Arabic Language, a Bridge Between Civilizations’ (Gulf News 17th December,20)



There seem to be no two opinions on the recent finding by UNESCO that hundreds of languages and dialects around the world are threatened to disappear because of enforced illiteracy and migration. Findings reveal that almost half of the globe’s 6,700 languages and dialects are disappearing because people have stopped using them. In other words, parents and elders of these languages may no longer pass on these languages to their children, and in the process, the languages might wither away, leaving no signs of their existence for future generations.

Reasons for this upheaval in languages are manifold. Educational disadvantages including migration and other manifestations, eventually lead to the possibility of a culture and its language being weakened almost to the point of disappearance and obscurity. More than this is the massive influence of the English language exerting on languages smaller or bigger. English has become a global language and its utility is immense and unquestionable. It connects the people of the world, while regional or other national languages are not. English is the language for global communication. The modern world is firmly connected by technology and by globalization, and the English language is a means to that. The more people reach out to each other the more they need a common language for communication. English fills up the slot for its ease of learning and for already being a global language spoken across continents. Companies are becoming more international, and English is considered an essential skill for more and more jobs. There are some organizations that now conduct all their business in English, no matter where in the world they are based. If you want the best-paid opportunities, learning English is virtually essential. Languages other than English might be a source of just preserving our social and cultural identities.