To understand the answer, we must remember that Islam is given as a mercy to humankind. Islam is not a burden to anyone. It is a message that brings peace.
If, then, there is someone who absolutely cannot master Arabic to say the Prayers, he or she could begin by saying their meaning in his or her own language until such a time that Arabic could be learned. Islam is very flexible.
This, however, is an extreme suggestion, because it only requires learning two verses of the noble Qur'an, even the shortest two, in order to pray properly.
It is inconceivable that a person could not manage to learn two short verses in order to pray. And this requirement, of course, only applies to the formal necessities of Prayer. We can make our own supplications in any language at all.
Even when our foreheads are touching the ground during the five daily Prayers, we can add our own supplications to Allah in any language we choose.
The question of praying in Arabic is not a burden imposed on Muslims. Nor should it be seen as Arab Muslims trying to control the rest of the Muslim world. Arabic as a requirement for Prayer is a very small requirement indeed.
What we find, though, is that those Muslims who are not Arab want to increase their knowledge of Arabic in order to read the noble Qur'an and in order to stand in Prayer with other Muslims, either in the mosque or on the great occasion of Hajj.
Twice the Reward
There is a very beautiful hadith that has a direct bearing on this question of Arabic. Our beloved Prophet understood well that all people are not expert at languages. He could foresee, too, that Islam would reach every corner of the earth and that many non-Arabs would become Muslim.
To these brothers and sisters, he is reported to have said these words,
Verily, the one who recites the Qur'an beautifully, smoothly and precisely, will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels. And as for the one who recites with difficulty, stammering or stumbling through its verses because he doesn't know how to read it but is trying to, then he will have twice that reward. (Muslim)
Al-hamdu lillah! Islam is a universal religion and Muslims cover almost every country on earth. We read in the noble Qur'an what means:
*{On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear.}* (Al-Baqarah 2:286)
Knowledge of Arabic can become a blessing, not a problem or a difficulty, for those who try to learn it for the sake of Allah.
Allah will never withhold the capacity to learn just a few verses of the noble Qur'an in order to pray. Hopefully, our Prayers will be accepted.