Waning dominance of Egyptian Arabic underscores waning political influence

Stop us if you’ve heard this tired old line before: The waning dominance of Egyptian Arabic is reflective of Egypt’s declining influence on the regional political stage, according to the Economist Prospero Blog. From the 1940s, people all over the Arab world grew used to Egyptian. Generously funded by the state, the Egyptian cinema industry was the third biggest on earth in the 1950s. The cultural importance of Egypt coincided with the emergence of Pan-Arabism and the rise of its most dynamic figure, Gamal Abdel NAsser. A number of factors have led to the decline of this prominence. The internet has allowed other dialects and influences to rise, leading to a cultural competition. The political instability of Egypt’s transitional period and the souring of its reputation abroad, also played a significant role in its declining cultural exports, says the Economist.