Samar Yahya
Have any of us thought, why do we abandon our beautiful Arabic language? Why do people humiliate our Arabic language by mixing in some foreign language- mostly English and sometimes French- words in their daily conversations and business talks?
Is it to show that they belong to the upper class in society, or they are well educated or that they lived in European or western countries for a long while? Is it to show that they can speak the foreign language just as well as its native speakers?
Almost everywhere in public, we see parents talking to their children, giving them orders in English or French! A big WHY arises here? Why do we not have pride in our language, which is the vocal representation of our identity and culture?
Arabic is ranked as the 5th spoken language worldwide, according to the World’s League Table of Languages. With about 300 million Arabic speakers and a billion Muslims worldwide who have at least some basic knowledge of the language, we still see that people are not satisfied being Arabic speakers.
Conferences are held every year in different Arab countries to discuss the present status of the language, coming out with recommendations in education and schools’ roles. Experts say that promoting Arabic in schools is a way to preserve written Arabic and may also lead to more original research in Arabic to produce Arabic language content that engages with the Arabic speaking world, which will result in more use of Arabic language in many fields.
We have a very rich language that we should be proud of. The richness of Arabic language comes from a variety of aspects. The formal Arabic is a stunning beautiful language. It has such a high level of accuracy; the meaning of a word can be changed by simply adjusting one single accent. The sounds of the language are also very specific and take a lot of control of the voice to master. What makes the Arabic language so unique is that it conveys a lot of meanings, with minimal use of words.
The width of the vocabulary is huge; it is common to find a single word with ten and more synonyms, which gives richness and depth to descriptions. We cannot also forget the Arabic calligraphy (the art of drawing Arabic letters and words) and how it adds to the beauty of the language as an art.
The structure and patterns allow you to convey your understanding and knowledge of different words once you recognize the root of words.
It is an honor enough to the Arabic language that is the language of the spoken word of God, in the Holy Qur’an and it will be the spoken language of the people in Paradise.
There are many Arabic dialects. Classical Arabic – the language of the Holy Qur’an and an adapted form of this, known as Modern Standard Arabic, is used as the official language of Arab countries, official documents and speeches, in literature, books, newspapers, on television and radio, and at international conferences. In addition, there is spoken or colloquial Arabic which is the daily dialect spoken among people with differences in some vocabulary or pronunciation depending on the region or the area even within the same country. There are tens of different Arabic dialects.
Many campaigns are launched, Arabic language centers are opened, lectures are given on the value and the richness of the language, but all are mostly individual attempts.
Despite that, young people are using even English letters to write Arabic words on their social media walls or texting each other. They mix English with their local Arabic dialect or “Arabize” English words or using “Arabish” using Roman letters and numbers to represent Arabic script creating their own language. To them, this new tongue represents their buoyancy, modernity, and elegance.
We can also notice the increasing numbers of pupils in Arab countries being sent to schools where classes are only taught in English, French or German producing a whole generation of Arabs with little knowledge of classical Arabic.
Schools have also chosen to conduct admission interviews only in English or French, giving confidence to parents to speak more western languages at home rather than their mother tongue.
In Cairo- where I was brought up- foreign schools have hugely increased to reach a state of being common and fading the dominance of classical Arabic among the new generation. However, when I was a student, Cairo had quite a small number of foreign schools that were all known to also teach and focus on a strong program in the Arabic language.
With the spread of international schools and the race for parents to get their children speaking English fluently, the result is that we see many young Arabs struggle with basic Arabic reading and writing skills with many spelling and grammar mistakes.
What do we need to preserve a language with such beauty and precision? We need to change our attitude, to embed the love of Arabic language in the hearts of our kids with their very first words and not to teach them the first words in a foreign language. It is wonderful to raise a bilingual child, but we must not neglect the Arabic language at the expense of another. Children have the mental capacity to be highly skilled in two and three and four languages. Parents should be adamant that Arabic is to be spoken in the home, and English or French or German is used in the school.
Arabic is the most expressive language, the language of the Noble Qur’an. Arabic language will be preserved as long as we encourage our children to recite the Qur’an, learn its meanings and to read the Hadith (sayings) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as it is the most important tool for preserving the Arabic language.
In addition, more books are required to be written in Arabic, not merely translated from another language into Arabic, books in all fields: literature, history, science, mathematics all kinds of books. I also wish to see an increase in the Arabic content on the internet; the only way that new generation searches to get their information in all subjects and topics.
