# To all the working professionals in UAE, is learning Arabic worth it?



## rahzaa (May 2, 2012)

To all the working professionals in UAE, is learning Arabic worth it?

I have been in US for last 9 years but my native language is Urdu. So i can read Arabic, but i don't understand it. It won't be as difficult for me to learn Arabic compared with a pure 'westerner'. 

The question is, it worth it to invest time to learn Arabic? i am not in UAE right now, but i hope to move there some day. My career field is Sales & Marketing. 

Have you felt the need? Have you seen it is a job requirement? Please share your experience. 

Thanks!


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## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

rahzaa said:


> To all the working professionals in UAE, is learning Arabic worth it?
> 
> I have been in US for last 9 years but my native language is Urdu.


IMHO, it is not worth it for me. Only been in UAE on/off for 10 years, and even if I speak Arabic perfectly, it wouldn't have changed anything.

And, again IMHO, your setting should be originally from India - not USA. I imagine having lived in the US for 9 years (as an adult ?) hardly changed your culture same as an American-born. For example, I have lived in UAE longer than you in USA, yet would never consider myself originally from UAE...


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Urdu = Pakistan no?


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## ibkiss (Feb 1, 2012)

Urdu = Pakistan
Hindi = India


AND yes ,knowing the Arabic language has its advantages in UAE


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## rahzaa (May 2, 2012)

rahzaa said:


> To all the working professionals in UAE, is learning Arabic worth it?
> 
> I have been in US for last 9 years but my native language is Urdu. So i can read Arabic, but i don't understand it. It won't be as difficult for me to learn Arabic compared with a pure 'westerner'.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your post. Urdu is spoken by Pakistanis. 70-75% of UAE is either Indian or Pakistani and you don't who speaks Urdu? Kinda shows your ignorance. 

I didn't wanted to go into this detail, but for your information, i was born in USA and that is what 'orginally from' should mean. Secondly i am 26 so more than half my adult life has been in USA. I any case, the only reason i have kept in my profile is to help people understand the prespective of my questions as someone who wants to move from US to UAE.


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## lxinuk (Mar 18, 2012)

I would love to know Arabic. I would think the advantages come, when people in business or pleasure convert to Arabic in the hope that you don't understand. It would support you in not having 'the mickey taken out of you'. When in HK knowing some basic Cantonese helped get me out of a few scrapes and stopped me getting in to some scrapes!!

If you have the time and inclination it wold not hurt.

Is it necessary though......no I don't think it is xx


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## rahzaa (May 2, 2012)

lxinuk said:


> I would love to know Arabic. I would think the advantages come, when people in business or pleasure convert to Arabic in the hope that you don't understand. It would support you in not having 'the mickey taken out of you'. When in HK knowing some basic Cantonese helped get me out of a few scrapes and stopped me getting in to some scrapes!!
> 
> If you have the time and inclination it wold not hurt.
> 
> Is it necessary though......no I don't think it is xx


Good point. Thanks for sharing


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## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> Urdu = Pakistan no?


Thanks, my bad... Was typing my rant too fast.


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

rahzaa said:


> I didn't wanted to go into this detail, but for your information, i was born in USA and that is what 'orginally from' should mean. Secondly i am 26 so more than half my adult life has been in USA. I any case, the only reason i have kept in my profile is to help people understand the prespective of my questions as someone who wants to move from US to UAE.


Aaah, looks like you did not get the memo; you are originally American only if you fit a particular profile, otherwise its immaterial whether you your ancestors migrated 30 or 100 years back, you are just "Indian"  
Reminds me of a poster here who would claim an American of Asian origin will never be "true American"


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

Tropicana said:


> Aaah, looks like you did not get the memo; you are originally American only if you fit a particular profile, otherwise its immaterial whether you your ancestors migrated 30 or 100 years back, you are just "Indian"
> Reminds me of a poster here who would claim an American of Asian origin will never be "true American"


If by "true American" you mean some big guy with razor stubble chewing tobacco and drawling inane remarks real loud, as well as other common stereotypes, there are few "original Americans" left outside what we call the Red States. We come in all shapes, sizes, attitudes and religions, and given only 30 percent of Americans actually have passports, American expats likely don't fit many of the stereotypes, regardless of birth nation.


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## hubbly_bubbly (Oct 17, 2010)

There's well over 200 million people that speak arabic, as either a first or second language.

That's a potentially huge and extended client base for a sales and marketing exec, just to begin with, don't you think? - especially if already speak english and urdu.


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## indigeneious (Aug 18, 2012)

I definitely think that if you intend to network in the GCC and extend your business/ professional relationships beyond Dubai, it is definitely an advantage to know Arabic. I have recently moved here and have found the need to learn it. 

In any case, learning one new language is definitely a nice thing!


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## Shamma_H (Aug 27, 2012)

Absolutely worth it.I think it is sad to see how much people miss by not learning Arabic.It might be difficult to learn , but it is so rich that you wont regret learning it.Plus , it might save you in situations were you might be stuck with non-English speakers (although most people in UAE can speak Arabic).


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## KC1 (Sep 30, 2010)

For a sales and marketing job, I'd think it would be very useful.


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## arabic8 (Aug 30, 2012)

learning a new language is always worth it.


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## angieuae (Apr 2, 2012)

Learning arabic is not a must here in Dubai. But it depends if most of the people in your company are mostly arabic.


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## CDN2012 (Jun 15, 2011)

Its not a must but it cant hurt. Since my wife is sponsered under me when we switched her Canadian licence over they wanted an NOC letter from me in arabic and i was able to write it out than and there for the RTA.

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum


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## rahzaa (May 2, 2012)

Does anyone know a good place in Dubai to learn Arabic? I mean a learning center with tutors etc.


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## Eng.Khaled (Feb 8, 2011)

Try to visit this site: ALC - Arabic Language Center Dubai



rahzaa said:


> Does anyone know a good place in Dubai to learn Arabic? I mean a learning center with tutors etc.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

The first time I was in this area I bounced around too much obtain very much Arabic but even today I find myself understanding some of the conversations and am getting ready to begin lessons to understand more.

Is it absolutely necessary? No, English is very widely understood and is the primary language of business. But I am finding a lot of the upper managers I am dealing with are in fact native Arabic speakers. 

So:

1. I will brush up on my Arabic to make sure I am catching all of the conversations around me.
2. I think if you speak in a native language it is appreciated anywhere and I happen to be here now.
3. It can't hurt.


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## sachin_vs (Nov 10, 2013)

rahzaa said:


> To all the working professionals in UAE, is learning Arabic worth it?
> 
> I have been in US for last 9 years but my native language is Urdu. So i can read Arabic, but i don't understand it. It won't be as difficult for me to learn Arabic compared with a pure 'westerner'.
> 
> ...


I'm planning to move to UAE in a few months too... 

I would say it is worth learning Arabic. I have been looking at job ads in the UAE, and from what I see, for most senior level jobs, I have seen companies asking for having Arabic speaking skills if you're not from the UAE. If you are in Sales and Marketing, then it would definitely be a plus.


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

Huge advantages, particularly if you deal a lot with government and public sector. I know a fair bit and I can sometimes follow the gist of a conversation, even if I'm not following the details.


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## mgb (Sep 6, 2008)

For sales and marketing - definitely, many employers specify the requirement for an arabic speaker.

Your urdu will come in very handy here too!


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

sachin_vs said:


> I'm planning to move to UAE in a few months too...
> 
> I would say it is worth learning Arabic. I have been looking at job ads in the UAE, and from what I see, for most senior level jobs, I have seen companies asking for having Arabic speaking skills if you're not from the UAE. If you are in Sales and Marketing, then it would definitely be a plus.


Unfortunately the harsh truth is that for sales and marketing positions which ask for Arabic, you would be unlikely to learn the level required in a short period of time. 
That is why such marketing positions , particularly the senior ones, that ask for Arabic look for native speakers or those with native level fluency, and not just someone who has learned a bit.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Arabic varies. 

Gulf standard Arabic isn't the same Arabic spoken in, say, Lebanon or Egypt. 
The companies that specifically seek Arabic speakers for certain roles are going to hire native Arab speakers from the relevant areas that they need to cover. 

My first director in Dubai was a westerner fluent in several Arabic dialects but whenever he started speaking in Arabic to an Arab, they always responded in English, so he eventually gave up. 

While you may find some Arabic useful for certain circumstances and to help break the ice when meeting potential clients, it's highly unlikely it'll help you land a job where knowledge of Arabic is essential. As explained above, companies will hire a native Arabic speaker over you for those roles and for other roles where Arabic isn't essential, it may be a side bonus but won't win you the job over a more skilled candidate. 

The other disadvantage of learning Arabic solely to make you more employable is that in those roles it's not only speaking Arabic that's important, it's the connections you have and the business network you're able to bring to the role that's equally important. The businesses in the Gulf that expect Arabic speakers are generally the businesses where family and social connections play a big role in business transactions and development. It's a whole cultural environment that non-native Arabic speakers will find very difficult to break into.

To give you a good example, the director I referred to earlier led a big bid for a tender issued by the UAE government. His Arabic skills did come in use when upselling the bid to the government ministers and they were impressed with him and we were officially told we were the highest scoring and most competitive bidder. Did we win the bid? No. It eventually went to a company owned by a cousin of someone on the tender committee. Such is the way of the world in the Gulf.


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

True .. it's all about the family. Also the dialect of Arabic you referred to as the Gulf dialect is commonly referred to as 'Khaleeji' Arabic. Khaleej being the arabic word for Gulf, just a bit of trivia for posters on this thread ...


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

And of course there are differences within the Khaleeji dialect itself, so that the Jeddah dialect is a bit different than the Kuwaiti one


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

I interact a lot with senior staff of UAE government departments - run by UAE locals.
I always start by greeting in Arabic and follow up with a few pleasantries - I have always found this has been received very well and it certainly breaks the ice, at new introductions.
I would love to be able to learn more and will definitely be looking to find a good tutor/company to help learn a bit more everyday business Arabic.

Cheers
Steve


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## Budw (Oct 14, 2013)

In my opinion, knowing how to speak Arabic is an advantage, but not at all a must or deal breaker. Like said by Steve, its great for introductions, but typically all business talk is done in English.


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## Asimfrombombay (Sep 20, 2013)

Which is the best institute in Dubai where we can learn to speak (native) Arabic? How much time it will take to get fluency in speaking and understanding?


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## nicegalmemi (Nov 17, 2013)

Good question. 
I'm an arab and I barely use Arabic rather than conversation or a slight help for my other expat friends here if they want to read letters or draft one. but honestly if you are not in government you won't be needing it much. all you need is an arab friend and they will translate for you, but make sure they are not mean like me and try to prank you with wrong information.

if you are in Media or PR, then that's a +.. however it's a very tough language and require serious commitment. knowing how people speak to each other AKA slang is not helpful.
if you are serious, keen and commited to learn , I would send you some useful PDFs.


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## msbettyboopdxb (Mar 22, 2009)

saraswat said:


> True .. it's all about the family. Also the dialect of Arabic you referred to as the Gulf dialect is commonly referred to as 'Khaleeji' Arabic. Khaleej being the arabic word for Gulf, just a bit of trivia for posters on this thread ...


Thanks! I love trivia.


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