Work

Multilingualism and the role of English in the United Arab Emirates

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has witnessed an unprecedented economic and cultural development since its foundation in 1971. Foreign labor and investment play a central role in this development, yielding a sharp imbalance between the Emirati and the foreign population. A population of no less than 85 per cent of highly transient foreigners strongly impacts the local linguistic landscape, with many languages competing in the public sphere. English occupies a special role in this multilingual texture, as it is used as a foreign language, a second language, and a lingua franca. It occurs in its standardized varieties, but also in several non‐standard forms, as foreign labor is recruited from places formerly under British or American influence. Based on a new questionnaire study of 692 university students, we explore the tension between English and Arabic, the prominence of English, the increasing use of English as a home language, and the emergence of a new variety of English: ‘Gulf English’.

Source: World Englishes

DOI: 10.1111/weng.12507

Authors: Peter Siemund, Ahmad Al‐Issa, Jakob R. E. Leimgruber

Institutions: Universität Hamburg, American University of Sharjah, University of Basel

Language: English

Topic: Linguistic and Sociocultural Studies

Subfield: Linguistics and Language

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,600

Funders: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, American University of Sharjah