A senior Emirati official helping shape the UAE’s first dedicated Arabic language law has outlined its mission to bolster “national identity and cultural belonging”.
Shatha Al Mulla, Assistant Undersecretary of the National Identity and Arts Sector at the Ministry of Culture, said the sweeping legislation due to be introduced next year was a crucial step in promoting the wider use of the nation’s native language, particularly among future generations.
The law – discussed by Ms Al Mulla at a Federal Council last month and in the early stages of development – will set out new requirements for the teaching of Arabic in schools and universities, ensure the use of the language in public advertisement campaigns and make Arabic translations mandatory at public conferences and seminars in which it is not the primary language.
The law, which is being overseen by the Ministry of Culture, will stipulate that customer service and other public-facing organisations such as hotels have Arabic speakers within their teams.
“The ministry really hopes that the law will contribute to strengthening national identity and cultural belonging, improving Arabic language proficiency among students and youth, expanding Arabic digital and media content, supporting creatives and the cultural industries, and advancing Arabic language as a language for science, innovation and the digital economy,” Ms Al Mulla told The National.
She said incentives would be in place for companies and institutions that embrace the Arabic drive, with penalties to be introduced out for those who fail to support the strategy.
“Institutions demonstrating strong commitment to implementation may benefit from support programmes and recognition initiatives, while also, gradually, penalties may apply in cases of non-compliance,” she said.
“The overall objective, of course, is to encourage sustainable adoption, while supporting the long-term growth of [the] Arabic content and knowledge industry.”
In the education sector, she said the law will seek to raise standards in the appointment, testing and training of Arabic language teachers across all stages.
UAE leaders have consistently highlighted the need to preserve and protect the Arabic language.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in May 2024 there was an urgent need to foster Arabic language skills in young people.
What comes next?
In the past two years, the Ministry of Culture has been stepping up efforts to protect the Arabic language and preserve its role in a country home to more than 200 nationalities.
A feasibility study has been conducted, and the next steps are to draft the law and bylaws, and to establish implementation committees and governance structures.
The Federal National Council outlined a 10-point plan to reform and regulate the use of Arabic in the economy and business sectors, in education and research, and in culture and media.
Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, Minister of Culture, said during the April session that this measure is not a matter of the language becoming endangered or disappearing. However, it is crucial for maintaining cultural security and national identity.
There was previously no singular law regulating the Arabic language. Article 7 of the UAE Constitution defines Arabic as the official language of the nation, and other laws mandated Arabic in certain sectors like the UAE courts and for documents relating to employment.
‘Gateway’ to Arabic culture
For years, the UAE has harnessed the English language as a tool to enter global economic markets but efforts are being made to safeguard Arabic in daily life.
“The UAE has used the English language for its economic development,” said Mohammed Aljifri, organisation and business development manager at the Mother Tongue Centre in Abu Dhabi.
“This started to leave the boundaries of the economy, and influence the culture and identity: the UAE is now trying to protect that by enforcing and supporting the Arabic language.
“I think this law is going to also make the Arabic language a big part of the economy itself, and this is the gateway to exporting our culture.”
‘Delicate balance’
Ms Al Mulla emphasised the new law does not mean English will be replaced, but it is a necessary step to “protect national identity” for the future.
“It is a delicate balance. The policy is designed to achieve a balance and not isolation, maintaining global openness and multilingual competitiveness, while strengthening Arabic as a strategic cultural and economic asset,” she said.
Education is key
George Wehbe, business development executive at the Arabic Language Centre in Dubai, believes education is the stepping stone to increasing the use of Arabic.
“I think Arabic has to be revamped in the way it’s taught academically, not just for schools but to adults and professionals, to make it more accessible,” Mr Wehbe said.
Arabic programmes in schools have been expanded in recent years, with new guidelines for increased teaching hours.
Abu Dhabi requires pupils from the age of three to be taught Arabic for four hours a week, under measures brought in last year.
For Mr Aljifri, the law is a concrete and welcome step in the right direction.
“The UAE has taken the initiative to actually understand how huge and how serious the issue is,” he said. “There’s quite a large disconnect, especially in schools – you even have Arab families whose children don’t grow up knowing the language. The way Arabic is approached in schools is, for lack of a better term, old school.”
Arabic in the 21st century
The transition to the new policy will not happen overnight, but will instead require many systems to be in place to support the policy’s role in the digital age. AI tools commonly used for English-language tasks will need to be “tailored to Arabic” for the desired outcome.
“Successful implementation will require advanced technological infrastructure that supports Arabic language processing and AI applications, including linguistic databases, digital platforms, machine translation, speech recognition and AI solutions tailored to Arabic content,” Ms Al Mulla told The National.
Arabic remains one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, used daily by more than 400 million people.
Mr Wehbe believes the new policy will provide key support to Arabic speakers.
“It will open more doors, you’ve got a lot of senior-level entities here that do speak Arabic quite often and for people who want to build their lives here in UAE, it’s something that would definitely benefit them.”