What language is spoken in the UAE? Will there be any difficulties in communication between other language tourists and local residents? Let’s look into this issue together.
What language is considered official
So, Arabic in the East Arabian dialect is recognized as the official language of the United Arab Emirates. True, the majority of the country’s population is fluent in English and widely use Urdu, Hindi and a number of other foreign languages.
In most tourist places (hotels, restaurants, shops, etc.) you will not have problems communicating with the staff, because English is used everywhere here. By the way, in some places you can even “stumble” on other language.
Due to the fact that a large number of foreign tourists come to the country, all inscriptions in the United Arab Emirates are duplicated in English (road signs, menus in restaurants, etc.).
The exception is the interior of the country, where all the inscriptions are made exclusively in Arabic.
Due to the fact that a large number of tourists come to the United Arab Emirates, here they began not only to understand other language, but even speak it.
You will feel comfortable in shops, hotels, restaurants, because at least one person in such establishments will understand you and talk to you. By the way, menus in some restaurants have even been translated into other language; language Radio in the United Arab Emirates operates here.
Gulf Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, being a dialect of the Arabic language. A similar dialect is also called “el-lahja el-kalizhiyya”.
It is customary to speak it in the UAE, as well as in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and other states of the Arab world. The least common in the UAE is the Arabic dialect called “Al-Shehhi” (another name is the Omani dialect).
It is mainly spoken in the east of the state, on the border with Oman.
The natives of the United Arab Emirates do not speak Classical Arabic.
Initially, they learn their own dialect, and only then – the classical version. While studying in high school, children are taught an in-depth program of English.
