Lack of Arabic can be sore point

Westerners and Asians can speak little Arabic, know they should learn the language and yet feel their lack of knowledge is not an obstacle to their careers, according to the YouGov Siraj survey. Of 628 residents surveyed, a quarter were completely unable to communicate in the country's official language. Most respondents were residents of Dubai, while ethnically they were largely westerners or from the subcontinent.

"The percentage of people who speak the local language is very, very small," said Maria Joao Neves, research director at YouGov Siraj. Many non-Arab speakers said the situation made them feel like foreigners. However, nearly half of all westerners, and 40 per cent of Asians, said their lack of Arabic had not been an obstacle in work or school. "Most westerners find Arabic a difficult language to learn. They also feel that they can manage living in an Arab country without learning Arabic because English is widely known," said Mohammed Aboelenein, chairman of the department of sociology at UAE University.

The lack of effort on behalf of expatriates is a sore point for many Emiratis, he said. "The local population feels it is unfair that they learn English, while westerners do not exert an effort to learn Arabic," he said. "The traditional culture can only be enriched if others adjust to its components. Language is definitely an important component of any culture." Mr Aboelenein said he feels most westerners take a "snobbish" view toward Arabic. Most don't learn the language "not only because they think that Arabic is a difficult language to learn, but also because some of them feel that English is superior to Arabic", he said. "It is well known from a sociological point of you that language is related to power, whether it is economic or political power."

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