Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Moha Ennaji
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Introduction
This contribution explores the different attitudes held by
Moroccans toward Amazigh (Berber) language and culture. largue that
attitudes represent important indices that may help us understand the
nature of language conflict in its multilingual context. There exists
indeed a close link between language use, language choice, and attitudes.
Language attitudes are crucial as they represent important aspects that are
helpful in the sociolinguistic description of the language profile of the
multilingual individual (cf. Labov 1972; Rubin 1977 and Fishman 1999)
This article reveals that language attitudes in Morocco, as in many
multilingual societies, reflect a complex sociocultural picture of
Moroccans at the individual and societal levels, which accounts for
hesitation and ambivalence in terms of language attitudes and policy.
There exist two main attitudes toward Amazigh. Firstly, Amazigh native
speakers are generally proud of their native language, while the
Arabophones are tolerant or neutral toward the language (cf. Ennaj i 1991
and Chtatou 1994).
Decision-makers
Attitudes
The officials' attitude toward Amazigh bas evolved over the years.
ln the seventies, it was either indifferent or negative; but since the 1990s,
officials' attitudes have become favourable to Amazigh. The king took a
politically important step by deciding, on August 20, 1994, to introduce
Amazigh in primary schools.
This royal decision was much appreciated by all forces, particularly
Amazigh non-govemment organisations (NGOs) and the intelligentsia.
This school year (2003-2004), Amazigh is taught in many primary
schools (as a pilot scheme), and it will eventually be introduced at all
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that the political parties and intellectuals have ignored for many years.
Arabie and Amazigh languages and cultures are both a Moroccan legacy.
It is impossible to distinguish an Amazigh from an Arab without looking
at their various ethnie origins. Moroccans have Amazigh, Arab, Sahraoui,
Andalusian, and African origins, sorne of whom have been Arabised,
others have been Amazighised.
Guessous (ibid) admits that there is ambiguity in the attitudes of
the political leaders and intellectuals toward Amazigh, and that this
ambiguity must be avoided by taking clear stands on this topic. The same
erosion and marginalisation have affected popular culture in general and
Moroccan oral tradition in particular (see Ennaji 2000). There are two
main reasons for this neglect. First, during colonisation, Arab nationalism
used Islam and Arabie as two symbolic weapons against the colonial rule.
Second, after independence, the ruling elite made mostly of nationalist
leaders, opposed any kind of cultural diversity, in the sense that pluralism
was considered a threat to national unity. Third, there is the security
factor: Amazigh was marginalised for security reasons, because it was
believed that it would encourage separatism among the population. This
concern for unit y was often supported by arguments from Islam and
nationalism in the name of nation-state building, or in the name of panArabism (the Arab Umm a (nation), and of modernisation. As a
consequence, the Amazigh cultural production has remarkably decreased
because this heritage has become distant from the domains which
contribute to sustainable development, like economy, information
technology, education, and research. Gradually, Amazigh culture has
been limited to a few groups or regions, and the Amazigh language has
become confined to rural homes, children, women, and marginalised
people (see Guessous 2002). This is the consequence of the dominant
Arab- Islamic ideology which considers oral languages and cultures
backward and too 'local to be appealing to the tastes of decision-makers.
However, Amazigh is not a local or regionallanguage, as it is spoken all
over the country as well as in large parts of the Maghreb; it is, therefore,
a national language which is relevant to all Moroccans, and imposes
itself as a cultural issue which needs to be debated by all those concerned.
According to Chafik (1992), Classical Arabie was never imposed
on Amazigh people; rather they aeeepted it as Classieal Arabie was
aeeompanied with Islam, to whieh Imazighen eonverted. However, sorne
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