In the Arab world, we have a new threat (as they call it now)! Not a militarily threat of course, but it’s an identity threat. Some say that the English language and the spread of it in the Arab world is becoming a problem. I know they have their reasons and they are solid, but I totally disagree with them and with the whole concept. They call it an invasion, the awful attack on the Arabic language and on Arabs, they call it a problem!!!
Don’t get me wrong! I’m a big supporter of the Arabic language! It’s an amazing language and we as Arabs must learn and study our own language, but what’s wrong with having and learning another language! Some argue that speaking and learning English will erase our own language! How can a new language erase the language that I’ve been using my whole life!! In the modern world, we need to be more flexible with language. I’m not saying we have to change everything, but we have to explore new horizons and learn new things every day. One of the most important things that we have to learn in our lives is a new language! Learning English won’t affect our Arabic and it sure won’t affect our identity.
On the other hand, we have to learn Arabic. It’s our language. As Arabs, we are recognized as people who speak Arabic. So, we can’t ignore our language just because we learned a new language! I know a lot of people who learned new languages and in the same time kept their own language. Our English professor, Dr. Rizwan Ahmad, speaks both English and Arabic fluently. He’s from India and he can write and read perfect and even old Arabic. Learning a new language didn’t affect his mother-language (Urdu). People can learn and master two or even more languages. The more you learn, the more flexible you are in communicating with the world.
Learning English in something you have to do now. English will help us a lot. Students and even businessmen will benefit a lot from learning English. It will help them communicate with the world and it will make their jobs much easier. Even in Kuwait, we need to learn English if we want a good job. Employees who know English have more job opportunities.
We can’t and won’t erase our Arabic language because we are Arabs and it’s our identity. If we learn both Arabic and English in the same time, then it won’t be a problem! It won’t be a threat!
Arabic is a rich language, but there are many more. We have to explore new languages and discover the beauty of learning a new thing, a new experience, and a new language!
Mad Reds – 2010
