Why do some Arabs fail to take pride in their language?

Why do some Arabs fail to take pride in their language?

November 06, 2015
Abdulraheem Al-Mirabi
Abdulraheem Al-Mirabi

Abdulraheem Al-Mirabi
Al Sharq Newspaper

If we, Arabs, had invented the cinema, the videocassette recorder or the Internet, then what would we have named them in Arabic?

We did not invent the telephone, but we came up with a suitable Arabic name for it. We call it the “hatif” which comes from the verb “ha-ta-fa” meaning to hear a sound. However, we did not invent the TV and have still not found a good Arabic name for it. We do, however, have a good Arabic name for the computer.

Some speakers of other languages refuse to use foreign names for inventions and come up with new names in their own language. However, Arabs usually insist on using the original foreign names of new inventions. The words television, video and cinema are examples which demonstrate this. What is worse, some English words have become common in our language, such as the word “hotel.” Why do we refuse to use the Arabic word for “hotel” and opt for the English word instead?

Why do some Arabs use foreign words when they write newspaper columns or appear on TV? Is it a way to show that they are highly educated? I do not understand why some Arabs fail to take pride in their language and its magnificent beauty. Do they feel embarrassed or ashamed when they speak Arabic?

Let me give you some English words that we use quite a lot in our daily lives: “mini-market,” “mini-mall,” “supermarket”, etc. We have Arabic names for these places but we do not use them. This is a real disgrace. I saw a sign on a small grocery store that read “Al-Supermarket Al-Alami li Kafat al-Mawad al-Ghida’iyyah” (International Market for All Foodstuffs). The owner of the store had used an English word: supermarket.

I also saw a funny sign on a repair store located in a small village that read “New York Highway Repair Shop.” There was also a bakery in the village called “Hollywood Bakery.” Why do we use such foreign names? If you read the Arabic signs on metal workshops run by Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, you will be left feeling sad at how Arabic words are corrupted.


November 06, 2015
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