The Interference of English in Emirati Arabic and the Anglicization of Emirati Schools

This article explores the changes in the Emirati school system from Arabic to bilingual curriculum (English and Arabic) as well as the influence of English in Emirati Arabic: English loanwords and verbs in Emirati Arabic; as well as their occurrences in light of age and gender, two important social variables related to linguistic behavior. To do so, we administered questionnaires and recorded Emirati high school students (aged 17-18), Emirati alumni from 38 to 50 years old, as well as elderly Emiratis aged 64 to 66, which means a generation gap of over 40 years from the youngest to the eldest group. We will analyze which English loanwords and verbs are present in Emirati Arabic due to historical reasons and the most recent incorporations due to modernization factors.