Free «Language and Identity in the Arabian Gulf» Essay Sample

Introduction

Language is an important aspect of human communication and presentation of one’s personality. The way we speak and express ourselves determines the kind of people we are and is considered as a counterpart of the dressing code. Both of these are an identification of a person as they express one’s attitude making it easy to tell what exactly they are just by the way they talk. Languages differ depending on the setup and the environment in which they are used; they can be different in places of work, in schools and the ordinary set up like homes. With age, language and speech type can also change since children and young people may use language that goes with their generation inclusive of slangs and particular vocabularies. Communities have different styles, which make them identifiable with certain tribes in the world, used in communication and as a way of understanding different speeches among themselves. The purpose of this paper is to identify and explain the language employed by Arabs in their countries as described in the article by Clive Holes about the Arabic language. Furthermore, the paper aims to provide an opinion about the article and reasons that support it.

Summary of the Article

The article focuses on the language used in the Arabian Gulf and the changes experienced in the region and the people using different types of speech patterns that exist in the area. The main talk is based on changing patterns in the language at various perspectives including homes, workplaces, and even the media. Clive Holes reflects on the thoughts of Arabians, on who they are and how they would wish to be presented both in the outer community and the world as a whole (Holes, 2011). The author, having interacted with lots of different sets of people in the region such as women, men, children and adults, managed to get different perspectives of Arabians as they use the Arabic language in their workplaces, at homes and even in schools. He explains that although changes in the Gulf have not been shared among many of the citizens, the youth have been identified to have shunned from the language from time to time into the English language, especially in writing as a way of communicating.

The significant differences in linguistics experienced in Gulf in terms of the Arabian language arise from the migration of the tribes involved, the population movement that took place in the eastern and central Arabia which led to the formation of some of the lingual lines in their society. This resulted in different languages spoken in the region as a consequence of various communities brought together. Dialects in the Gulf occur in various forms as people use certain words and speech depending on the people they are talking to and the setting in which they are (Holes, 2011). The author describes different situations in which he interacted with various individuals from the region and observed how they could change their figurative speech from one type to another, giving a case of the taxi driver that served him on his way to the airport. The socially dominant Arabic in the UAE is today considered as regional dialect since it is spoken in relaxed situations and places of public.

Opinion and Conclusion

It is evident from the article that the linguistic aspect of the Arabian Gulf is fading away with generations since people are losing connection with the language and adapting to a completely different perspective. This is brought to attention by the use of the English language by the youth, which has been noted in the recent past. In my opinion, the article brings out the aspect of the changes involved in the Gulf language and how the culture seems to be fading away with generations thereby conveying into light the essence of bringing up the connection that existed in the past, as quoted from the article, “Arabic will die out if it is locked up in the classroom” (Holes, 2011, p. 143).