The Morocco Report » “Pidgin or Poetry?” Reuters asks of darija

July 6, 2007

“Pidgin or Poetry?” Reuters asks of darija

Filed under: Culture — taamarbuuta @ 2:01 pm

A Reuters article questions whether or not darija, Morocco’s dialect (which is called a dialect of Arabic, but having studied both I know there is little connection at times) should be the national language.

While I don’t think the article has truly gotten it right, it is certainly an interesting point to ponder. See, Morocco’s official language is Arabic. As in MSA. As in Al-Arabiyya Fus’ha. And yet few Moroccans ever have cause to speak it. It’s similar to what would happen if the official language of the United States were Middle English.

Darija, on the other hand, is somewhat of an Arabic bastardization. While it’s certainly in the Arabic language group, uses (most of) the Arabic alphabet (exception “th,” additions “g” and “p”), listen for five minutes to 2M and five to Al Jazeera and you will see how utterly and entirely different the two languages are.

Now, add to the mix the fact that Morocco was a French colony, parts of it were a Spanish colony, and the native Moroccans (the Berbers or Amazigh) have three of their own languages, and you’ve got one confused country. Other African nations with many tribal languages have found the solution to be instituting a national non-native language (such as Senegal with French), sometimes alongside a popular native one. Morocco doesn’t really have that as a realistic option - school is mostly taught in Fus’ha, with administrative issues handled in darija, and economics taught in French from the start (with a smattering of English words, of course). French rolls off the tongue more easily than Arabic for most.

So what can Moroccans do? Last fall, Nichane, a sister magazine to French-language TelQuel, was released and immediately shut down (on unrelated charges), though it is now back and running - it was the first magazine to be published in darija. Singers, rappers, those of the spoken word - all produce their material in darija. Radio is often in darija, 2M is often in darija, and as the Reuters article states, there is now a book of poetry in darija. Darija is the language of the Moroccan heart.

But Morocco is in a bit of a pickle - it wants to be tight with both the Western nations and the Gulf - and obviously, the latter would certainly prefer if Morocco were to use Modern Standard Arabic for everything (a Kuwaiti web forum started the controversy over Nichane which lead to its journalists being arrested and fined, and I have no doubt language played a part). Additionally, Morocco is a country with a shockingly low literacy rate - in order to get people to read, darija must either be put onto paper, or Arabic or French used.

A pickle, indeed.

18 Responses to ““Pidgin or Poetry?” Reuters asks of darija”

lady macleod Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Q investigated this area for her research and found some interesting statistics as well as viewpoints. I shall have to forward your post over to her. Interesting stuff.
xoussef Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
actually it’s the opposite. Arabic is used for everything from Primary to High school, except for foreign languages classes. In university, all scientific and technical teaching, medicine and business schools are in French. Law students can chose Arabic or French, the rest is in Arabic i think, or left to the appreciation of the prof/faculty.
quite a mess!

the shockingly low literacy rate is normal. to be literate isn’t only to be able to read and write, you have to learn a completely different language too.
taamarbuuta Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
xoussef - I know that university is in French, but from the people I’ve spoken with, teachers SPEAK darija in primary to high school classes - if a language must be used for written work, though, it’s MSA of course. I should’ve been more clear. Yet, that still implies that three languages are being used in school on any given day.
xoussef Says:
July 7th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
you’re right, sorry i misunderstood you. few teachers bother to explain in MSA, unless an academic inspector in the room ^^
Global Voices Online » Morocco: Summer Heat and the Heat of Debates Says:
July 8th, 2007 at 12:56 am
[…] The Morocco Report also blogged the article: So what can Moroccans do? Last fall, Nichane, a sister magazine to French-language TelQuel, was released and immediately shut down (on unrelated charges), though it is now back and running - it was the first magazine to be published in darija. Singers, rappers, those of the spoken word - all produce their material in darija. Radio is often in darija, 2M is often in darija, and as the Reuters article states, there is now a book of poetry in darija. Darija is the language of the Moroccan heart. […]
Fadna Says:
July 8th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
In my opinion msa should be the only language of instruction in schools here. Which is actually the ‘national language’ is of little consequence.

I personally don’t know anyone whose teachers used darija as the language of instruction (they all used Arabic). For the teachers that do I would assume that some teachers here, like everywhere else, resort to what is easiest for them in the classroom and that is darija.

Many children in the south (and not just in poor homes) don’t learn even derija until they hit 3-4 years old, enter pre-school and get around other kids who do use it. My own family has plenty of children in this circumstance with them only having Tashelhiyt spoken in the home. So come the time they enter school they are actually learning 3 languages and we have seen much success with them.

Interesting that up until the early to mid 80’s French was the standard for instruction in schools here in Morocco for language of instruction. If you listen to a person who went to school in the 70’s, early 80’s you will hear that their French is much nicer than those who have gone to school since.

Overall I believe Morocco is in a time of growth and re-establishment. These things will come together with time.
Fadna Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 2:17 am
BTW, where is 2M broadcast in derija? It isn’t in Agadir.
Rachel Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 5:59 am
I don’t know why you said French rolls off the tongue more easily than Arabic. From my experience with Moroccans that’s not so, but then again my husband said there is a big difference in the language of choice in different social classes.
Although I’m not Moroccan, therefore it’s not my choice nor do I think my opinion has much weight, I think MSA and Tamazight should be the National languages, but derija should be preserved as the cultural language. For example, I’m a Southerner and I speak Southern dialect, but American English will soon be the official language. Now, of course I can speak and understand standard English, but at home and with my family, friends and patients I use dialect and I hope the dialect continues to survive.
Fadna Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Rachel
Why should Tamazight be one of the national languages? IF a Berber language was to be one of the national languages wouldn’t it make more sense to pick the one that is most widely spoken, Tashelhiyt?

I do agree with you on the French/Arabic and which is easier for a Moroccan. BUT my experience has been that in the north French is much more common and spoken a bit nicer than in the south where the 2nd language (yes, before French) is Tashelhiyt. I don’t think it has as much to do with social class as it does culture which is SO different from one end of the country to the other.
Fadna Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I should of said that maybe I misunderstand what you are referring to as Tamazight. More commonly it is used for one dialect of berber/amizigh. I am thinking you are using it the same as amizigh (which is correct also).
But which amizigh language would they choose? They are different enough from each other that they can’t understand each other.
Rachel Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Salam Fadna,

In regards to your question about Tashelhiyt. According to the Ethnologue encyclopedia Tashelhiyt and Tamazight are equally spoken, but I don’t believe one should have superiority over the other, so if my opinion matters much, I would like to correct my statement and add that the indigenous languages and their dialects should be considered as National languages, because of the many people in Morocco that use them.
taamarbuuta Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
@ Rachel - I’ll be honest - my quote about French being easier than MSA comes from my own experiences with friends - Hamza, for example, can’t keep up with MSA subtitles, but is absolutely fluent in French. Again, that’s the north (as compared to say, Agadir).

@ Fadna - I apologize - my mistake about 2M - I honestly don’t watch it that often but was thinking more of the Moroccan sitcoms (all in darija) and some other broadcasts I’ve seen and understood in darija. I should not have spoken for the entire channel!

And to both of you - While it may be true that Tashelheit and Tamazight are equally spoken, it seems that there are far more people who speak only Tashelheit (and little or no Arabic) whereas most Tamazight speakers have become a bit more urbanized.
Fadna Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 12:40 am
What?!?! Can’t keep up with msa subtitles? I really am surprised by this.
While I do know people who only speak tashelhiyt I don’t know anyone that is educated at least thru the 8th grade that doesn’t know proper Arabic (reading, writing, speaking). No one I know who is educated at least thru highschool is any less in French they just don’t use it for conversation or local business as much as they do tashelhiyt.
This much I do know from my own experience, the berbers in general are not as infatuated with French. They don’t find it classier or better to use than arabic, derija or berber. When I am with family in Casa they use French far more often then we do down here in Agadir region. It’s just a cultural influence and undoubtedly the north of Morocco was far more influenced by the French occupation than the south.
Now I need to go find myself some edam La Vache Qui Rit!
taamarbuuta Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
It’s true, Fadna. I would also dare say that his family members, friends, etc mostly fall in the same category - these are people who can read the Qur’an, but slowly, and are more comfortable reading books in French than any other language. Mind you, their darija is fine

But that’s how it is up here - Meknes, anyhow. Fez is probably slightly more inclined toward Arabic but as for Rabat/Casa - I know Rabatis who don’t even speak darija (or if they can, choose not to).

Go for the La Vache Qui Rit! I’ve eaten like, a package a day since finding it.
The Lounsbury Says:
July 14th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I’m afraid you have a poor grasp on the dialect to formal language continuum and relationship.

First, all the spoken dialects across the Arabic speaking world have substantial changes, grammatical as well as lexical from formal Arabic (probably reflecting at once original spoken variations and adoption of Arabic by originally non-Arabs over the centuries).

Moroccan deridja is simply the most western end of the Maghrebine dialect spectrum that starts somewhere in Western Libya. Tunisian dialect has most of the same grammatical usages (n first person, etc) and fairly similar sound changes - e.g. the Dh to T Th to t changes, which again are actually the rule through the Arab world [expecting in the east it tends to go to Z instead]), as does Algerian. Banging on about how different Deridja is rather silly and ill informed.

The situ by the way is called diglossia, and once was the rule in Europe, for example. Not particularly unusual really.

As for language usage - Economics is the driver. The reason French predominates in the economic capital is quite simply it is more useful even internally to intra-Moroccan conversations for upper end business. Finance is in French - by reason of history married to greater international portability - international trade is in French as well, etc.

One can ramble on about culture, but in the end utility is the driver.
taamarbuuta Says:
July 15th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Thank you Lounsbury, now tell me something I don’t already know.
Ahmed (Blafrancia.com) Says:
July 17th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
I’d like to comment on what Fadna said:

YES there are “educated” Moroccans who find it difficult reading and writing in the Standard Arabic… Simply because they never went to public schools or spent time learning our “official language” like the rest of us, Instead they joined private school (especially those part of the mission francaise) that’s why you find them advocating the “institutionalization” of the Darija.

They are challenged by the Standard Arabic (MSA), especially in writing, and they are most likely the ones who don’t see its beauty or any use for it.
This will not matter for me if this minority (French educated) isn’t in charge of the country as it is right now (business, media, government…) and putting in place policies that are not in the best interest of the people (in education for instance)
Nichane wasn’t the first publication in Darija, there were many satirical newspapers since the eighties (that’s as far as I can remembers), this also a form of poetry called zajal that’s written in Darija.

Replacing Arabic with the Darija has no apparent benefits in advancing literacy, culture and science in Morocco. It seems that call is politically motivated by those who want to keep the dominance of the French language in workplace, media and education (especially university level) in the country.
Nadia Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Darija is a great language in itself, its what i speak round at my mates house having a brew. Jokes are funnier in Darija and i find it so expressive, its nashta.

Although it does seem that French and Standard Arabic must prevail for business, development, international relations, etc. Does that mean that Darija will become inferior? Language is very much about social standing,and it annoys me when people code switch into French in order to see what education i have had and to see how good my accent is - well i’m afraid its Lancashire.
I think it would be a crying shame to loose Darija, but language is about change.

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July 6, 2007

“Pidgin or Poetry?” Reuters asks of darija

18 Responses to ““Pidgin or Poetry?” Reuters asks of darija”

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