Multilingualism and the role of English in the United Arab Emirates. Issue 2 (3rd June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Siemund, Peter; Al‐Issa, Ahmad; Leimgruber, Jakob R. E.
• Other Names: ELYAS TARIQ guestEditor.; MAHBOOB AHMAR guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: World Englishes. Volume 40:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 191
• Page End: 204
• Publication Date: 2020-06-03
• Subjects: English language -- Foreign countries -- Periodicals; English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers -- Periodicals; English language -- Variation -- Periodicals; Intercultural communication -- Periodicals; 428.2407
• DOI: 10.1111/weng.12507
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0883-2919

Abstract

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'.