English‐medium policies in the Arabian Gulf have generated interest in the development of a Gulf variety of English. This study, located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), uses ethnographic methods and current understandings of translanguaging and English language variation (García & Wei, 2014; Mahboob, 2014; Pakir, 1991, 2004), to describe a range of conversational patterns supported by English in – and around – a higher educational context. The findings offer descriptions of the complex and diverse ways of using and modifying English alongside Arabic. This paper uses participants’ voices to describe five modes of conversational activity in this EMI setting. The different modes described by the participants highlight the linguistic complexities of students’ language use and challenges prevalent assumptions of a singular variety of Gulf English. The authors ultimately argue that translanguaging is the most appropriate lens to explain the fluid nature of students’ language use.

中文翻译：

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阿联酋的英语中等政策和英语会话模式

阿拉伯海湾地区的英语中等政策引起了人们对海湾地区各种英语的发展的兴趣。这项研究位于阿拉伯联合酋长国阿布扎比（UAE），使用人种志方法和当前对跨语言和英语语言变异的理解（García＆Wei，2014； Mahboob，2014； Pakir，1991，2004）描述了一系列英语在高等教育环境中及周围所支持的会话模式。研究结果描述了使用和修改英语以及阿拉伯语的复杂多样的方式。本文使用参与者的声音来描述在这种EMI环境下的对话活动的五种模式。参与者描述的不同模式突显了学生使用语言的语言复杂性，并挑战了单一海湾英语的普遍假设。作者最终认为，翻译是解释学生语言使用的流动性的最合适的镜头。