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Morocco and the Post-Colonial Binaries

Morocco gained independence from France in 1956 and since then the question of language has been continuously debated. Nationalists wanted to elevate Arabic with many moving to eliminate French entirely. The goal of Arabisation was put forth and by 1970 primary schools were taught completely in Arabic. Conversely, STEM classes (science, technical, engineering, maths) continued to be taught in French. 

In 1983, while Morocco was having a resurgence of Arab nationalism, the government changed the language of STEM instruction from French to Arabic in an effort to further the nation's Arabization. University was another matter however, with almost all STEM university courses remaining in French. Then in 2020, that decision was reversed.

 An if you've read this far and had ideas about only French and Arabic, that's understandable. In the national discourse, that's how the question is framed - as a binary between the two languages.

 But Morocco has many more than two languages.

 The entire debate about education almost always overlooks the fact that Morocco has another official language - Tamazight. Moreover, there are plenty of other Berber languages in the country spoken by thousands of people.

One linguist I spoke to refers to this as the 'post-colonial binary'

 The notion is simple. After gaining independence, most nations seek to establish a national identity, which very often involves establishing a national language. And very often the choice of national language is framed in opposition to the language of colonisation.

 As a result, languages with smaller populations or who's speakers hold less political power are often simply not considered or left out of the conversation entirely.

 Both Pakistan and Laos have a considerable about of linguistic diversity. In both countries however, only on native language is legally recognised - Urdu in Pakistan and Lao in Laos. This dismisses the fact that Pakistan's most widely spoken language is Punjabi or that Lao is the native language just more than half the population.

 In this regard, Morocco is actually bucking the trend somewhat. Article 5 of the 2011 constitution named Tamazight as an official language of Morocco alongside Arabic. It also outlines that the states will help to integrate both languages into the public sphere. Interestingly, it also pledges the states commitment to the preservation of the Hassanya dialect of Arabic.

 Article 5 also created the Moroccan Language Council and charged it with the protection and development of both Arabic and Amazight.

 This is a step in the right direction, but it leaves the country's other native languages behind. And as long as conversations about language and language policy are framed this way, other minority languages will continue to be left behind.
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