MyAdhan Blog

Link: Kuwait: Arabic speakers, a dying breed in the Arab world?

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…