Hello, my name is Anass and I am 28 years old
And I am filming this Darija (Moroccan Arabic) video here in Sweden
As you can see, there is snow and the weather is cold
And behind me is the sea that is also frozen
Anyway, we have decided to shoot this video in order to show how Darija is pronounced
How Darija is talked, so that people who never heard Moroccan Arabic can have the opportunity to listen to it.
On the same time, we thought about filming in this area as it is an "exotic" place for us!
So that the video is fun and also the background!
As you know Darija is (difficult to say if dialect or language) something that is spoken in Morocco
It is, along with Tamazight, one of the languages and dialects spoken in Morocco
The video that I am filming now is aimed for "Wikitongues"
They are an organization that films all the languages of the world, among which there is Darija
It does not matter if it is a language or dialect, the most important is that it is in the database of history
This video shows how Darija is spoken and pronounced, and maybe encourging some to learn it
As I said, we are currently in Sweden, and I hope that you appreciate this view with the snow
Now there is some sun, I hope that it is not disturbing the video.
Since the video is in Darija, I thought that the subject can be Moroccan Arabic itself
As mentionned earlier, Darija is a spoken form in Morocco. It is a mix of many languages.
Darija is mainly a mix of Arabic and Tamazight (berber), but also spanish words, and lately some french words related to technology
And words related to "novely", for example computers, cars etc
Darija is spoken in many places and regions, not only in Morocco
We have a tendancy of limitating the countries to their current borders, while we know how borders were drawn..
When we look at Algeria, we can see that they have a similar language, even Tunisian is close to us
It is then difficult to say that the Moroccan Darija is independant than Algerian Darija
Maybe they are the same, just that some random borders were drawn between them at some time
Thus, I cannot give a delimitation of Darija, where it is spoken and where it is finished
But what we are sure about is that it is a language or dialect that is spoken in many places, including Morocco
There is a big number of people living in Morocco who know Darija. It has many versions and dialects.
The two main types in Darija, or actually "branches" not types, are the Pre-Hilalian and the Hilalian dialects
This video is rather short, so I will not have time to explain everything. I will rather give an overview of the subject
If you want to know more, then you can check the Wikipedia article about "Moroccan Arabic", or ask me later
The Pre-Hilalian dialects are those that were in Morocco before the arrival of the Hilalian Tribes
The Hilalian Tribes are tribes that came from the Arabian peninsula and settled in Morocco in the 13th century
They brought with them their own dialects that are the "Hilaian dialects"
The main difference between Hilalian and Pre-Hilalian, is that Pre-Hilalian Darija is spoken in old towns, while Hilalian is more present in the countryside
The Pre-Hilalian dialects use less "G" sound and have more use of the letter "Q", saying "Qul" and not "Gul" (the verb to say/tell)
As mentionned, Pre-Hilalian is spoken in the old towns
Of course, we have other languages in Morocco, for instance Berber that has many dialects
The latest I have heard is that there are 64 different dialects in Berber
Not only the 3 famous dialects. There are many other smaller dialects in many regions, and spoken by different people
Before I finish, I would like to say that it is good to know our Darija, and one should be proud of their language
Especially when you know that it has a long history, and a rich background
If you know Darija, then you will also know Arabic, Berber, and even the mix between them
I hope that you take care of your languages, because it is part of your identity, either you like it or not!
Thank you for following, I hope that you have learned something new with this video
I leave you with this view, and goodbye!
Subtitles by the Amara.org community