The changing role of French in Morocco: maintenance or shift?,

During the French Protectorate of 1912 to 1956, French became an additional ‘L’ language in Morocco, and was adopted by the elite. Following independence in 1956, a policy of Arabization was introduced, with the aim of replacing French with Arabic. However, French continues to be used in the education system, in the professions, in business, in scientific research and technology, and is widely perceived as the language of professional and social success. With the democratisation of education since Independence, there are many more French-speaking Moroccans today than during the Protectorate, but also many more Moroccans who are competent in MSA, the written form of Arabic. Thus bilingualism and biliteracy are widespread. Factors such as tourism and emigration, the growth of the internet and globalisation, reinforce the value of French today. This paper explores the role of French in Morocco in terms of maintenance and shift, considering the factors that could account for its maintenance since independence, and those factors that could lead to a shift, and the directions that shift could take. It focuses on the linguistic landscape, the media and education, as areas where French is widely used in contemporary Morocco, and where changes are occurring