UAE Multilingualism: A Case Study of Transcultural Communication

This essay examines the phenomenon of multilingualism in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) within the framework of transcultural communication. It highlights the UAE's transformation from a relatively poor country to a global hub following the discovery of oil, leading to an influx of expatriate workers and a subsequent shift in demographics. The study investigates how the need for effective communication in a diverse environment has driven the adoption of English as a second language among Emiratis and the emergence of mixed Arabic-English communication styles. The research employs quantitative methods, including structured interviews, to analyze the impact of cultural diversity on intermarriage, child-rearing, education, and the workplace. It concludes that increased language and literacy practices, along with exposure to diverse linguistic capital, help to reduce stereotypes and promote inclusion in the UAE's superdiverse environment. The essay references academic works to support its findings and analysis.

MULTILINGUALISM IN UAE
MULTILINGUALISM IN IN DUBAI- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Student Name:
Student Affiliation:
1

MULTILINGUALISM IN UAE
TRANSCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN MULTILINGUAL CONTEXT; A CASE
STUDY OF DUBAI- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
INTRODUCTION
Taking a case study of the United Arab Emirates, there have been massive forms of
development in this country since the discovery of oil. Before then, they were just a relatively
poor country whose citizens made a living mainly from maritime occupations which include
fishing and engagement in trade with other regions such as the East Africa region, Iran and the
Indian sub-continent (Zahlan, 2016). The discovery of oil led to widespread opportunities in this
country since a large pool of experts were brought in to offer labor services to an economy that
was growing at a very high percentage. As a result of the increased entry of migrant labor from
other nations, the demographics of this country also changed leading to Emiratis being a smaller
number of the population in their home country (Al-Gazali, Alwash, & Abdulrazzaq, 2005). This
made it a necessity for the natives to adopt English as their second language so as to aid in
communication with other groups of people who come from all over the world looking for
opportunities. As a result of the development of the multilingual society in this region, the
natives have tried to mix Arabic and English so as to communicate easily because it has become
more of a requirement for people to develop multilingual capabilities (O’Neill, 2016). It is easy
for one to distinguish locals from foreigners since the natives are stereotyped in terms of their
accent. Intermarriages in between locals and foreigners is not taken lightly since the children
may not enjoy certain rights including automatic citizenship, free education up to tertiary level,
health care services (Al-Gazali, Dawodu, Sabarinathan, & Varghese, 1995) and land to build on
after marriage.
2

MULTILINGUALISM IN UAE
LITERATURE REVIEW
Multilingualism has become a global trend in every country. Today, it is a characteristic
of every country to be multilingual. Even for those countries which are known to be the most
monolingual, including, Britain, United States of America, Japan and others, there must exist a
certain group of people that speak a language other than the language spoken in those countries.
Multilingualism can be defined as the use of more than one language either by an individual or a
group of speakers.
3

MULTILINGUALISM IN UAE
METHODOLOGY
Quantitative methods of research were greatly employed in conducting this research.
Both experimental and descriptive techniques were used. Data was collected by use of structured
interviews a sample of was taken to represent the entire population. This enables the research
study to be repeated since it is highly reliable. Research questions were carefully designed to
seek for objective answers.
4

MULTILINGUALISM IN UAE
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The widespread diversity in terms of different cultures has intermarriage between
Emiratis and individuals from other nations inevitable (Bristol-Rhys, 2007). It is common to
come across cases where an Emirati man has married a woman of a different nationality or an
Emirati woman married to a man from a different nation because of the high number of
foreigners working in this country. Whichever the case, it automatically means that the couple
will be speaking different languages. Children sired by such couples grow up under the care of
parents from different cultural diversities. As a result, the children will easily learn the different
cultures and languages based on the roots of their parents. Such children will end up being
multilingual.
At birth, children are exposed to different dialects that are of great importance to them
since one can easily find himself or herself in a situation where he or she has to use a specific
dialect to be able to interact with a certain group of people. As a result of this early exposure to
different dialects, children grow up with multilingual capabilities which makes it easier for them
to interact freely with the different groups of people present in the country.
When pursuing knowledge in higher education, chances are that you will meet colleagues
and teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds since so many people from different nations are
seeking for better opportunities in the United Arab Emirates in terms of employment and
acquiring knowledge in different disciplines. Due to this diversity of culture and languages in the
learning institutions, it becomes a necessity for one be multilingual in order to communicate with
different groups of people from different cultural backgrounds (Wilkins, 2010).
In the workplace, due to the widespread opportunities available, the country has
witnessed a high number of people from other nationalities coming in to take up some jobs in
different sectors. Experts are brought in from different nations so that they can take positions that
require such expertise and which is lacking amongst the Emiratis. As a result of this diversity in
languages and cultures among the employees, efforts have been made by the government and
businesses to train Emiratis and other people from outside on how to communicate with each
other without experiencing any difficulties. Here, people get to mingle and learn about what
others do so that they are not sidelined based on their cultural background.
5

MULTILINGUALISM IN UAE
CONCLUSION
To be able to overcome the stereotypes that people might have against each other in this
country, individuals have put a lot of efforts in improving their language and literacy practices.
They have also made efforts to learn diverse languages so as to aid in their interaction with other
people from different cultures. People develop multilinguistic habitus, linguistic capital in
various language varieties and expose themselves to a super diverse environment in educational,
professional, home and family contexts. This helps in reduction of stereotypes, prejudice,
discrimination and exclusion since many people are well acquainted with different cultural
practices.
6

MULTILINGUALISM IN UAE
References
Al-Gazali, L. I., Alwash, R., & Abdulrazzaq, Y. M. (2005). United Arab Emirates: communities
and community genetics. Public Health Genomics, 8(3), 186-196.
Al-Gazali, L. I., Dawodu, A. H., Sabarinathan, K., & Varghese, M. (1995). The profile of major
congenital abnormalities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population. Journal of
medical genetics, 32(1), 7-13.
Bristol-Rhys, J. (2007). Weddings, marriage and money in the United Arab
Emirates. Anthropology of the Middle East, 2(1), 20-36.
O’Neill, G. T. (2016). Heritage, heteroglossia and home: Multilingualism in Emirati
families. Language, identity and education on the Arabian Peninsula, 13-38.
Wilkins, S. (2010). Higher education in the United Arab Emirates: An analysis of the outcomes
of significant increases in supply and competition. Journal of Higher Education Policy
and Management, 32(4), 389-400.
Zahlan, R. S. (2016). The origins of the United Arab Emirates: A political and social history of
the Trucial States. Routledge.
7