Twenty-minutes talk
Dubai: Most Arab children are severely limited in their ability to express themselves because they are no longer fluent in classical Arabic, an expert told the Arab Media Forum on Wednesday in Dubai.
Dr Sohair Al Soukkary, a linguistics specialist from the US, said during her 20-minute presentation that European colonialism of the Arab world had deliberately “murdered” the elite form of the language to create “semi-educated” generations who are easier to influence.
The result today, Dr Sohair said, is that parents only teach colloquial Arabic or a foreign language to their children — leaving them lacking in both languages.
She said classic Arabic had tens of thousands of more expressions and words than any other form or dialect of Arabic, making it easy for speakers to express themselves eloquently.
Social media ‘causing isolation’
By Faisal Masudi, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Social media is leading to social isolation, a speaker told the Arab Media Forum in Dubai on Wednesday.
Dr Fatima Al Salem, Professor, Journalism and New Media, Kuwait University, said her research shows people are spending more hours online, meaning there is less time for “our real lives”.
Instead of visiting family or the mall in person, for instance, users are instead used to “socialising” and shopping online, Dr Fatima said.
High income levels in the Gulf countries make it easy to buy devices and data plans to enable users to stay online longer.