Published Date: December 27, 2007 By Rania El Gamal, Staff writer
KUWAIT: Arabic is the fifth-most spoken language worldwide, with 206 million native Arabic speakers in the world and more than 20 million people speaking it as a second language. But many Arabs feel that globalization has affected their native tongue negatively. Arabic, especially classical Arabic, or fus'ha, is a fading tongue between its native speakers, or at least it is becoming less important than it once used to be. Classical Arabic, though the language of the Holy Quran and used in books and formal letters, is now left to the sophisticates.
Ali, a 22 year old Kuwaiti, thinks the reason behind the declining standard of Arabic learning is that people associate other languages such as English with better education and career prospects. "I think the Arabic language is dying because many people go for a better education abroad so they prefer to learn English instead. Also, people here measure your success by how you speak English, which is not fair," said Ali.
English = educated, open
English is linked to openness and developed cultures, while Arabic is associated with strict rules and no freedom. So of course I would be interested in English rather than Arabic. Arabic equals Arabs equals no development, while English gives more chances to reach places other than home," he added.
Ali, who is a graduate from a bilingual school and currently studying English literature at Kuwait University (KU) is an example for many other young Kuwaitis and Arabs who would forego their native tongue for a more global language. Though Ali talks Arabic well with a Kuwaiti dialect, he admits that he prefers to speak English among his peers.
At home, we usually talk Arabic together, but my sisters send me emails and text messages in English rather than Arabic. And I talk with my friends most of the time in English," he said. "It sounds easier to express because we always speak it at school and university. Also, emails and text messages are in English; everything is written in English," he added.
Arabs talk in different dialect depending on their region and country. Certain dialects are more difficult to understand than others. For example, Egyptian Arabic is considered the easiest dialect to understand because of the flooding of Egyptian movies and songs, while Algerian dialect is usually considered the most difficult and complicated because of the inclusion of French. That's why classical or literary Arabic is the unifying platform for all Arabs, regardless where they come from, to communicate wi thout misunderstanding.
But many Arabic native speakers cannot speak fluent Arabic, in their own dialect, and don't read or write well in classical Arabic. Poor education and fast-moving technologies are some of the reasons behind the declining interest in learning Arabic.
Declining interest
The English language is becoming the competing language to Arabic now. There is a decline in learning Arabic in public schools now especially in grammar and dictation. There is no love to the language and there is nothing interesting in the curriculums for students anymore," said Abu Mohammad, a Syrian Arabic teacher in a public school in Kuwait.
He sees the reason behind this decline or lack of interest in learning Arabic is a shared responsibility between the parents, teachers and the students themselves. "There is a negligence from the students' side and no cooperation between the teachers and the parents; the parents don't bother to come to schools and check on how their kids are doing, and some teachers' qualifications are minimal so they don't care if their students didn't do well," he said.
Abu Mohammad has been teaching Arabic for middle school students since 1993 here in Kuwait. He believes that depending more on certain technologies such as the computer and the mobile phone has also limited the students' ability to master their native language. "Students now use the computer and mobile phones all the time. There is no time for reading classical Arabic books," he said.
Hassan, a 40-something Egyptian teacher agrees. "The lack of interest in learning Arabic is due to the lack of reading. We became more dependent on technologies such as calculators, computers and mobile phones that we don't do any extra effort to use our brain, read more and master our language," he said.
Curriculums don't help as well; they don't encourage external reading like they used to. When I was in primary school here in Kuwait, there were competitions in Arabic readings and literature where I used to enter, but now there is nothing like that," he added and stressed that a good teacher also makes all the difference. "I have two kids, 14 and 15, the older one is good in Arabic because he had a really good teacher, while the younger is weak at it as he had a different Arabic teacher at school," he no ted.
Studying English instead
Others argue that mastering classical Arabic depends on the educational background and surroundings. Arabs who prefer to speak and read English usually graduate from English schools and colleges or have been taught abroad, while Arabs who were taught in Arabic schools are more skillful in the language. Ascil, a 29-year-old English educated Lebanese expat, says that though her Arabic is stronger than her English, her brother doesn't speak proper Arabic because he was educated in American schools.
I love the Arabic language and my university in Lebanon was really strong in Arabic, that's why I am good at it. But my brother for example, he reads and speaks English and his Arabic is not good at all; he graduated from the American University in Lebanon," she said.
Ascil says that she has friends who will speak both Arabic or English depending on their educational background. But she also thinks that there is a less interest in Arabic between her peers. "Nobody is using Arabic a lot these days, especially at work, because all computer software and emails are in English. Also many of my friends deal with foreign customers abroad so they have to speak good English," she said. "I believe it depends mainly on the education, and later on the work circumstances," she added .
The Arab world's Lingua Franca - English
But Shima, an Egyptian expat in her early 20s, also sees a changing pattern in preferring to learn English other than Arabic because it is more "universal language".
People are turning more to foreign education especially Arabs. I think most of them have the feeling that English has turned to be the universal language nowadays, which in turn has affected the importance of their native Arabic language," she said. "My parents were thinking that way when they decided to send me to an American school and then to an American university," she added. Shima also sees English more important for recruiters in Kuwait and everywhere else.
Arabic is not as important for me as English because everything is in English whether in dealing with people or work. It became a must for recruiters in Kuwait and other Arab countries to master the English language," she said. Even for the younger generations, I find that their Arabic is declining or fading away. For example, my four-year-old nephew barely speaks the language and being in an English school adds to it," she notes.
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Very interesting article. Fus'ha is being revive do to the many converts to Islam. Some Arabs (many)may be leaving the language but, many converts are filling up the gab.
I have a friend of my who has 11 children. He is American and has 2 wives, both Americans. None of his children speak English not one of them. They native tongue is Arabic. However, they plan on teaching them English, but they wanted them to think, eat, sleep and dream in Arab first.
-------------------- 'Abdullah bin 'Umar said, "Allah's Apostle (صلى الله عليه و سلم) took hold of my shoulder and said, "Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller." Posts: 2342 | From: Its not where I'm from but where Im going | Registered: Jul 2007
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Do you mind if I asked what lead you to Islam and the lifestyle you have chosen?
-------------------- "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." (Sign hanging in Einstein's office at Princeton) Leap and the Net will Appear. Posts: 3891 | From: No good deed goes unpunished. | Registered: May 2007
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