ABSTRACT
In January 2012, a billboard campaign around Dubai invited viewers to reflect on the urban identity of Dubai. In addition to serving as a trading and transport hub, tourism and real estate are today central to Dubai's economy. However, proficiency in Arabic is, by and large, restricted to Emiratis and Arab migrants; the vast majority of non-Arab migrants rarely have the opportunity nor incentive to learn Arabic in Dubai. The current ruler, Sheikh Muhammad, is a member of the Al Maktoum family, who has ruled Dubai since the early nineteenth century. This chapter reviews the language practices and ideologies of Dubai's mobile residents. It addresses lingua franca use and the public role of languages other than Arabic and English. The chapter shows that the reality of multilingual and intercultural communication in Dubai is much more complicated. Dubai is a city of superlatives and unique in many ways.
