or have lived in there for 5 or more years…how come you don’t know fluent Arabic?
or do you? 
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
I have lived in Emirates half my life .. worked with Arabs but never attained the same level of fluency as them … I can speak arabic to get myself through tough times , but nothing too fancy ..
Reason being:
- Going to British school meant, no arabic
- Not much mixing with the locals , since they dont like mixing up , the racist idiots that they are ..
- and if by chance you get to have an arabic friend , they speak more urdu/english than you
you end up not feeling the need to learn arabic at all - Even in the workplace , English is the main language
In saudi, its a different case though .. i dunno for the ladies but for men, Arabic is a must for them to know .. or else life can become difficult for them , so they are sort of compelled to learn the language ..
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
Went to international school, so did not have to learn arabic, arab friends also spoke english.
i knew enough to get by but lack of practice after leaving has it very rusty, its amazing how it comes back though
few years ago in morocco, i was able to get by after a few days, very rusty but basic to be able to get around
in all actuality i should have been fluent but folks did not encourage it, dad speaks fluent arabic, mumzy just got basics
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
Went to an international school, so did not have to learn Arabic.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
Lived in Dubai for 4 years, still don't understand a word when people speak Arabic with each other. I could not even have a conversation in Arabic, just know the meaning of a few words like airport, taxi, etc.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
My husband has never lived in an arab land but speaks fluent arabic like a local mA. He learned it in University in Pak.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
there never was any single instance during my stay in the UAE where the people i wanted to convers with, could not understand english, or urdu. almost everyone in the UAE either speak english or urdu.
i can understand arabic little bit, somehow can make out broken meanings if i know the context already. but mostly by reading
people who live in KSA or Oman for example, tell a different story, they speak/understand better arabic because sometimes there is no other choice.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
I learnt it 'cuz my mum used to speak in arabic and watch arabic serials.But my cousins who have stayed here equally long dont understand even the basic arabic.
One easily gets by with english.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
learning arabic is easy and one can be well fluent in it if they want* to. One month there in Makkah and i did learn the counting in arabic and could bargain well with the shop keepers :D I think it basically depends on your interactions that help learning a new language, it be any.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
lol I still remember the basic query one would make to the salesman: “kam haaza?” 
there definitely is a different feeling speaking in Arabic as compared to speaking in English or any other foreign language.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
The bengali taxi driver guy who was being humiliate by the arab guy spoke good arabic.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
The bengali taxi driver guy who was being humiliate by the arab guy spoke good arabic.
:(
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
I can understand Arabic but can't speak yo. Coz we used to live in Pakistani populated area..so had very very minimum interaction with local kids.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
i dunno for the ladies but for men, Arabic is a must for them to know .. or else life can become difficult for them , so they are sort of compelled to learn the language ..
very right, I was young though, but my entire family lived there for years and even my siblings had their schooling from there, still, My brothers and father can speak Arabic Fluently while none of the sisters :( My father and Bros are still in Emirates :@:
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
my husband speaks arabic fluently....its been 3yrs he's living here
i can understand arabic but cant speak....1.5yrs for me here
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
I can understand and speak arabic, it gets better when I am with locals and when I am not around them it gets rusty. Thing is most foreigners living in these countries try to mingle with their own kind, and their kids go to international schools.
Locals keep to themselves and are very hesitant to include desis in their social circle.
Best way to learn is to live in a neighborhood which has arabs and also I have come across a lot of boys who know arabic coz they used to play football (soccer) with arab kids. Then you really pick up the language and the best joints for some amazing food. :)
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
So this woman was driving in Dubai.
She had her jeep tire flat.
She waited for someone to change the tire.
One guy stopped.
She sang;
Habibi Hayya Hayya
Badal De Mera Pahiya
He drove away without helping her. :(
Moral: One needs to be able to speak the native language.
(Story just made by me)
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
born and brought up here in Bahrain. Cannot speak a word of Arabic I don't even say Salam-alekuim , if some one says that to me I just Good Morning or Good Evening. ( Personal Pet Peeve. I wouldn't go around saying Jai Shree Krishna to everyone now would I )
Went to an an Indian school. Hence all friends Indians. Never mixed with Arabs. Culture is sooo diff and especially if you are Hindu.
Everywhere u go, people either speak English or Hindi. Hell maybe learning Malayalam would be more beneficial.
Not knowing Arabic was never a hindrance. It does not affect my day to day life on a personal or professional level what so ever.
Yea if your work demands it , then yes you pick up just enough Arabic to hold a decent conversation.
Of course knowing how racists these Arab are, if you know Arabic you have a HUGE advantage if you ever get into a fight with them.
If the govt made it compulsory for all kids to learn no matter which British / American or Indian school you went to, then it would have been a diff story. It should be like that but it's not.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
^ and they say that we (only) Muslims dont integrate in the society we live in.
Re: Those of you who live in Arabic lands
It has been 4 years in dubai, no arabic because everyone speaks english huby knows lil bit of it