Bahrain

Summary

Official Name: Kingdom of Bahrain
Population: 1,702,000
General Remarks: Bahrain consists entirely of islands in the Gulf of Bahrain, part of the Persian Gulf. The largest island is Bahrain itself
Principal Languages: Baharna Spoken Arabic, English, Standard Arabic
Literacy Rate: 98% (2018 UNESCO)
International Conventions: CSICH (2012), ICCPR (1966), UNCRPD (2006), UNDRIP (2007)
General References: Al-Tajir 1982, Fischer and Jastrow 1980, Holes 1990, Johnstone 1967
Deaf Population: 600
Language Counts: The number of established languages listed for Bahrain is 6. All are living languages. Of these, 1 is indigenous and 5 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 3 are institutional, 2 are developing, and 1 is vigorous. Also listed are 9 unestablished languages.

Languages

Arabic, Baharna Spoken abv: Widespread. Users: 710,000 in Bahrain (2019). Total users in all countries: 727,900. Status: 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. Native to Bahrain and Oman, became widespread around 1861 when Bahrain became a protectorate of Britain and under the control of the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty. Used in trade, everyday communication, popular culture, films, plays, and some literature. Also used in sea-faring and agriculture. Alternate Names: Baharna, Baharna Arabic, Baharnah, Bahraini Arabic, Bahraini Shi’ite Arabic, Bahrani, Bahrani Arabic Autonym: البحرانية‎ (al-bahrania) Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Gulf Spoken afb: Widespread. Users: 72,500 in Bahrain (2019). Status: 6a* (Vigorous). Alternate Names: Gulf Arabic Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Standard arb: Widespread. Users: 612,000 in Bahrain (2013 SIL), all users. Status: 1 (National). Statutory national language (2002, Constitution, Article 2). Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
English eng: Widespread. Users: 23,100 in Bahrain (2019). Status: 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
Gujarati guj: Scattered. Users: 37,400 in Bahrain (2019). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Intermediate Divisions, Western, Gujarati
Kerinci kvr: Users: 25,000 in Bahrain (2004). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Malayo-Chamic, Malayic, Malay
Korean kor: Users: 3,800 in Bahrain (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Koreanic
Kurdish, Northern kmr: Users: 79,100 in Bahrain (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Kurdish
Malayalam mal: Users: 20,700 in Bahrain (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Dravidian, Southern, Tamil-Kannada, Tamil-Kodagu, Tamil-Malayalam, Malayalam
Nepali npi: Users: 18,200 in Bahrain (International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2019), based on nationality. Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Intermediate Divisions, Eastern, Eastern Pahari
Persian, Iranian pes: Al-Manāmah and Al-Muharraq governorates. Users: 254,000 in Bahrain (2019). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Alternate Names: Ajamic Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian
Tagalog tgl: Users: 70,000 in Bahrain (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Greater Central Philippine, Central Philippine, Tagalog
Tamil tam: Users: 18,700 in Bahrain (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Dravidian, Southern, Tamil-Kannada, Tamil-Kodagu, Tamil-Malayalam, Tamil
Telugu tel: Users: 18,700 in Bahrain (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Dravidian, South-Central, Telugu
Urdu urd: Users: 95,000 in Bahrain (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Western Hindi, Hindustani

Languages by Status

1 (National)

Arabic, Standard

[arb] 1 (National). Statutory national language (2002, Constitution, Article 2). 612,000 in Bahrain (2013 SIL), all users.

3 (Wider communication)

Arabic, Baharna Spoken

[abv] 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. Native to Bahrain and Oman, became widespread around 1861 when Bahrain became a protectorate of Britain and under the control of the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty. Used in trade, everyday communication, popular culture, films, plays, and some literature. Also used in sea-faring and agriculture. 710,000 in Bahrain (2019). Total users in all countries: 727,900.

English

[eng] 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. 23,100 in Bahrain (2019).

5 (Dispersed)

Gujarati

[guj] 5* (Dispersed). 37,400 in Bahrain (2019).

Persian, Iranian

[pes] 5* (Dispersed). 254,000 in Bahrain (2019).

6a (Vigorous)

Arabic, Gulf Spoken

[afb] 6a* (Vigorous). 72,500 in Bahrain (2019).

Unestablished

Kerinci

[kvr] Unestablished. 25,000 in Bahrain (2004).

Korean

[kor] Unestablished. 3,800 in Bahrain (2019).

Kurdish, Northern

[kmr] Unestablished. 79,100 in Bahrain (2019).

Malayalam

[mal] Unestablished. 20,700 in Bahrain (2019).

Nepali

[npi] Unestablished. 18,200 in Bahrain (International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2019), based on nationality.

Tagalog

[tgl] Unestablished. 70,000 in Bahrain (2019).

Tamil

[tam] Unestablished. 18,700 in Bahrain (2019).

Telugu

[tel] Unestablished. 18,700 in Bahrain (2019).

Urdu

[urd] Unestablished. 95,000 in Bahrain (2019).

Maps

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Bahrain with respect to their level of language vitality. Each individual language that has an entry for Bahrain is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of vitality. The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level.
The vitality levels and the color coding of the bars match the scheme used in the guide on How many languages are endangered? In this scheme, the levels and colors are as follows:
- Dark green = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Light green = Stable (EGIDS 5-6a) — The language is not being sustained by formal institutions, but It is still the norm in the home and community that all children learn and use the language.
- Red = Endangered (EGIDS 6b-9) — It is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.
These three summary levels have been derived by grouping levels in the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which is the more fine-grained scale that Ethnologue uses to assess the status of every language in terms of development versus endangerment; see the Language Status page for a description of the levels of that scale. See also the pages on Development and Endangerment for more discussion.
Language Status Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Bahrain with respect to their status of language development versus language endangerment. Each individual language that has an entry for Bahrain is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of development or endangerment as measured on the EGIDS scale. (See the pages on Development and Endangerment for a fuller explanation.) The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level. Consult the Status listings for Bahrain in order to see the specific languages for each level.
The color coding of the bars matches the color scheme used in the summary profile graphs on the navigation maps for the site. In this scheme, the EGIDS levels are grouped as follows:
- Purple = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Blue = Developing (EGIDS 5) — The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable.
- Green = Vigorous (EGIDS 6a) — The language is unstandardized and in vigorous use among all generations.
- Yellow = In trouble (EGIDS 6b-7) — Intergenerational transmission is in the process of being broken, but the child-bearing generation can still use the language so it is possible that revitalization efforts could restore transmission of the language in the home.
- Red = Dying (EGIDS 8a-9) — The only fluent users (if any) are older than child-bearing age, so it is too late to restore natural intergenerational transmission through the home; a mechanism outside the home would need to be developed.
- Black = Extinct (EGIDS 10) — The language has fallen completely out of use and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with the language.

Resources

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Digest of the languages of Bahrain ($149.95, 23 page PDF)

Bahrain

Summary

Languages

Languages by Status

Maps

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile

Language Status Profile

Resources

Contributions

Editorial Action