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Yemen, Languages
While the
national language is Arabic (spoken in several
regional dialects), Yemen is one of the main
homelands of the South Semitic family of
languages, which includes the non-Arabic
language of the ancient Sabaean Kingdom. Its
modern Yemeni descendants are closely related to
the modern Semitic languages of Eritrea and
Ethiopia. However, only a small remnant of those
languages exists in modern Yemen, notably on the
island of Socotra and in the back hills of the
Hadhramaut coastal region. Modern South Arabian
languages spoken in Yemen include Mehri, with
70,643 speakers, Soqotri, with an estimated
43,000 speakers in the Socotra archipelago (2004
census) and 67,000 worldwide, and Bathari (with
an estimated total of only 200 speakers).
Foreign language in public schools is taught
from grade seven on, though the quality of
public school instruction is low. Private
schools using a British or American system teach
English and produce proficient speakers, but
Arabic is the dominant language of
communication. The number of English speakers in
Yemen is small compared to other Arab countries
such as Egypt, Lebanon, the UAE and Saudi
Arabia. Private schools have also started to
teach French alongside Arabic and English.
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