Saïd BENNISMohammed V University

Rabat-Morocco

Multilingualism refers tosituation where more than one language is used.

Others concepts refering to the same linguistic situation are:

Polyglotism Diglossia Bilingualism Trilingualism Quadrilingualism

MultilingualismMultilingualism

Delimitation of North Africa

- Tunisia and Algeria (Africa)- Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan (ONU)

- Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritania (white Africa)

- Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan (geographic criterion)

- Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania ( big Maghreb : UMA)

- Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (small Maghreb)

Egypt : Arabic (official) + Egyptian Arabic, English &

French.

.

Libya: Arabic (official) + Amazigh, Tamahaq+ Italian & English.

Mauritania: Arabic + Hassaniya & French.

Morocco: Arabic (official)+ French + Spanish, Amazigh & Moroccan Arabic

Linguistic distribution Linguistic distribution in North Africain North Africa

Within the same language variation can occur widely.

Morocco: shows five variety of arabic and 3 for amazigh

language

-Morocco : constitute 40°/° of the population.- Algeria : 25°/° of the population, located North est of Algeria

Libya: The amazigh language is the nafusi (Aoudjila , Sokna and Zouara . The tamahaq used in the région of Ghat by 17 000 speakers personnes

(Johnstone 1993). The Ifren is spoken in Yafran.

Egypt:

The siwi spoken by Siwis in the Oasis of Siwa

1. Lack of detailed linguistic map of countries of North Africa

2. Linguistics maps are inexact3. Linguistic situation aren’t the same but shows some similarities

4. The ambiguity about what we can call dominant language

5. How can we qualify the multilingualism situation of North Africa

What linguistic (s)

identities for North Africa?

The diglossy relates to the statutes of vehicular and vernacular:

- diglossia of genetically connected languages

- enchased diglossia : complemetary distribution of two or three different languages)

Francophonie/arabophonie / universalism Historical past (francophonie / hispanophonie),

Arab identity : Arab Ouma universalism : amazigh tendencies /Arabic defenders /anglophone /Francophone/ defenders of mother tongue (Morrocan arabic)

Multiligualism in North Africa is sliping /switching to schizoglossia

◦ Linguistic policies in North Africa?

◦ with the recent events, political change and the new claims in particular the revision of the constitutions (egypt, Tunisia, Lybia, Algeria, Morocco: movement of February 20th), it is necessary to to envisage or to predict a change in the public policies languages and cultures.

◦

Emergence of the local languages as national languages

but also with the statute of future official languages

( morrocan arabic and amazigh): the case of Morocco and Algeria:

(the case of Tunisia, Lybie, Algeria , Egypt and Mauritania in which

the languages like the amazigh or the copte or nubi , the peular are still in phase of claims)

The language on the facebook calling the manifestation of

(Morocco / in Tunisia / in Egypt) is very revealing about multilingualism projected by the young people: February 20th : the slogans are in amazigh written in Tifinagh alphabet, in Morrocan Arabic written in Arabic alphabet

and in French. There is a sign of rejection of the official language and constitutional namely standard Arabic.