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Sociolinguistic aspects of Moroccan Arabic

Abderrazzaq Msellek
University of Fs/Morocco

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Status of Moroccan Arabic (MA)

Communicative function of MA
Domains of use and realization forms of MA
Sociolinguistic and linguistic features of MA
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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Ennaji, Moha : Multilingualism, cultural identity, and education in Morocco.

2005 Springer Science+Business Media, New York, p: 2
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Ennaji, Moha : Multilingualism, cultural identity, and education in Morocco.

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 Springer Science+Business Media, New York, p: 2

Sadiqi, Fatima: Women, Gender, and language in Morocco.
Brill, Leiden Boston 2003, p: 48

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.

4. Sociolinguistic and linguistic Features of Moroccan Arabic

Sociolinguistic characteristics of Moroccan Arabic can be summarized as
follows:
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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 SubjectVerb-Object order. The word order in MA is not so restricted as in SA.
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Ennaji, Moha : Multilingualism P : 60.

Ennji p : 61

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.6 MA 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 illiterate
alike 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 will
stay the predominant spoken Language that is particularly used in
informal settings and in everyday activities.

Ennaji p : 86
Holes, Clive : Modern Arabic
2004, Georgetown University Press , p: 5
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Ennaji ; p : 69
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