2023-06-09 17:40:00
In retaliation, explains The debateMorocco has launched a media campaign once morest France, and is now seeking to eradicate the use of French in Moroccan daily life, the second most widely spoken language in the country following Arabic.
Traditionally, Arabic and French are commonly used on Moroccan streets, in the media and even in schools where the Moroccan elite is educated, the newspaper writes. But, with the emergence of the United States as Morocco’s main ally, a preference for English is now encouraged by the government, sidelining French.
To read: The newspaper in English on Moroccan television
The newspaper, quoting an academic, called for curbing the ‘invasion of the French language’, decried as a ‘legacy of colonialism’, saying the use of French hinders the rights of the country’s two official languages, Arabic and Amazigh.
At the state level, the Moroccan Ministry of Education, led by Chakib Benmoussa, has launched an ambitious plan to generalize English in the country’s schools by 2025. This contrasts sharply with the daily reality where French is commonly used, including in all public administrations.
To read: Morocco is gradually abandoning French for English at school
The British Council’s 2021 report reveals that 40% of Moroccans believe English is the most important language to learn, compared to only 10% for French. Similarly, two thirds believe that English will overtake French as the most important foreign language in the coming years. Anthropologist Mohamed Sghir Janjar claimed that an “irreversible” trend has begun, noting that “English arrived without our realizing it”. This decision to encourage the use of English, devoid of the symbolic weight of colonialism, is perceived as an “anti-French” measure and a further sign of disdain towards France, Morocco’s former ally in Europe.
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