Arabic or else . . .

It has been announced by the government in the United Arab Emirates that Arabic is to be the official language for all federal authorities.

This move has been made to enhance the presence of Arabic-speaking people within the labour market and to restore a national identity to the region.

This is going to have a major impact on the business environment where more than 70% of the population do not speak Arabic. There are over 83,000 illegal non-Arabic speaking residents and foreign companies investing in the growth of the UAE drive a major share of the economy.

Whilst Arabic has always been the local - and therefore the national - language of the Gulf region, the level of economic migrants to the UAE from Asia, Japan, China, South Korea and Europe has meant that the market has been swamped with so many languages - Asian and English being predominant - that the culture of the region was sinking fast.

The implication of this legislation is that all business deals will no doubt continue to be conducted on the surface in English, but the use of publicity material, documentation for tenders and contracts, advertising and general information will have to be supplied in Arabic.

TTC Creative Translation can support those UK and EU exporters. Our staff have had more than twenty years' experience of handling Arabic, supporting the marketing efforts of literally thousands of international companies as well as trade exhibition organisers throughout the Middle East. We have an established team of Arabic translators who are based within the target markets, and are able to translate and adapt copy into Modern Arabic for the Gulf States. From our London office, we can also take existing electronic artwork and flow in the Arabic text. We then return print-ready files quickly and efficiently at affordable rates.

For more information and an idea of costs
contact our Arabic Hotline on 0207 138 3815.