Tunisia Algeria and Morocco have similar aspects and common linguistic situation. In fact, Multilingualism which can be seen as multiculturalism is a major characteristic of the Maghreb region. This article is to highlight the various linguistic features that dominate the Maghreb region.
Classical Arabic which owes its continuity to The Koran and classical literature is now the national language of Maghreb countries; this was due to religion and nationalism. On the other hand, standard Arabic, though it is none of the Maghreb countries mother tongue, is codified for the widespread use among the population in media and education. It is less complicated than classical Arabic but it lacks the vitality of dialectal Arabic. This latter is the mother tongue of the population in the Maghreb. There is Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan dialectal Arabic, and in each country there are rural and urban dialects. In TV and radios the gap between dialectal and standard Arabic is reduced as they are interchangeably used. However, dialectal Arabic is stigmatized and is not taught at schools because it is not codified and consequently it stays the home and street language.
Berber belongs to the Hamito–Semitic language family. It is the language of the first inhabitants of maghreb. It has Tifinagh as a writing system and it is the mother tongue of 40 % of the population in Morocco, 25 % in Algeria, and.1% in Tunisia. In morocco there are five million people who speak Tirifit, Tamazight, and Tashalhit, each one of them is spoken in a different geographical area. It is obvious that all these three varieties belong to the same family even if the people speaking them live too far from each other and that is due to the fact that they are mutually intelligible. However, Berber is suffering constant decline in the Maghreb; it is regressing in Morocco, Algeria and disappearing in Tunisia. First there is urbanization; for Berbers tend to speak dialectal Arabic more than Berber. Then there is schooling which has a direct effect on the decline of Berber. Lastly, the desire to achieve efficiency has devalued the use of Berber. However, what is worth mentioning is that Berbers are proud of their native language mother tongue in spite of the state’s complex attitudes toward it.
French plays a major role in the socioeconomic and educational sectors of the Maghreb; its prestigious statue makes it an essential medium of instruction in education. It is the predominant variety in the private sector and transactions with Europe. In morocco, French is highly valued though it has a connotation of a colonial language. Also, French enjoys a great deal of prestige in Tunisia to the point that the whole country has been made Franco phonic. By contrast the statue of French in Algeria is a paradoxical subject of conflict for historical reasons. But on the whole, French is now more widespread in the independent Maghreb; it manifests its dominance in TV, Radio, and also newspapers which out-sell the Arabic ones.
Morocco is the Magherb country where Spanish is relatively widely used; it is taught in secondary and university level and it is spoken by Rifians in the North and Sahrouis in the south for daily purposes. However, Spanish is on the decline because the language policy and planning has aimed at marginalizing it to the advantage of French. On the other hand, English which goes back to the residence of Americans in the Maghreb during the World War II has become the most popular foreign language in the Maghreb for two main reasons: First, it has no colonial connotations. Second, Decision makers in the region and people at large have a favourable attitude towards it. Furthermore, it gains the grounds it usually used in media, finance, education, and tourism.
Arabic-French Bilingualism has posed a great conflict concerning its potential usefulness. There are two opposite attitudes towards bilingualism. The purists claim that bilingualism is a source of suffering and a sign of alienation. To them, Arabic and French bilingualism means the domination of French and the loss of identity. On the other hand, there are those who believe that bilingualism is a sign of openness and a source of enrichment
In brief, in maghreb countries, classical Arabic is the language of religion and government, and standard Arabic, or the arabization policy, has been codified for great educational results. However, dialectal Arabic remains the daily used language of family, and the lingua franca of ordinary daily activities. Berber, on the other hand, is getting more and more restricted to the confines of home and close friends unless people attitudes toward it become favourable. While French which continues to be associated with modernity and English which is welcomed among the maghreb population seriously compete in media, finance, education, and tourism, Spanish declines.
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