(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Fazeena Saleem | The Peninsula
Doha: The law introduced recently for the protection of the Arabic language has highlighted the responsibility Qatar has in preserving the language, said a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, yesterday.
The Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Lolwah Rashid Alkhater, shed light on the challenges , policies and opportunities Qatar has in preserving the Arabic language, while delivering the keynote speech at an event held at the Qatar National Library.
Qatar National Library, in collaboration with the Qatari Literature Initiative, hosted a lively public event yesterday, which discussed ‘The Law on the Protection of the Arabic Language.'
A public event on ‘The Law on the Protection of the Arabic Language' focused on the on the new law passed earlier in 2019, which establishes measures to increase the use of Arabic in Qatar's professional and public life as a national language.
'The role of a language remains rooted in your own culture. Same time we have to aspire for modernity which play part in the present world, said Alkhater while speaking on the sidelines of the event.
The law and policy we have in Qatar reflect the responsibility we have to protect the Arabic language, she added.
Alkhater also said that traditional capitals of Arabic Culture and Arabic language such as Bagdad, Beirut and Damascus are going through difficult times. 'So it's our responsibility to kind of bear the burden of preserving the Arabic language, she added.
Dr Ali Al Kubaisi, Director General of the World Organization for the Renaissance of Arabic Language, and Azudin Al Boshikhi, Head of Doha Historical Dictionary of Arabic, were also among the speakers of the event.
The event featured two panel discussions on ‘language and identity' and ‘language policy and its procedures.'
'The library is promoting Arabic language in many ways, firstly, through our extensive collection of Arabic books available to the community, which is continuously expanding. Our efforts to promote literacy among future generations are also reflected in our support to Arabic writers and publishers, said Dr Sohair Wastawy, Executive Director of the Library.
'Another important focus area is to increase the range of Arabic content available on the web, and we do this through a process where we digitise and use optical character recognition methods to make the Arabic text accessible and searchable online. In this way, we are using our digital resources to facilitate a wider use and understanding of the language, she added.
The vital task of protecting the role of the Arabic language in Qatar's educational, cultural, economic, and media sectors began with an initiative launched by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, in 2013, which established the World Organisation for the Renaissance of Arabic Language. The law is a continuation of those efforts to raise awareness of the importance of Arabic as a national language.
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