900 outlets urged to have Arabic menu

Dubai: Restaurants in Dubai have been warned to have menus in Arabic or face penalties, said a senior official.

Dubai Municipality has issued warning letters to more than 900 restaurants, mostly fast food outlets, asking them to have menus in Arabic. These restaurants were found to have English-only menus in violation of the civic body's rule which requires every food outlet to have Arabic on their menus in addition to any other language.

"The move comes as part of the UAE government's decision to use Arabic as the first language in the country," said Abdul Aziz Bashir, senior food health officer at Dubai Municipality.

He said the rule was already in existence but now they had launched a campaign to ensure that everyone follows it.

"We have given a 15-day grace period for violating restaurants to have menus in Arabic," he said.

Those who fail to abide by the law will face penalties ranging from Dh1,000 to Dh10,000.

Some restaurants and food outlets also have their menu boards written in English only.

"This is also not acceptable and we have given two months for restaurants to have Arabic on their boards as well," he said.

Bashir said they had found that many fast food outlets, especially in shopping malls, had menu boards in English only.

"Although most restaurants follow the rule we want to make sure that everyone adheres to it."

Meanwhile, Dubai Municipality has launched a food safety awareness campaign.

"The civic body inspectors will conduct surprise inspections of restaurants and food companies ensuring that they sell and store food using hygiene standards set by the municipality," said Hussain Nasser Lootah, Acting Director-General of Dubai Municipality.

He said the campaign aims to create public awareness and also combat rumours concerning food content and colouring, educating the public on food additives and international standards, the importance of preserving food, reasons for using additives and colouring and their safety.

Will this move help to retain the identity of Arabic as a national language? Do you think this will encourage people to increase their knowledge of Arabic? Share your views at letter2editor@gulfnews.com

I think that the reason for printing the menus in Arabic is to make it easier for locals and Arab people more than anything else.
Rahul
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 24, 2008, 14:03

Religion and culture is not something that has to be imposed on a person. It?s always fair to live and work within the cultural limits of a place. So I don?t think this is a very good decision.
pillai
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 24, 2008, 13:50

I think that it is only fair for all if we have Arabic menu together with the English ones. I would love to learn Arabic as it would boost my career here in the Gulf and destroy the barrier between us all.
Randy
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: April 24, 2008, 13:04

I have invested in around five countries including UAE; however, I do not speak any of these countries native languages. Well let me now try learning Arabic.
JT
Seoul,S.Korea
Posted: April 24, 2008, 13:02

This is a very good step and we need it in all fields of daily life so that we can maintain our Arabian identity.
Ahmed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 24, 2008, 12:52

It is important to strictly implement such rules. I have lived in Saudi for 10 years and learned to communicate in Arabic in the first year.
Mohammed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 24, 2008, 12:13

If we really want to support the language, let the kids learn it as a must in schools.
thasimmahe
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 24, 2008, 10:15

A good move in preserving the identity of UAE. It is, after all, an Arab country.
MOHAMAD
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 24, 2008, 09:35

As a local I feel sad there are people who have spent over two decades in this country but can neither converse nor comprehend Arabic reasonably. With due respect to all languages and nationalities, it is high time the expatriate population learn Arabic.
Fares
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 24, 2008, 07:26

I am from Jordan and I contacted Burj Al Arab in January to obtain booking information. I asked for an Arabic speaking staff but the response was, "Sorry sir but nobody speaks Arabic." I gracefully thanked the lady for her assistance and ended the call.
Asaad
Amman,Jordan
Posted: April 24, 2008, 07:18

This is good news. We live in Canada and we use English in restaurants. At the very least workers should speak Arabic to Arabs. A few months ago I tried to speak Arabic to an employee at a hotel in Dubai but without success.
Suliman
Ontario,Canada
Posted: April 24, 2008, 05:21