Signs in the UAE



One of the most interesting things about life in the UAE is the cosmopolitan nature of the country. The population of almost 6 million people is roughly made up from 80% expats and 20% Emiratis. There are people living here for shorter or longer time from more countries and territories than there are members of the United Nations.
It is like a global village and over time you will meet and interact with people from all over the world. The official language of the UAE is obviously Arabic, but English is the language most commonly used in business and when out in public. Since only the minority of people here are actually native English speakers, sometimes things go horribly wrong when it comes to communication. Certain ethnic groups tend to have their own special variety of “English” using phrases and terms taken directly from their own language and translated to English where it is then used to bend the language in ways which the Queen would never use. There are loads of examples of “Jinglish” as the native English speakers call it. On many occasions this improper use of English can be hilarious, especially when “Jinglish” is applied to signs displayed in public. On other signs it is the spelling, grammar or punctuation which is not quite spot-on and makes things go wrong. Even the sign itself and its layout might cause problems understanding it properly.
Although many signs serve a serious purpose offering sound advice or warnings, sometimes the message does not really come through or it gets completely lost in translation.
Below are a few examples of some of the signs I have come across here in the UAE. It is very easy to find some funny examples when driving or walking around the city and it can become a great sport to be sign-spotting once you get the feel for it. Enjoy.


Safety Fist? Human Traffic?? - better wear safety helmet then...

No tap dancing either.

No, please hurry up, men!

Please dry-flush yourself when through!

Wonder what they are doing to that building?
Glad they are not demolishing it...

One of those days, but keep smiling :-)


I love this sign near Abu Dhabi.
Always make me wonder what they keep in store for me today.
Surprise!


5 comments:

Baltimore Moving Company said...

These signs are hilarious. I love when I randomly find misspelled signs, it has become a hobby of mine.

Flights to New Delhi said...

Nice collection of misspelled signs but how often we notice them...

Life Insurance said...

Waoo.. quite nice collection of pictures and nice postings all over blog. Thanks for sharing.

Jasmit said...

Wow, interesting blog. I enjoyed the pictures and also your comments about that pictures.

weekend family breaks said...

Brilliant, I love those signs!! I have a cousin living in the UAE, I think I'm going to send him out with a camera to get more! Great post, thanks!