Arabic still vital, but English used daily, poll finds

A boy reads his workbook during lessons of the Arabic language in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., in this file photo. (Reuters)

DUBAI: Most young Arabs, especially those in the Gulf, still see the Arabic language as central to their national identity, but also increasingly feel it is losing its value and most now use English in their daily lives, the Arab Youth Survey found.
In total, 80 percent agreed that Arabic was an essential part of their identity, rising to 90 percent in the Gulf. However, 60 percent overall said the language was losing its value, with that feeling especially strong in North Africa.
For the first time, more than half (54 percent) of those polled across the region said that they regularly used English more than Arabic. In the Gulf, some 68 percent said they were daily English speakers. 
The finding sparked some disbelief among the panelists discussing its findings in Dubai. Fadi Ghandour, the Jordanian entrepreneur, said: “I don’t believe in these findings. I think the question must have been badly phrased.” He added that in his experience Arabic was “resurgent” in everyday use, especially in social media conversations.
The survey also revealed that most young Arabs get their news from Facebook, rather than from TV-news channels, online news sources, or in print.
Some 35 percent of the 3,500 polled said that they got their daily news on Facebook, compared to 31 percent from online sources and 30 percent from television.
Most — 64 percent — share interesting news articles on Facebook, up from 52 percent last year.
Meanwhile, Facebook and WhatsApp are the most popular social media platforms, while Instagram and Snapchat are also showing a strong surge, according to the survey.
Some 68 percent visit Facebook at least once a day, up from 55 percent last year. The same number use WhatsApp daily, compared with 62 percent in 2016. Half are regular visitors to YouTube, while nearly as many (48 percent) were regular Instagram users. Snapchat, which was not polled at all in the Arab Youth Survey 2016, attracts 42 percent of young Arabs daily. Twitter is used by 37 percent, up from 28 percent last year.