THE STATUS OF DARIJA IN MOROCCO BETWEEN OFFICIAL DISCOURSE AND CLASSROOM PRACTICES
Submitted by:
Yamina El Kirat El Allame
Abstract:
THE STATUS OF DARIJA IN MOROCCO BETWEEN OFFICIAL DISCOURSE AND CLASSROOM PRACTICES
Yamina EL KIRAT EL ALLAME- Mohammed V University in Rabat. MOROCCO (yelkirat@gmail.com).
Karima BELGHITI - Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University.Fes MOROCCO (bel.lallakarima@gmail.com).
Abstract
At the era of Globalization, the call for maintaining and developing mother tongues is facing a number of challenges. Although UNESCO and many linguistic rights’ advocates highly recommend the promotion and use of the mother tongues as a linguistic right, the reality in most developing countries reveal that these languages are still suppressed by the high varieties existing in the communities. In Morocco, Darija is one of the three mother tongues used by the large majority of Moroccans besides Amazigh and Hassaniya. Recently, the use of Darija has expanded to many domains that were once exclusively restricted to the high variety- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) - and foreign languages. It is present on TV, the radio, and even on many Moroccan magazines and newspapers. Foreign series which used to be dubbed in MSA are now dubbed in Darija. More interestingly, Darija is also unofficially present in the Moroccan classrooms (El Kirat et al, 2010; El Kirat & Belghiti, 2012). It is used by both teachers and students in classroom discussions and instructions. Unlike Amazigh which has been recognized as the second official language in the 2011 new constitution, Darija has no legal status, and is not mentioned at all in the constitution. This situation motivates the rejection of the use of Darija as a language of instruction, especially by the authorities (Tomašik, 2010). Since the success of any language policy depends on the attitudes of the people concerned, the aim of this study is to investigate the status of Darija in Morocco and Moroccans’ attitudes towards its use as a medium of instruction in the light of the official discourse and the classroom practices. The study is based on exhaustive fieldwork research making use of both qualitative and quantitative research instruments and involving a representative population sample so as to gain a deeper insight into the topic. The study reveals that the majority of Moroccans still have negative attitudes towards the use of Darija in instruction. These negative attitudes are motivated by the low status of Darija, primarily, due to the authorities’ unwillingness to promote the language, and to the social representations attached to it. Indeed, it is considered a /lahja/ “dialect” and a low variety. It is also perceived as a corrupt version of Modern Standard Arabic and a threat to its holiness and symbolism. The study also uncovers that the use of Darija in the classroom is an undisputed reality that the authorities cannot keep ignoring in their educational plans. Darija should be promoted to guarantee the linguistic rights of its speakers.
Key words: Mother Tongue (Darija); Educational Policy; Language Attitudes; Linguistic Rights; Meduim of Instruction.
El Kirat El Allame,Y. & Belghiti, K. Moroccans’ Attitudes towards the Use of Mother Tongues as the Language of Instruction. Paper presented at International Conference on African languages, WOCAL 7, University of Buea, August 20th – 24th , 2012.
El Kirat,Y., M. Hajjam & S. Blila. Students’ Attitudes towards the Languages in Use in Morocco: The Case of the Faculty of Letters. In EL KIRAT, Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, UM5- Agdal (Editrice). Rabat: Bouregreg, Maroc. 2010, pp.333-349. Serie Colloque et Séminaire N° 166.
Tomašik, K. (2010). Language Policy in the Kingdom of Morocco: Arabic, Tamazight and French in Interaction. The Annual of Language & Politics andPolitics of Identity, Vol. IV. p. 101-116.