UAE: New Arabic digital keyboard launched for English-language users

At first glance, this Arabic keyboard looks ordinary and standard. But upon a second look, the layout is refitted to that familiar to English speakers.  

Arab-easy, a play on the word Arabizi, is a keyboard platform which places Arabic letters in the same position as the English counterpart.

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The platform, launched on Thursday by the global technology group e& (etisalat and), aims to encourage Arabic speakers who are not used to typing in Arabic. The keyboard is rearranged to fit the global standard QWERTY keyboard, which is how the English language is arranged. 

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Arabizi is an informal way of using the English alphabet to write in Arabic, originally developed in the 1990s when computers first emerged. It made it easier and more convenient to write Arabic words, using numbers in place of letters not included in English, and naturally continued with the rise of social media.

The platform is essentially a keyboard that can be downloaded on a mobile phone or desktop and is a rearrangement of the Arabic keyboard. It's available on OS, android, Windows, and MAC.

The Arab-easy app is an additional keyboard, not a replacement, that can be switched to either from the device's settings or by pressing Shift + Alt on a laptop.

Fady Rofaeel, creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, said that a gap started forming between the younger generation and their use of typing in Arabic, causing them to be distant to their language. 

"We want people to be close and attached to their culture," he added.

Hind Aldah

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hind@khaleejtimes.com

Hind Aldah covers business, tech, crypto and all that jazz for a younger audience. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.