeast Asia. While the presence of foreign languages does facilitate communication, it has also heightened a fear of loss of Arabic and Arab identity among the local populations leading to a series of measures by the governments strengthening the position of Arabic officially. I show how the two governments struggle to balance the needs of communication and identity. I argue that since the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are no longer monolingual, there is a need for the development of a language policy that balances the needs of communication and identity not only in Qatar and the UAE but also in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and KSA with less, but still significant non-national population.
Publisher
Springer Nature Singapore
Reference50 articles.
1. Ahmad, A. (2019a, February 10). Hindi becomes Abu Dhabi labour court’s third official language. Retrieved from https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/hindi-becomes-abu-dhabi-labour-courts-third-official-language-1.61985699
2. Ahmad, R. (2016). Expatriate languages in Kuwait: Tension between public and private domains. Journal of Arabian Studies, 6, 29–52.
3. Ahmad, R. (2019b, February 16). Not about numbers: Why Abu Dhabi labour court chose Hindi over Malayalam. The Print. Retrieved from https://theprint.in/opinion/not-about-numbers-why-abu-dhabi-labour-court-chose-hindi-over-malayalam/193837/
4. Ahmad, R., & Hillman, S. (2021). Laboring to communicate: Use of migrant languages in COVID-19 awareness campaign in Qatar. Multilingua, 40, 303–337.
5. Al Deberky, S. (2015, May 14). 29 eateries in Dubai booked for not having menu in Arabic—News | Khaleej Times. Retrieved from https://www.khaleejtimes.com/article/29-eateries-in-dubai-booked-for-not-having-menu-in-arabic