If you know Dubai, it shouldn’t surprise you to hear that the UAE is a very diverse region with people from all over the world.
As a tourist, you might worry about your ability to get around in the country with regards to language. Luckily, the country’s diversity comes from language just as much as nationality.
But what languages will you really encounter there?
I visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi this past summer, so I can give a firsthand account of what my experience was like.
The Official Language of the UAE
Given its geographical location, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the UAE’s official language is Arabic.
Specifically, they use the Official Standard Arabic, but there are several other prominent dialects within the country. The main one is called Gulf Arabic, which is spoken in many countries along the Persian Gulf.
In order to become a citizen of the UAE, you have to be fluent in Arabic. So even though there are a lot of languages in the country, all full citizens know Arabic.
Now, obviously, Arabic uses a different writing system than English, which will make it a little bit harder to navigate and to read certain signs. There’s one important consideration, though:
English in the UAE
While English is not the official language in the UAE, it is heavily taught in schools, and is actually more widely-spoken than Arabic. Most signage is written in both languages.
I remember seeing one sign that was only in Arabic at the Dubai Mall, but it was still recognizable as Krispy Kreme in spite of that simply because of the colors and style of the logo!
Needless to say, if you know English, you’ll have an easy time getting around. It wasn’t much different than the US or UK in regards to the presence of English. In fact, the territory of the UAE was a British colony until the 1970s.
This also makes sense when you consider how many immigrants come from English-speaking countries like the US and England.
Hindi, Urdu and Mandarin
I’m grouping these three together because they both have a large amount of speakers and have come to the UAE in similar contexts.
These three languages are completely different and come from different cultures. They even use different writing systems.
But both languages have a significant presence in the UAE because of the many workers who have moved there over time.
In fact, I was there with a friend from China whose friend moved to Dubai from China years ago.
There’s also a big population of immigrants from India and surrounding countries. They make up 71% of immigrant populations in Dubai, hence my mention of Hindi. If you’re going to encounter Hindi anywhere in the UAE, it’ll likely be in Dubai!
My Experience with Language in the UAE
As a traveler or, more specifically, the Linguistic Traveler, I feel like it’s important that I talk about my own experience with this. Statistics will tell you a different story than actual lived experience.
I didn’t actually hear a lot of people speaking anything besides English. I never had any trouble asking questions, entering tourist sites, ordering food, or anything else you might want to do in English as a tourist.
On occasion, my friend that I mentioned would speak Mandarin with his friends that he was visiting. I’m sure this kind of encounter would become much more common if you spend more time in the country.
Every sign was in English and Arabic. I can’t remember any signs that showed any other languages. Maybe the occasional Mandarin writing.
Even a man I met at my hotel, who was from Saudi Arabia, spoke English. I’m pretty sure he was a tourist, but I’d imagine it’s equally easy to get around using either Arabic or English.
Conclusion
The UAE is very linguistically diverse, and yet you probably won’t see much of that when you visit. If you’re an English speaker, you’re going to encounter English more than anything. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. If you want to encounter other languages, you’ll have to really look for it. But if you simply want to visit the country, then it won’t be an issue!
This post came out quite a bit shorter than many of my other posts, especially those about languages in other countries. My Belize one, for example, is much longer, as there’s a lot more going on there as far as language goes.
Still, I’m not going to pad for length in a post that doesn’t need it. I hope this was a useful source, and if you have any questions, comments, corrections, or concerns, let me know!
