Article Access: Language and Ideology in the Maghreb: Francophonie and Other Languages by Ali Alalou
by Eleanor Duke
First introduced in the late 1800s, the term Francophonie initially “referred to countries under French rule in which the French language was widely used” (Alalou, 2006, p. 408), but has developed “not only to [denote] geographical areas where French is used as a medium of communication, but [also] to [mean] a political organization and a cultural heritage as well” (Alalou, 2006, p. 408). Now, Francophonie is difficult to define because French itself has a complicated status.
In this article, Ali Alalou seeks to “examine the evolution of Francophonie in Morocco” (Alalou, 2006, p. 408), specifically exploring the multifaceted nature of French within the Moroccan education system, which reflects the wider conflict between French and Arabic in Moroccan society, and across the North African Maghreb region.
A Brief History of French in Morocco
In the first section of the article, Alalou gives a brief history of French in Morocco to contextualise the current linguistic issues facing Moroccan society and the Moroccan education system in particular.
Before the French colonisation of Morocco, Arabic was the predominant language of the school system which was “rooted in the Islamic tradition” (Alalou, 2006, p. 409). The Moroccan school system focused on religious education, with a wider range of subjects like maths, law, and medicine, being introduced at the final level of education.
However, in 1912, under French colonial rule, the “modern Moroccan public school system” was introduced, making French the language of Moroccan public education (Alalou, 2006). Not only did the new academic system contrast significantly with its predecessor, but, on a wider level, it firmly established the issue of language within Moroccan education, as French became the language of public schooling in the predominantly Arabic-speaking nation.
The issue of language in Morocco, particularly within the school system, is thus rooted in Morocco’s traumatic colonial history.
Post-independence Reforms and Their Impact on Education
In the second section of the article, Alalou explores the educational reforms introduced in the post-independence era, examining their efficacy in both resolving the linguistic conflict within Moroccan schooling and improving the education system itself.
After gaining independence from France in 1956 (Hodgkin, 1958), Morocco sought to “assert [its] identity” (Alalou, 2006, p. 416) and “reclaim the ‘national language’” (Alalou, 2006, p. 408), introducing new ‘Arabization’ policies.
In the case of the education system, in 1957, the Moroccan Prime Minister established several main policies, including the “Arabization of all subjects”, “the unification of the traditional and modern system”, “the generalization of literacy”, as well as the training of Moroccan nationals to replace foreign teachers (Alalou, 2006, p. 410).
Alalou asserts that these policies were limited both in terms of their success in improving the education system, and in terms of garnering support within Morocco.
Concerning the policies’ impacts on the education system, Alalou argues that they failed to remedy the key issues of illiteracy — “the decline in the quality of education” and “the rising unemployment among high school and college graduates” (Alalou, 2006, p. 412). The high levels of illiteracy exemplify the view that “academic programs of Arabization have been failures” (Laroussi, 2003, p. 88) in Morocco, with 74% of the rural population being illiterate in 1998; even in cities, the literacy rate of women over 15 years old was less than 31% (Alalou, 2006, p. 414).
Moreover, the Arabization of schools in Morocco can be seen as limited in its success, as French “is still widely used among professionals” and is considered “the language [of] business and management” (Alalou, 2006, p. 413). According to a study conducted by Moha Ennaji, 78% of students and teachers view “bilingualism as useful for the education of Moroccans” (2002, p. 82); the overwhelming importance of French and bilingualism as a tool for “success in the job market” (Alalou, 2006, p. 413), illustrates that Arabization policies failed to produce positive outcomes in regards to Arabic as a gateway to employment.
The divided views on Arabized and bilingual education can also be considered as proof of the weakness of Arabization policies within Morocco. According to Alalou, “French is still seen as a positive force that can contribute to the development of the Moroccan education system” (Alalou, 2006, p. 413), and “research suggests that many Moroccans still perceive French as a very important language” (Alalou, 2009, p. 569).
Furthermore, Alalou argues that Arabization is viewed negatively as it is believed that it has had negative implications for the ‘heritage languages’ of Morocco — that is to say, dialectal Arabic (also known as Darija) and Tamazight (the native language of North Africans). To some extent, Arabization is viewed as having squeezed these two languages out of the public sphere under the guise that increasing the position of the heritage languages would be inherently against Arabization. Alalou argues that the policies have “negatively affected the coexistence of French, Arabic, and Tamazight” (Alalou, 2009, p. 570), illustrating another aspect of its limited success.
As such, Arabization policies failed to bring the nation together in the reclamation of the national language, but rather divided the nation, creating an “ideological and political battle” (Alalou, 2006, p. 409) which has deeply affected the academic state of Morocco.
Thus, Alalou shows that whilst the linguistic conflict in Morocco, and the (its ?) education system in particular, may be rooted in the colonial era, the post-independence reforms can be seen to have complicated the issue, in turn worsening the situation in the Moroccan schooling system.
Ideology and Linguistic Conflict in Morocco
Whilst Alalou argues that in inefficacy of these educational policies can be attributed to several administrative and logistical factors, such as “a lack of planning, vision and leadership, and outdated curricula” (Alalou, 2006, p. 412), Alalou asserts that the failure of Arabization can also be attributed to the core issue that the policy was based on ideologies, rather than specific education-based research to improve the system.
As such, in the third section of the article, Alalou explores the differing ideologies that influenced the policy of Arabization, including “Arab nationalism, romanticist philosophy of language, and Islamism” (Alalou, 2006, p. 416).
Pan-Arabism / Arab Nationalism
Pan-Arabism is an ideology developed by former Egyptian leader Gamal Abd El-Nasser, who wanted to “unify Arab nations against colonial powers”, specifically “encouraging the use of Classical Arabic” as a means of doing so (Alalou, 2006, p. 416). The influence of Nasser’s pan-Arabism was seen across the Middle East and the Maghreb, through political parties such as “l’Union Nationale des Forces Populaires in Morocco, le Front de Libération Nationale in Algeria, and le Parti Socialiste Destourien in Tunisia” (Alalou, 2006, p. 416).
Romanticist Philosophy of Language
This ideology was developed by Sati Al-Husri — a Syrian social scientist who was in turn inspired by German Enlightenment philosopher Johann G. von Herder. The ideology is centred on the belief that “nationhood is based on the foundation of identity through the place of origin and the language”, and as such, the “loss of language is [viewed as] equal to the loss of identity” (Alalou, 2006, p. 416). Like in the case of pan-Arabism, “a revived Arabic language” (Alalou, 2006, p. 416) is viewed as a tool to create strong Arab unity.
Alalou argues that religious politics, and the desire for an Islamic revival, also influenced Arabization, although more indirectly as with pan-Arabism and Romanticism in the philosophy of language.
Conclusion
Alalou concludes by expressing that whilst French “may have had a negative impact on identity in Morocco, it is unclear that Arabization has made the situation better” (Alalou, 2006, p. 419). On a wider scale, the issue of French and Arabization within the education system, reflects a wider identity crisis across Maghrebi societies, as the conflict between French and Arabic “stems from the traumatic experience of the colonial era during which Western culture was promoted as a substitute to the Maghrebian heritage” (Alalou, 2006, p. 417).
References
Alalou, A. (2006). Language and Ideology in the Maghreb: Francophonie and Other Languages. The French Review, 80(2), 408–421.
Alalou, A. (2009). Francophonie in the Maghreb: A Study of Language Attitudes among Moroccan Teachers of French. The French Review, 82(3), 558–579.
Ennaji, M. (2002). Language Contact, Arabization Policy and Education in Morocco. In A. Rouchdy, Language Contact and Language Conflict in Arabic: Variation on a Sociolinguistic Theme (pp. 70–88). New York: Routledge Curzon.
Hodgkin, T. (1958). France and the Maghreb. Current History, 34(198), 75–83.
Laroussi, F. (2003). When Francophone Means National: The Case of the Maghreb. Yale French Studies, (103), 81–90.
Eleanor Duke, is currently a third-year student in French and Arabic student at the University of Manchester and abroad studying Modern Standard Arabic at the Arabic Language Institute in Fes (Morocco).