18-abderrazzaq msellek-sociolinguistic aspects of moroccan arabic.pdf

7/24/2019 18-Abderrazzaq MSELLEK-Sociolinguistic aspects of Moroccan Arabic.pdf

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Sociolinguistic aspects of Moroccan Arabic

Abderrazzaq MsellekUniversity of Fs/Morocco

1. Status of Moroccan Arabic (MA)

2. Communicative function of MA

3. Domains of use and realization forms of MA

4. Sociolinguistic and linguistic features of MA

5. The future of MA

During my talk, I attempt to give a systematic sociolinguistic description of

Moroccan Arabic as a non-dominant variety of Arabic in Morocco. The status,communicative function, and the domains of use of Moroccan Arabic in

Moroccan society will be especially accentuated. The main hypothesis is that

MA is a spoken language that is used in informal communicative situations of

all communicative domains, in opposite to some available descriptions leading

us to believe that MA is used just in some domains.

Before giving how MA is used by native speakers for different kinds of

communicative purpose, I want first of all to show which languages co-exist in

Morocco. The linguistic situation in Morocco is often characterized as complex.

Then, as has been pointed out, there are four languages used: Standard Arabic,

Moroccan Arabic, Berber, and French; in addition to other foreign languages

that know a positive Evolution in Education, Business and Tourism like English,

Spanish and German. This complexity can be interpreted as a linguistic diversity

or simply as multilingualism that is a major characteristic of Moroccan society1.

Concerning the communicative function of each language, Ennaji wrote the

following sentences:

These Languages (SA, MA, and Berber) do not fulfill all the linguistic

functions, since each one covers only a limited number of domains. For

instance, MA and Berber cover the domains of home and street, while SA is

used in education, public administration, and the media. French is utilized to

complement the picture, as it hat functions and domains with overlap with those

of SA, in addition to covering the private sector, science, and technology.2

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Is it true that MA is a just language of home and street? Or there are other

communicative domains that MA also covers? Ill give The answer of this

questions , when I first illustrate the status of MA.

1.

Status of Moroccan Arabic

In opposite to Standard Arabic that is the official Language of Morocco since

the independence and Berber that become official Language as SA in the last

constitution, Moroccan Arabic is considered as an unofficial Language. Then

MA is a language of everyday conversation which is neither codified nor

standardized, in contrast to SA that is codified, standardized and a written

language. Additionally, MA is not a homogeneous language in form, as

various Moroccan Arabic dialects are spoken in various geographical areas of

Morocco.3

2. Communicative function of Moroccan Arabic

Moroccan Arabic is usually used to express basic needs and everything the

Moroccan people every day does: bay something, make a reservation,

change money at the bank etc. This means that MA is only the expression

side of language used. The other side is the side of the content expressed.

Thus, Moroccan Arabic builds the social and geographic dimension of

Arabic in Morocco. Coupled with functional dimension it gives us that what

we can call Moroccan Arabic for every day or Moroccan everyday-language.

Everyday life can be also dialectal expressed. Moroccan Dialects are spoken

in cities, villages, and in mountains. They are local and too limited, in

Opposite to Moroccan Arabic that is regional and considered as lingua

franca. This means that Moroccan Arabic is not only everyday-Language, but

it expresses various contents from other domains like domain of literature,

business, religion, sport etc.

3. Domains of use and realization forms of Moroccan Arabic

The domains of use of MA, as has been pointed out, are many and different:

a wide spectrum that begins with everyday life and ends with economy,

science, philosophy, religion, literature, and law. The following diagram can

explain this fact very clearly:

2005 + , , 23, , , .

, 2003, 48


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This Diagram shows us particularly two things:

1. Moroccan Arabic is not only used in everyday life, but it is used in almost all

communicative areas. We can therefore speak from Moroccan everyday

language, Moroccan religious language, Moroccan literary language etc as

realization forms of Moroccan Arabic.

2. Because Moroccan Arabic is a spoken and not official language, there are

only some text types written of Moroccan Arabic using the Arabic script,

particularly some literary texts, media texts with satire content, and of course

texts expressing everyday life.


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4. Sociolinguistic and linguistic Features of Moroccan Arabic

Sociolinguistic characteristics of Moroccan Arabic can be summarized as

follows:

-

MA is the low variety of Arabic

- It is a not prestigious Language

- It is the predominant spoken Language in Morocco

- It is used in informal communicative situations

- It is associated with day-to-day activities

- It is not codified, not institutionalized and not standardized.

- Although it is particularly used at home and in the street, Moroccan

Arabic can also express the contents of different domains of use.

Now if we want to treat the linguistic Features of Moroccan Arabic, we can say

that MA has, compared with Standard Arabic, great differences that we would

like to explain as follows:

According to Ennajis study, MA has a regular phonology, a simple

morphology, an abundant lexicon, and a great variety of styles.4

Phonology

The sound system of MA differs from that of SA in that MA has five short

vowels and three long ones, while SA has only three short vowels and three long

ones. The influence of foreign language, especially French, on MA is here

visible. Then the two vowels /e/ and /o/ are to find in French loan as /militer/ or

/gome/. In contrast to SA, MA has the consonants /p, v, g/ which shows once

more the result of language contact between MA and French. Otherwise, SA and

MA have generally the same inventory of phonemes and distinctive features.5

Morphology

MA lacks the dual and the feminine dual and plural forms that SA contents. MA

is less complex in inflection Than SA.

Syntax

SA has basically a Verb-Subject-Object order. MA has a dominant Subject-

Verb-Object order. The word order in MA is not so restricted as in SA.

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Lexicon

MA is much influenced by SA lexicon. The structure of a lot of words in MA

shows clearly the influence of Berber. For example, a number of MA nouns take

the Berber feminine discontinuous affix tt or ta.t as in taxaddart, tabaqqalt.These terms express a state, an action or an occupation.

6MA uses also many

Berber loan words.

5. The future of Moroccan Arabic

Is MA in fact eine Sprache im Werden? Is it envisaged and possible that MA

one day became a Standard language that we will speak from Standard

Moroccan? Or has MA really no chance against Standard Arabic?

There are two reasons for the negative answer to these questions:

1. The diglossial situation in Morocco implicates that we have a high variety

and a low variety from Arabic. SA is the high variety und MA is the low

variety. I dont see und also understand how and why the low variety will

be standardized und codified. I think SA and MA are structural different,

but they are in the same time communicative value equivalent.

2. SA that embodies a great literary tradition and is always associated with

Islam and its holy book is revered by rich, poor, educate and illiteratealike as the linguistic jewel in the Islamic cultural patrimony. It is

regarded as the inimitable apogee of perfection, unsurpassable in beauty,

an ethereal ideal of eloquence, perfect symmetry, and succinctness.7

Ennaji argue that Moroccans consider in fact SA as a prestigious language

and the only form worth learning in schools, and MA a corrupt and vulgar

dialect8.

This strong relationship between Moroccans and SA lead me to believe

that MA has really no chance to be codified and standardized. MA willstay the predominant spoken Language that is particularly used in

informal settings and in everyday activities.

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