fionamw

This follows up on a question I placed in Far East, to try to get a rounded picture on the following:
For years I've been touting the belief that allowing that English is pretty much the international language, the three others to learn (not necessarily all three!) are Chinese - Mandarin or Cantonese, now having seen the replies it would be Mandarin (if any, because of the difficulty learning accurately & to avoid causing offence with errors....) Spanish - on the basis of percentage of the world's population speaking it - & now here comes the question - Arabic. All three options are on basis of volume of native speakers, but do most if not all Arabs speak English? Do business in English? Is it a given that English is the way to go or do the Arab nations also teach/learn Chinese/Spanish/other languages for business?

MataHari

Dutch is the way to go...half the price as well

fionamw

...... unless of course it's double Dutch?

TGFKASE

I would consider throwing Russian in there as well.....

English does go without saying, and not only because its my 2nd language...

Chinese?? Well, with the population it has and the likelihood of it getting the hang of consumerism, it will become a far stronger international player than it currently is...

Spanish?? Unless you plan on doing business in Latin America, there really is no need... None of the Latin countries or Spain are particularly big powerhouses on the international scene. The closest would be Brazil, so why not throw in Portugese for good measure...

Arabic?? I have considered learning Arabic (not just the 1/2 dozen pleasantries) but, after seeing what passes as Arabic tuition in the schools here, it appears that even the UAE ministry dont think it that important in the region to understand it...

Shehryar

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGFKASE

Arabic?? I have considered learning Arabic (not just the 1/2 dozen pleasantries) but, after seeing what passes as Arabic tuition in the schools here, it appears that even the UAE ministry dont think it that important in the region to understand it...

I think you are spot-on that Arabic tuition for non-Arabic speakers is woeful here, particularly in the GCC. However, countless Brits of Asian extraction do go to places such as Egypt and Syria to learn Arabic, and by all accounts, seem to find the tuition there acceptable.

Perhaps the lack of adequate Arabic language courses and schools in the GCC is due to the widespread use of English in most businesses here - however, in all other parts of the Mid-East and North Africa, Arabic is the language of business and commerce, and in fact, even in very cosmopolitan and multi-lingual places like the UAE, it helps to know Arabic when dealing with federal ministries, legal bodies and other public authorities. In my experience, Bahrain is probably the only Arab League member where the vast majority of locals, even in government/legal jobs, are reasonably fluent in English - in all other places, it helps to know Arabic (more so in some than in others, obviously).

fionamw

So are there a myriad of dialects/variations like with Chinese? Is it as likely a native English speaker would actually cause offence by getting pronunciations wrong? I'm rapidly realising the depth of my ignorance about language...

Tiger989

nah as long people can understand what you say they happy,

Egyptian pronounce words like that:

One Bebzi with Freng Fryz, quikaly pleaze az my car is barked out zide.

Nic1

They just love the fact that you try - I can speak Arabic at present minimally in the present tense only . . . But what the heck they usually (unless being deliberately awkward) get what I am saying.

There are differences between Saudi/Lebanese/Egyptian etc. Arabic but they understand each other in the main.

N

Tiger989

Think about it as English in England, you got the scouse, the maggies, the north, the south, the brums, the cockneys etc...

Arabic is the same with diffrent accents and diffrent words, but its pretty much the same basic concept. Try learning arabic in english.

Such as Hello as Marhaba
Bye - Ma Salama
Thank you - Shukran
Nice - Hilu
Ok - Tamam
Good - Kwais

Nic1

Try learning Arabic in English ? What ? Do you mean phonetically ? Sorry being a bit dim here . . . .

But some words are different - the Lebanese say tayeb for OK . . . and the Egyptians say bambi for pink, while the Lebanese say another word which of course I cant remember, cos I've got bambi stuck in my head, and the Lebanese say biddi and the Saudi's say abgrah and the Egyptians say aysa for I want. I work with Lebanese people and get Arabic lessons from an Egyptian lady - the girls I work with laugh when I use Egyptian Arabic (in a nice way of course!!).

My New Year's Resolution is to be fluent by the summer . . . . . which is porbably more doable than going to the gyum every day

N

Tiger989

Yeah sorry I meant, phonetically.

Well my mother tongue is supposed to be Arabic, but I consider my English, much more fluent than arabic.

Sorry to inform you but bambi in egyptian doesn't mean pink. lol

Nic1

What does it mean then ? That's what my Arabic teacher told me . . . Hope it's not rude . . .

N

Tiger989

Nah not rude but bambi doesn't even exist in arabic language, its Zahr or Zahri for Pink in 99% of the arabic lingo

Nic1

Well, will check when she gets back from Egypt - no wonder my Lebanese colleagues didn;t know what I was talking about!!

N

fionamw

So gratifying that these nuances & discrepancies turn up in so many languages!
Any other suggestions for a 'world language'? So far English, Arabic, still in the running with Mandarin down in the rankings for fear of simple blunders & Russian a new candidate.... Spanish I still reckon is a good one because of volume of Spanish speakers globally, but over to you..