Creative hybridity over linguistic purity: the status of English in the United Arab Emirates

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Asian Englishes

Publication Date

5-4-2018

Abstract

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Currently, the linguistic landscape in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can be described as dynamic, complex and multifaceted. This article discusses the status of English in the UAE with three key periods of language change being identified, based on Schneider’s ‘dynamic model’ of postcolonial Englishes. The increasing impact of English as a lingua franca, and the recent shift towards English Medium Instruction at all levels of Emirati education are then explored before examining attitudes towards English with reference to the ‘Englishization vs. hybridization’ debate. It is argued that rather than English and Arabic being used in a binary way representing linguistic purity, the UAE’s linguistic landscape is more complex and dynamic. Emiratis are increasingly using multiple forms of linguistic hybridity such as ‘white dialects’, ‘Arabizi’, ‘translanguaging’ and ‘code-switching’, which are reshaping Emirati language use and additionally influencing local identities.

ISSN

1348-8678

Publisher

Routledge

Volume

20

Issue

2

First Page

158

Last Page

169

Disciplines

Education

Keywords

identity, language change, language contact, linguistic hybridity, United Arab Emirates

Scopus ID

85048019047

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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