Gulf | Qatar
Concern at children's poor knowledge of Arabic
The Arabic language is being rapidly influenced or substituted by foreign languages and some Arab children no longer speak it, educationists and media representatives warned in a conference yesterday.
- By Barbara Bibbo', Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 February 23, 2007
Doha: The Arabic language is being rapidly influenced or substituted by foreign languages and some Arab children no longer speak it, educationists and media representatives warned in a conference yesterday.
"The Arabic language has become the second language here due to the presence of expatriate communities and the influence of the media and the education system on the younger generations," said Mariam Ali Nasser Al Misnad, General Coordinator for the Childhood Cultural Centre (CCC).
"We are very concerned because the knowledge of the Arabic language and in particular classical Arabic among our children is poor and we need to take action immediately to protect the language."
Mariam spoke to Gulf News on the sidelines of the First International Conference for the Child between the Mother Tongue and the Interaction with the Modern World.
The event organised by CCC in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, seeks to define the causes and possible solutions. There are several reasons for changes in the use of Arabic among Arab children and in particular local children, Mariam said.
Main cause
"A main cause here in Qatar is the fact that the majority of women spend their day at work and the education of the children is left to foreign housemaids, who teach their own language and customs," she explained. "Many Arab children attend foreign schools, where the first language is English and Arabic is one among different subjects."
The media has also contributed to the decline in the use of the language.
"The majority of the cartoon programmes for example are in English and those translated into Arabic are really poor in terms of both the educational content and the quality of language," Mariam added.
In addition, parents would rather talk to their children in the dialect of their country of origin rather than in classical Arabic, a factor which is also contributing to a general decline in the understanding of the classical language, she said.
Educationists and media representatives from across the Arab world gathered to discuss the issue.
Al Jazeera Children also participated in the event. The channel which was started two years ago under the auspices of Shaikha Mouza Bint Nasser Al Misnad, the wife of the Emir of Qatar, is the lone educational channel for Arab children in classical Arabic.
"The channel has an ambitious and very important role in promoting the Arabic language among children, but unfortunately it has not been so successful to date," said a media critic, who asked not to be named.
"Children look for entertaining rather than educational programmes and therefore they will continue to switch to other networks."
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