Kuwaiti Persian, known in Kuwait as ʿīmi (sometimes spelled Eimi) is a combination of different varieties of the Persian language and Achomi language that is native to Kuwait. Persian has been spoken in Kuwait for centuries, especially in the Sharq district of the historical Kuwait City, where families from Iran had settled. In 2009, it was estimated that 70-89% of Kuwaiti Ajam aged 23-39 and 40-70 spoke Persian fluently as their first language; whereas only 28% of Kuwaiti Ajam aged 12-22 spoke Persian. Cultural, political, and economic marginalization creates a strong incentive for Kuwaiti Ajam to abandon their language in favor of Arabic which is widely perceived as a more prestigious language. UNESCO recognise Kuwaiti Persian as an endangered language.
History
Iranians have been living in Kuwait for centuries. Iranian ports provided most of pre-oil Kuwait's economic needs. Marafi Behbahani was one of the first Iranian merchants to settle in Kuwait in the 18th century. Kuwaitis of Iranian descent are called Ajam (). The vast majority of Shia Kuwaiti citizens are of Iranian descent. However, some Kuwaitis of Iranian descent are Sunni Muslims - such as the Al-Kandari and Awadhi families of Larestani ancestry. Some Kuwaitis of Iranian Balochi descent are Sunni. Balochi families first immigrated to Kuwait in the 19th century. Historically, the term Ajam included both Sunni and Shia in Kuwait. Nowadays in modern-day Kuwait, the term Ajam usually refers to Shia only; which is partly due to sectarian sensitivities following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Most Ajam (both Sunni and Shia) resided in the Sharq historical district in the old Kuwait City, thereby forming a linguistic enclave which preserved the language for generations. They communicated in Persian between each other, and did not frequently mingle with Arabic speakers who resided in other districts. The discovery of petroleum oil in 1937 resulted in the industrialization of the formerly residential areas, which scattered people who lived there into the suburbs. The linguistic enclave was not present any longer therefore the Ajam had to learn Kuwaiti Arabic to survive in the new environment.
The Persian emigrants spoke a variety of dialects and sub-dialects. This mixture came to be called ʿīmi ([language] of the Ajam), over generations, the variety of Persian spoken today by Ajam developed. As most Ajam acquired Kuwaiti Arabic by time, Kuwaiti Persian is expected to be gone within at least two generations. Older Ajam people who still speak Persian are bilingual in both Kuwaiti Arabic and Persian, while most younger Ajam nowadays are native speakers of Kuwaiti Arabic only.
The majority of Kuwaitis from Failaka Island are of Iranian ancestry. They originally migrated to Failaka from the Iranian coast, mainly Kharg Island and Bandar Lengeh. These people are commonly known as the Huwala in the GCC states. They are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak Arabic fluently, although prior to the discovery of oil they also spoke Persian fluently. The most important Huwala settlement in Failaka Island pertained to 40 families who migrated from the Iranian island Kharg to Failaka in the years 1841-1842. The most recent settlement occurred in the early 1930s after the imposition of the unveiling law by Reza Shah. A minority of Failaka Island's Kuwaiti families are Shia Persians, they were noted as having their own hussainiyas and the older generations were frequent Arabic speakers, unlike the Kuwaiti Shia of Persian descent in mainland Kuwait City at the time.
Linguistics
ʿīmi has no official status and it is not standardised. As a koiné language, ʿīmi is often seen as a "childish" patois by the public.
Below is a table the compares some words in Kuwaiti and Standard Persian, as collected by Batoul Hasan. Some changes seen in Kuwaiti Persian are also common in other non-standard Persian dialects in Iran as well.
Discrimination
The anti-preservation attitude of the Kuwaiti government towards the Persian language will eventually lead to the disappearance of the language in the Kuwaiti society, as Abdulmuhsen Dashti projects. The government of Kuwait tries to delegitimise the use of the language in as many domains as possible.
The Persian language has been considered a significant threat to the dominant Sunni Arab population. In 2012, MP Muhammad Hassan al-Kandari called for a "firm legal action" against an advertisement for teaching the Persian language in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti television series Karimo received criticism for showing Kuwaiti actors speaking fluent Persian; with some racist politicians claiming it was a dictated enforcement of "Iranian culture" on the Kuwaiti society.