Ability and Social Status - Linguistic Abilities in Morocco
One
thing that impressed me the most about the Moroccan people I encountered on this study-abroad trip was their ability to speak multiple languages. As a
monolingual person, I am both intrigued and envious of bilingual or
multilingual persons. I can only imagine what the amalgamation of words
spinning around in their heads must be like!
In
Morocco, I have learned that there are three main languages spoken including
Moroccan Arabic, French, and Berber. Our host for the trip, Dr. Richidi, has
been a wonderful translator for us throughout this experience and has
interpreted many of these languages for us. It was quite surprising to me to
see that in so many Moroccan stores and restaurants each of these languages
would often be represented in text on signs or menus. However, while it seems
that most Moroccans are multilingual, this is not always the case, and
sometimes these language skills can be an indicator of social class. According
to a survey of Moroccans in the early 2000s done by Chakrani (2013),
“Upper-class status in Morocco can be identified through the demarcation of
linguistic boundaries… Proficiency in French and, increasingly, the acquisition
of English are markers of the Moroccan elite, which plays a trendsetting role
in leading a shift in linguistic practices and language attitudes, and a change
in the current cultural realities of Morocco” (p. 431). Moroccans are commonly
self-taught or taught foreign languages at home rather than at school, as I
learned from some of the ENA students. It would follow to me that more
impoverished areas would not have access to as many languages such as French or
English that many wealthy or more highly developed countries or areas speak and
would more than likely only speak their local language or dialect.
One
exception I found to this is our desert car driver. I assumed all of our car
drivers spoke English, but my classmates told me most of their drivers did not.
I had the pleasure of sitting in the front seat of our desert suv and had great
conversations with the driver, who luckily for me told me he spoke about 6-8
different languages, most of which he learned from interacting with various
tourists! He is a Berber people born in the desert, and his family leads a
somewhat nomadic life style without often leaving the desert. While I don’t
know his education level or exact social position in society, he clearly has
amazing linguistic abilities and has had the opportunity to practice this
ability without leaving the desert!
Chakrani,
B. (2013). The impact of the ideology of modernity on language attitudes in
Morocco. The Journal of North African Studies, 18(3), 431–442. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629387.2013.791613
The difference in languages within a multilingual culture is something I've never really considered before. Despite being so multicultural the United States maintains the expectation that everyone speak English with any other language coming as a bonus personal skill moreso than a necessity. To think that the knowledge of a specific language (such as french in the case of Morocco) can be both a way to open up greater opportunities as well as a mark of having already achieved some level of status is a very interesting perspective to having multiple languages being spoken regularly.
ReplyDeleteI also found this conversation very interesting when we were riding to the Sahara. I thought it was very interesting to see how much influence language has in Morocco. While I do not have the most proficient conversational skills, I can read French quite well. When I did speak French with some of the Moroccans, I saw how their faces started to light up a little and when asked if I spoke French, my answer was always "un peu" and I explained that while I have studied French for 7 years, the foreign language education and motivation in America is not like it is in Morocco. I found the conversation following that regarding language was always quite interesting as we got to talk about the need/near requirement for people to learn another language if they want to make any advancements, but you also see the circle of poverty being incredibly prevalent within Morocco which only furthers my curiosity on the topic.
ReplyDeleteHi Lauryn! I was also impressed by the linguistic abilities that many of the Moroccans we interacted with had. However, I also noticed how there were several that did not have the same linguistic abilities as others and I am intrigued about the point you made on how their social status might affect this. I did not realize that many languages are taught at home rather than school, and have always assumed that most linguistic skills were taught in school. The lack of linguistic abilities in the less wealthy areas may be that many of these areas do not have as much access to education and supplies which would no doubt make it much more challenging to expand their linguistic abilities within a household.
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