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This paper provides a sociolinguistic profile of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a focus on the status and functions of English in contemporary UAE society. With less than a 12 per cent local population, the UAE presents a unique linguistic laboratory for the spread of English among an expanding foreign and a shrinking local demographic. Contributing to the current literature on English in Expanding Circle countries, I first present a sociohistorical review of foreign and English language presence in the UAE from the ninth century to the present day. By employing archival research, governmental artifacts, and first‐hand observations, I follow this with a description of contemporary users and the four functions of English in the UAE context. The paper then provides a summary of users' attitudes towards English and Arabic and concludes with an evaluation of key findings and avenues for future research.

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