THE STATUS OF MOTHER TONGUES AND LANGUAGE POLICY IN MOROCCO
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34301/alsc.v3i2.27Keywords:
Arabization, mother tongues, attitudes, language policy, education, multilingualism, linguistic human rightsAbstract
The linguistic market in Morocco has been characterized by its richness and complexity, in that a number of local as well as foreign languages co-exist. Given this multiplicity and diversity in its linguistic landscape, Morocco has opted for Arabization as a language policy in education, its ultimate goal being, as it were, to safeguard and maintain its national identity (Ennaji, 2003). Achieving this goal, however, is far from being without glaring shortcomings. Arabization has, inter alia, marginalized mother tongues, the latter being relegated to daily communication only with a devalued and denigrated status. On this view, the present paper brings to the fore the status of languages in use in Morocco and, more precisely, brings into focus the impact of Arabization on the status of mother tongues. What is more, the study attempts to shed light on Moroccans’ attitudes towards their mother tongues. In pursuance of this aim, the study addresses the following research questions, principally (i) What is the status of Arabic in Morocco? (ii) What is the nature of Moroccans’ attitudes towards their mother tongues, namely Moroccan Arabic and Moroccan Amazigh? (iii) What is the impact of Arabization on the status of mother tongues in Morocco?
Downloads
References
Bensoukas, K. (2010). Language Policy and Mother Tongues in Morocco: A linguistic Human Rights Perspective. In: El Kirat (eds.): Globalization and mother tongues in Africa .135-152. Rabat.
Ech-Charfi, A. (2004). Standardization of Moroccan Arabic. Doctorate thesis, Mohammed V-Agdal University, Rabat.
Edwards, J. (1994). Multilingualism. London: Routledge.
El Kirat, Y. (2009). Issues In the Representation of Amazigh Language and Identity in North Africa. Langues et literatures 19: 179-196.
El Kirat, Y. et al. (2010). Student's Attitudes towards the Language in Use in Morocco: the Case of the Faculty of Letters-Rabat. In: El Kirat (eds.): Globalization and mother tongues in Africa 333-349. Rabat.
Ennaji, M. (1991). Multilingualism in the Maghreb. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 87:2-25.
Ennaji, M. (2003). Reflections on Arabization and Education in the Maghreb. In: Youssi, A. et al. (Eds.): The Moroccan Character. Studies in Honor of Muhammed Abu-Talib. 37-48. Rabat: AMAPATRIL.
Ennaji, M. (2005). Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1991.87.7
Errihani, M. (2008). Language attitudes and language use in Morocco: effects of attitudes on ‘Berber language policy’. The Journal of North African Studies Vol. 13, No. 4, December 2008, 411 – 428. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629380701800492
Grandguillaume, G. (1990). Language and Legitimacy in the Maghreb. In: Weinstein Brain (Ed.): Language Policy and Political Development. 150-166. Norwood, New Jersy: Albex.
Loutfi, A. and Noamane, A. (Forthcoming). On Language Policy in Morocco: A Prestige Planning Approach.
Ouakrime, M. (2010). Maintaining Mother Tongues through Teaching and Learning: Perspectives and Constraints for Amazigh. In: El Kirat (eds.): Globalization and mother tongues in Africa .121-134. Rabat.
Sadiqi, F. (1991). The Spread of English in Morocco. In Moha Ennaji (ed.), International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 87. pp. 99-114. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1991.87.99
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1998). Human Rights and Language Wrongs- A Future for Diversity? Language Sciences 20:52-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0388-0001(97)00008-9
Youssi, A. (1995). The Moroccan Triglossia: Facts and Implications. International Journal of the Sociology of Language112:29-43.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
