Dubai: Marking World Arabic Language Day, the UAE on Tuesday launched a scientific study on the state and future of the Arabic language.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued directives to launch the study.

On his Twitter page, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid said: “The UAE joins the world in celebration of World Arabic Language Day, the immortal language. We do so through conducting studies, researches and renewed government and cultural polices. We have national agendas for Arabic and we instructed concerned authorities to conduct and launch more initiatives and studies.”

The study will serve as a reference to scientifically address challenges facing the Arabic language to help develop methods of using, learning and empowering Arabic given it is a means of communication and acquisition of knowledge.

The Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development will be responsible for publishing the report, which is part of the national agenda of the UAE Centennial Plan 2071.

The national agenda features priorities to consolidate the teaching and learning process, activate the role of Arabic in the media, enriching Arabic with intellectual production and scientific research, translating Arabic works into other languages, transferring sciences and knowledge from different languages into Arabic and preserving the poetic and literary heritage as well as spreading the Arabic language to non-native speakers.

Noora Bint Mohammad Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, hailed Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid’s directives. The report will serve as a springboard to address challenges facing Arabic in a scientific manner and will be like a foundation stone for the national agenda’s objectives and priorities on the Arabic language. she said.

“Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. As for us in the UAE and in the region, it is one of the main components of our culture and identity. All the developed societies in the world seek to preserve and empower their language,” she added.

The report will be published in 2019 and will be developed by a group of experts and researchers from regional and international universities. It will include opinion polls, surveys, research studies, case studies from different sectors and selected experiences from institutions in the UAE and other countries.