The language insecurity of Moroccans and the dilemma of self-Identifying as Arabs

Abstract

The linguistic attitudes of Moroccans towards their language, Darija, and how the perceptions of other Arabic speakers have affected their linguistic identity, is a topic that deserves more attention nowadays. Linguistic insecurity is rarely discussed due to its taboo nature in Moroccan social context, or as found in this study, a fact that should be interpreted in a more optimistic and less accusatory way. The purpose of this research is to present a new interpretation of language anxiety and to determine whether Moroccans can identify themselves as Arabs or not. First, an outline of the social and historical factors that contributed to the formation of certain ideologies of an imperialist nature was presented. Then, the language attitudes of four Moroccan students in Italy and four in Morocco towards both Darija and Arab dialects were discussed. The data collected in this study provide a clear and concise understanding of the perceptions of each Arabic variety and the ideological values attributed to them. These discourses were analyzed using the draw-a-map method introduced by Preston (1993). The method mapped voluntary and involuntary attitudes toward Darija and Arabic dialects during the interviews. The main influencing factors identified were gender, education, religion, and country of upbringing. However, the participants had very similar results, and it was concluded that the complex Moroccan linguistic identity finds pride in the awareness that one is unique for its multilingualism. Finally, this work is intended to serve and honor a language community that experiences stigma for not being “Arab” enough in the eyes of Arabic-speaking communities.