[nasional_list] [ppiindia] English, Arabic or Amalgam?
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 07:01:16 +0100
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**http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article=77921&d=19&m=2&y=2006
Friday, 17, February, 2006 (18, Muharram, 1427)
English, Arabic or Amalgam?
Roger Harrison, Arab News
Arabic is a fine language; all 35 dialects of it spread over 24 countries
and all of them in the Middle East and North Africa. The idea of using it at a
major international event such as the Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) in order to
promote it on the world stage is commendable. But is that practical if you want
to promote international business?
Apparently, a few JEF delegates thought that the forum should be
conducted in Arabic. So to them, a question: Which Arabic would you prefer?
Which Arabic would you use? The Najd dialect is spoken by fewer than 10 million
people; with six billion on the planet, the chances of being understood by more
than a few outside the Kingdom are slim. You might of course resort to Modern
Standard Arabic, a language native to no one but which is understood in most of
the Arab world.
The very nature of the JEF is international; Arabic is largely a local
language. Moroccans, for example, would surely have difficulty understanding
Iraqis, even though both speak what they call "Arabic."
The Summer Institute for Linguistics (SIL) Ethnologue Survey (1999) has
Chinese as the language spoken by most people - 937,132,000 of them. Spanish
comes next with 332,000,000 with English a close third with 322,000,000. Arabic
(the combined figure for the most common 15 Arabic dialects) lies sixth on the
list with 174,950,000. No single dialect of Arabic appears in the Top 15.
Now add to this the populations that speak those same languages as a
second language and the order changes. Mandarin Chinese again comes first with
1.12 billion, with English second at 480 million, Spanish third at 320 million
and Arabic seventh with 221 million.
Much more significant in terms of usefulness of communication and
business - and this is what should motivate JEF to continue in English - is the
number of countries and their influence on the global economy where each
language is spoken. The spread of language now reads English in 115, French in
35 and Arabic in 24. Mandarin is just five and Japanese in only one.
Even this is not the whole story. Japan is a long way down the list.
However, it has the world's second largest economy. Mandarin Chinese is spoken
in only five countries - but between them they generate a very substantial
portion of the world's wealth and a great deal of its manufactured goods.
English is far more widely spoken and understood than any other language.
It is the official language in 52 countries as well as in many small colonies
and territories. Between 25 and 30 percent of the people in the world
understand and speak English to some degree. It is the most useful language for
international travel and is the de facto language of diplomacy.
In 2001, the 189 member countries in the United Nations were asked what
language they wanted to use for communication with embassies from other
countries. More than 120 chose English, 40 selected French, and 20 wanted to
use Spanish. Those who wanted English to be the common language included all
the former Soviet republics, Vietnam and - significantly for this discussion -
most of the Arab world. English is also the dominant language in electronic
communication. About 75 percent of the world's mail, telexes, and cables are in
English.
Approximately 60 percent of the world's radio programs are in English and
about 90 percent of all Internet traffic. All this points very clearly to one
thing. The people who come from outside Saudi Arabia to the JEF will, by and
large, speak English to some degree. Judging by the performance of both Saudi
and other Arab delegates and presenters, there is no shortage of highly
competent English speakers in the Kingdom. So where's the beef?
I really do understand how you feel about Arabic; my country England
(although I am probably not allowed to refer to it as that any more) is
gradually speaking American and we gave up on inches, rods, poles and perches
years ago. We do not "do" things any more; we facilitate. We "impact" -
previously a noun but in that way the Americans have of converting nouns to
verbs now a verb - rather than affect a situation. The list is seemingly
endless.
We cannot any longer describe ourselves as English on the official census
forms (British is the only acceptable term), or weigh things in pounds
avoirdupois without being prosecuted. And pray tell, what on earth is a metric
yard? Imperial measurement was a comfortable human scale thing. An inch was the
width of a ha' penny or the length of the top part of your thumb; I know what a
foot looks like; I have one and a spare. Regrettably, gone are the days when
you could nip a furlong down the road and get an ounce of shag; nip back with a
pint of something and listen to the musical "Half a Sixpence"
Now we have to "engage in an ambulatory experience" for 200 meters, ask
for 30 grams of tobacco from the "retail customer care operative," have it
supplied in an EU approved tobacco unfriendly plastic pack that says, to
paraphrase, "This toxic stuff will kill you," and suffer having your life
insurance premium increased if you smoke it. We would be "retailed" 0.57 liters
of some Euro-fluid and have to listen to a musical called, "Fifty Percent of
One Twentieth of a Euro." Please, no more. My brain hurts!
Enjoy, preserve and love your native language. It is a thing of great
beauty where your poets keep their souls and in which your religion was
revealed and is preserved. It is the guardian of your history and identity. But
if you want to talk to and do business with the rest of the world, get hold of
the tool for the job - English.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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