There are a number of languages in Morocco, but the two official languages
are Modern Standard Arabic and Berber. Moroccan Arabic is the spoken native
vernacular. The languages of prestige in Morocco are Arabic in its Classical and
Modern Standard Forms and French, the latter of which serves as a second
language for many Moroccans. According to a 2000-2002 survey done by Moha
Ennaji, author of Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in
Morocco, "there is a general agreement that Standard Arabic, Moroccan Arabic,
and Berber are the national languages." Ennaji also concluded "This survey
confirms the idea that multilingualism in Morocco is a vivid sociolinguistic
phenomenon, which is favoured by many people."
There are 12 to 15 million Berber speakers in Morocco, about 40 to 50% of
the population. French remains Morocco's unofficial first language, and is taught
universally and serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and
economics, culture, sciences and medicine ; it is also widely used in
education and government. Morocco is a member of the Francophonie.
Arabic Arabic, along with Berber, is one of two
Morocco's official languages, although it is the Moroccan dialect of Arabic,
namely Darija, that is spoken or understood, frequently as a second
language, by the majority of the population. Many native Berber speakers
also speak the local Arabic variant. Arabic in its Classical and Standard
forms is one of the two prestige languages in Morocco. Aleya Rouchdy,
author of Language Contact and Language Conflict in Arabic, said that
Classical/Modern Arabic and French are constantly in conflict with one another,
but that most Moroccans believe that the bilingualism of Classical Arabic and
French is the most optimal choice to allow for Morocco's development.
In 1995 the number of native Arabic speakers in Morocco was approximately
18.8 million, and 21 million including the Moroccan diaspora.
As a member of the Maghrebi Arabic grouping of dialects, Moroccan Arabic is
similar to the dialects spoken in Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.
The country shows a marked difference in urban and rural dialects. This is due to
the history of settlement. Originally, Arabs established centers of power in
only a few cities and ports in the region, with the effect that the other
areas remained Berber-speaking. Then, in the 13th century, Bedouin tribes swept
through many of the unsettled areas, spreading with them their distinct
Arabic dialect in the non-urbanized areas and leaving speakers of Berber in
isolated areas in the more mountainous regions.
= Modern Standard and Classical Arabic = Moroccans learn Standard Arabic as a
language. It is not spoken at home or on the streets. Standard Arabic is
frequently used in administrative offices, mosques, and schools. According
to Rouchdy, within Morocco Classical Arabic is still only used in literary
and cultural aspects, formal traditional speeches, and discussions about
religion. = Dialectal Arabic =
Darija Arabic Moroccan 'Darija' Arabic, along with
Berber, is one of two languages spoken in homes and on the street. The language
is not used in writing. Abdelâli Bentahila, the author of the 1983 book
Language Attitudes among Arabic–French Bilinguals in Morocco, said that
Moroccans who were bilingual in both French and Arabic preferred to speak
Arabic while discussing religion; while discussing matters in a grocery store or
restaurant; and while discussing matters with family members, beggars, and maids.
Moha Ennaji, author of Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in
Morocco, said that Moroccan Arabic has connotations of informality, and that
Moroccan Arabic tends to be used in casual conversations and spoken
discourse. Ennaji added that Bilingual Moroccans tend to use Moroccan Arabic
while in the house. Berbers generally learn Moroccan Arabic as a second
language and use it as a lingua franca, since not all versions of Berber are
mutually intelligible with one another. The below table presents statistical
figures of speakers, based on the 2004 population census
Hassani Arabic Hassānīya, is spoken by about 0.7% of
the population mainly in the southern regions and the disputed territory of
Western Sahara. Communities of speakers exist elsewhere in Morocco too,
especially in the metropolitan areas of Agadir, Marrakech, Rabat and Casablanca.
The below table presents statistical figures of speakers, based on the 2004
population census Berber
The exact population of Berber languages speakers is hard to ascertain, since
most North African countries do not – traditionally – record language data in
their censuses. The Ethnologue provides a useful academic starting point;
however, its bibliographic references are inadequate, and it rates its own
accuracy at only B-C for the area. Early colonial censuses may provide better
documented figures for some countries; however, these are also very much out of
date. The number for each dialect is difficult to estimate.
Berber serves as a vernacular language in many rural areas of Morocco. Berber,
along with Moroccan Arabic, is one of two languages spoken in homes and on the
street. The population does not use Berber in writing. Aleya Rouchdy, author
of "Language Contact and Language Conflict in Arabic," said that Berber is
mainly used in the contexts of family, friendship, and "street". In her
2000-2002 research, Ennaji found that 52% of the interviewees placed Berber as
a language inferior to Arabic because it did not have a prestigious status and
because its domain was restricted. Ennaji added that "[t]he dialectisation
of Berber certainly reduces its power of communication and its spread."
Speakers of Riffian dialect were estimated to be around 1.5 million in
1990. The language is spoken in the Rif area in the north of the country, and is
the smallest Berber dialect in Morocco, by number of speakers.
The Tashelhit language is considered to be the most widely spoken as it covers
the whole of the Region Souss-Massa-Drâa, and is also spoken in
the Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz and Tadla-Azilal regions. Studies done in
1990 show around 3 million people, concentrated in the south of Morocco,
speak the dialect. Central Morocco Tamazight is the second
Berber language in Morocco. A 1998 study done by Ethnologue, shows that around 3
million people speak the language in Morocco. The language is most used in
the regions Middle Atlas, High Atlas and east High Atlas Mountains.
Other Berber dialects are spoken in Morocco, as the Senhaja de Srair and the
Ghomara dialects in the Rif mountains, the Figuig Shilha and Eastern Zenati in
eastern Morocco, and Eastern Middle Atlas dialects in central Morocco.
= 2004 Population Census = The below table presents statistical
figures of speakers, based on the 2004 population census
= Other studies = "Few census figures are available; all
countries do not count Berber languages. Population shifts in location and
number, effects of urbanization and education in other languages, etc., make
estimates difficult. In 1952 A. Basset estimated the number of Berberophones at
5,500,000. Between 1968 and 1978 estimates ranged from eight to thirteen
million; Voegelin and Voegelin call eight million a conservative estimate.
In 1980, S. Chaker estimated that the Berberophone populations of Kabylie and
the three Moroccan groups numbered more than one million each; and that in
Algeria, 3,650,000, or one out of five Algerians, speak a Berber language
In 1952, André Basset estimated that a "small majority" of Morocco's population
spoke Berber. The 1960 census estimated that 34% of Moroccans spoke Berber,
including bi-, tri-, and quadrilinguals. In 2000, Karl Prasse cited "more than
half" in an interview conducted by Brahim Karada at Tawalt.com. According
to the Ethnologue, the Berber-speaking population is estimated at 65%. However,
the figures it gives for individual languages only add up to 7.5 million, or
about 57%. Most of these are accounted for by three dialects:
Riff: 4.5 million Shilha: 7 million
Central Morocco Tamazight: 7 million This nomenclature is common in
linguistic publications, but is significantly complicated by local
usage: thus Shilha is sub-divided into Shilha of the Dra valley, Tasusit and
several other dialects. Moreover, linguistic boundaries are blurred, such
that certain dialects cannot accurately be described as either Central Morocco
Tamazight or Shilha. The differences among all Moroccan dialects are not too
pronounced: public radio news are broadcast using the various dialects;
each journalist speaks his or her own dialect with the result that
understanding is not obstructed, though most southern Berbers find that
understanding Riff requires some getting used to.
French Within Morocco, French, one of the
country's two prestige languages, is often used for business, diplomacy, and
government. French serves as a lingua franca. Aleya Rouchdy, author of
Language Contact and Language Conflict in Arabic, said that "For all practical
purposes, French is used as a second language."
Different figures of French speakers in Morocco are given. According to the OIF,
33% of Moroccans speak French, among them 13.5% fully francophone and 19.5%
partially francophone. According to the 2004 census, nearly 69% of literate
people can read and write French. Spanish
About 5 million Moroccans speak Spanish. Spanish is spoken by some Moroccans,
especially in the northern regions. Spanish is mostly spoken in northern
Morocco and the Spanish Sahara because Spain had previously occupied those
areas. Moroccans in regions formerly controlled by Spain watch Spanish
television and have interactions in Spanish on a daily basis.
After Morocco declared independence in 1956, French and Arabic became the main
languages of administration and education, causing the role of Spanish
to decline. English
English, while still far behind French and Spanish in terms of the number of
speakers, is rapidly becoming the second foreign language of choice among
educated youth, after French. As a result of national education reforms
entering into force in late 2002, English will be taught in all public
schools from the fourth year on. English is spoken sporadically in the business,
science and education sectors but its usage and learning have grown over the
last decade, especially since 2002, when English instruction was introduced from
the 7th grade in public schools. Because it is the primary international
language worldwide and because there are no colonial overtones, the language
gained prestige within Morocco. In a survey held by Ennaji in the summers of
2000, 2001, and 2002, 58% of the respondents said that English was their
favorite foreign language because it is the primary international prestige
language. See also
Arabic Berber languages
Languages of Algeria Languages of Mauritania
Languages of Spain Languages of Tunisia
References Ennaji, Moha. Multilingualism, Cultural
Identity, and Education in Morocco. Springer Publishing, January 20, 2005.
p. 127. ISBN 0387239790, 9780387239798. Rouchdy, Aleya. Language Contact and
Language Conflict in Arabic. Psychology Press, January 6, 2003. Volume 3 of
Curzon Arabic Linguistics Series, Curzon Studies in Arabic Linguistics. p. 71.
ISBN 0700713794, 9780700713790. Stevens, Paul B. "Language Attitudes
among Arabic-French Bilinguals in Morocco." Journal of Language and Social
Psychology. 1985 4:73. p. 73-76. DOI: 10.1177/0261927X8500400107.
Notes Further reading
Bentahila, Abdelâli. "Language attitudes among Arabic-French bilinguals in
Morocco". Multilingual Matters, 1983. Series #4. ISBN 0585259763, 0585259763,
9780585259765. Bentahila, Abdelâli. "Motivations for
Code-Switching among Arabic-French Bilinguals in Morocco." Language &
Communication. 1983. Volume 3, p. 233 - 243. ISSN: 0271-5309, EISSN: 1873-3395,
DOI: 10.1016/0271-5309(83)90003-4. Chakrani, Brahim. "A sociolinguistic
investigation of language attitudes among youth in Morocco." ProQuest. ISBN
1124581251. UMI Number: 3452059. Heath, Jeffrey. "Jewish and Muslim
Dialects of Moroccan Arabic". Routledge, 2013. ISBN 9781136126420
Keil-Sagawe, Regina. "Soziokulturelle und sprachenpolitische Aspekte der
Francophonie am Beispiel Marokko by Martina Butzke-Rudzynski". Zeitschrift
für französische Sprache und Literatur. Franz Steiner Verlag. Bd. 106, H. 3,
1996. p. 295-298. Available at JStor. The document is in the German language.
Lahjomri, Abdeljalil. Enseignement de la langue francaise au Maroc et dialogue
des cultures. Francais dans le Monde. 1984. p. 18-21. ERIC #: EJ312036. The
document is in the French language. See profile at ERIC.
Sadiqi, Fatima. Women, Gender and Language in Morocco. 01/2003, Women and
Gender Ser., ISBN 9004128530, Volume 1., p. 354
Salah-Dine Hammoud, Mohamed. "Arabization in Morocco: A Case Study in
Language Planning and Language Policy Attitudes." Unpublished PhD dissertation
for the University of Texas at Austin, Available from University Microfilms
International, Ann Arbor, Michigan.