❊ The Arabic Language is Coming of Age

Anyone who has watched CNN in the last few years has probably noticed how many of the advertisers and show sponsors are now Arab businesses (or,to be more precise, Gulf businesses). Some of the world’s top brands (Emirates, Aljazeera..etc) are now Arab brands, and gulf countries seem to be wielding more and more international clout.

Yet there still is a distinctly groundbreaking feel to the announcement of the Guardian newspaper, a privately-owned publication based in the UK, that it will now add an Arabic section to its website. The Language of Gulf oil and the Arab Spring has come of age.

Sure back in the day the BBC and the Voice of America subsidized Arabic-channels to reach Arab populations with their propaganda, but that was an expense paid by tax payers for political gains. The story today is different: The combination of the Arab Spring (with the uncertainty and promise it brings) and the rise of Arab gulf monarchies has made the Arab world an important place to do business and influence events.

Technology is catching up with the demand too. Arabic transliteration and translation services abound online, and just today a service named Quordoba launched. It’s an innovative web 2.0 style translation service that uses crowd sourcing with hundreds of human translators to serve what is apparently a quickly growing market.

On a personal level, I’m starting to toy with the idea of blogging in Arabic, despite the fact that I’m still not convinced I need to. I also don’t think that the technology for my style of blogging in Arabic is there yet. Just ask anyone who tried copying Arabic text from the web and posting it in a blockquote html tag.

Related: Hi-Kifak-ça-va pride. Why the Lebanese don’t need to protect the Arabic Language.
And: Let’s Face It, The French Language In Lebanon Is Dying.