Moroccan Arabic, also known as Darija, is the language spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco, as opposed to the official communications of governmental and other public bodies which use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries, while a mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in Business. It is within the Maghreb Arabic dialect continuum. ... The Arabic language ( ), or simply Arabic ( ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Maghreb arabic is a dialect of Arabic spoken in the Maghreb, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya. ... A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater. ...

Overview

Native speakers typically consider Moroccan Arabic a dialect because it is not a literary language and because it lacks prestige compared to Standard Arabic (Fus'ha). Its vocabulary and pronunciation are somewhat different from Standard Arabic as it has been slightly influenced by Berber, French and Spanish. Its grammar is also simpler than Standard Arabic. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... A literary language is a register of a language that is used in writing, and which often differs in lexicon and syntax from the language used in speech. ... Afro-Asiatic - Berber The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ...

Nowadays, Moroccan Arabic continues to evolve by integrating new French or English words, notably in technical fields, or by replacing old French and Spanish ones with Standard Arabic words within some circles.

It is worth mentioning that Darija (which means dialect) can be divided into two groups:

• The pre-French protectorate: when Morocco was officially colonized by France in 1913, it had an accelerated French influence in aspects of everyday life. The pre-French Darija is one that is spoken by older and more conservative people. It is an Arabic dialect with some berber influences that can be found in texts and poems of Malhoun, and Andalusi music for example. Later, in the 1970's, traditionalist bands like Nass El Ghiwane and Jil Jilala followed this course, and only sang in "classical darija".

• The post-French protectorate: after the coming of the French, any word, whether a verb or a noun, could be thrown into a sentence. This was more a habit of the young educated generations of the cities.

A similar phenomenon can be observed in Algerian Arabic and Tunisian Arabic. Malhun (or Milhûn, in Arabic الملحون) meaning the melodic poem is a Moroccan music that borrows its modes from the Andalusian music. ... Andalusian classical music is a style of music found across North Africa, though it evolved out of the music of Andalusia between the 9th and 15th centuries. ... Nass El Ghiwane are a legendary band from Morocco, they have played a big role in the renewal of the Maghrebi music. ... Jil Jilala is a Moroccan musical group which rose to prominence in the 70s among the movement created by Nass El Ghiwane. ... Algerian Arabic is the dialect or dialects of Arabic native to Algeria. ... Tunisian Arabic is a Maghrebi dialect of the Arabic language, spoken by some 9 million people. ...

Relationship with other languages

Moroccan Arabic has a distinct pronunciation and is nearly unintelligible to other Arabic speakers, but is generally mutually intelligible with other Maghrebi Arabic dialects with which it forms a dialect continuum. It is grammatically simpler, and has a less voluminous vocabulary than Classical Arabic. It has also integrated many Berber, French and Spanish words. Other Moroccans speak Berber languages such as Tashelhit and Tarifit. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Maghreb arabic is a dialect of Arabic spoken in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya. ... A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater. ... The Berbers (also called Imazighen, free men, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. ... The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ... Tashelhit is an Afro-Asiatic language of the Berber subgroup; it is spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ... Rifi redirects here, for the place that is called Rifi in Greece, see Rifi, Greece Tarifit is a Northern Berber language of the Zenati subgroup, spoken mainly in the Moroccan Rif by about 2 million people. ...

There is no clear cut division between Moroccan Arabic and Standard Arabic. Most Moroccans would more or less understand the Modern Standard Arabic. Depending on cultural background and degree of literacy, some will prefer to use Arabic words instead of their French or Spanish borrowed counterparts, while others often adopt code-switching between French and Moroccan Arabic. As everywhere in the world, how someone speaks, what words or language he uses is often an indicator of his social class. Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to alternation between one or more languages, dialects, or language registers in the course of discourse between people who have more than one language in common. ... A prestige dialect is the dialect spoken by the most prestigious people in a speech community large enough to sustain multiple dialects. ...

Pronunciation

Moroccan Arabic has a distinct pronunciation and is nearly unintelligible to some Arabic speakers from the middle-east.

One of the most notable features of Moroccan Arabic is the collapse of short vowels. Short /a/ and /i/ are deleted entirely in most positions, and short /u/ is either deleted or maintained only as rounding on an adjacent labial consonant. This can result in long strings of consonants (a feature shared with Berber and almost certainly derived from it). These clusters are never simplified; instead, consonants occurring between other consonants tend to syllabify, according to a sonorance hierarchy.

Long /a/, /i/ and /u/ are maintained as semi-long vowels, which are substituted for both short and long vowels in borrowings from Modern Standard Arabic. Long /a/, /i/ and /u/ also have many more allophones than in most other dialects; in particular, /i/ and /u/ show up as /e/ and /o/ in the vicinity of emphatic consonants (emphatic spreading occurs much less than in dialects such as Egyptian Arabic, for example); in some dialects, such as that of Marrakesh, front-rounded and other allophones also exist. Egyptian Arabic (MarÄ«, مصري) is part of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, descended mainly from a medieval dialect of Arabic. ... Marrakech (مراكش marrākish), known as the Pearl of the South, is a city in southwestern Morocco in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. ...

Non-emphatic /t/ is pronounced with noticeable affrication, almost like /ts/ (although still distinguished from a sequence of /t/ + /s/), and hence is easily distinguishable from emphatic /T/. Unlike in most other Arabic dialects (but, again, similar to Berber), non-emphatic /r/ and emphatic /R/ are two entirely separate phonemes, almost never contrasting in related forms of a word. Original /q/ splits lexically into /q/ and /g/; for some words, both alternants exist.

Code switching

Many Moroccan Arabic speakers among the educated class also practise code-switching (moving from Moroccan Arabic to French and the other way around as can be seen in the movie Marock). Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to alternation between one or more languages, dialects, or language registers in the course of discourse between people who have more than one language in common. ... Marock is the 2005 Moroccan film by the female Muslim director Laila Marrakchi, the movie was very controversial as it deals with a Muslim/Jewish love between two high school mates, Rita and Youri. ...

Vocabulary

Moroccan Arabic is grammatically simpler, and has a less voluminous vocabulary than Classical Arabic. It has also integrated many Berber, French and Spanish words. Spanish words typically entered Moroccan Arabic earlier than French ones. Some words might have been brought by Moriscos who spoke Andalusi Arabic which was influenced by Spanish (Castilian). Other influences have been the result of the Spanish protectorate in Spanish Morocco. French words came with the French protectorate (1912-1956). The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ... Morisco (Spanish Moor-like) or mourisco (Portuguese) is a term referring to a kind of New Christian in Spain and Portugal. ... Andalusi Arabic was a dialect of the Arabic language spoken in Al-Andalus, the regions of Spain under Muslim rule. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Spanish Morocco, was the area of Morocco ruled by Spain from up to 1956, when France and Spain recognised Moroccan independence. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

There are noticeable lexical differences between Moroccan Arabic and most other dialects. Some words are essentially unique to Moroccan Arabic: e.g. daba "now". Many others, however, are characteristic of Maghreb Arabic as a whole, including both innovations and unusual retentions of Classical vocabulary that has disappeared elsewhere such as hbeT' "go down" from Classical habaT. Others distinctives are shared with Algerian Arabic such as hDeR "talk", from Classical hadhar "babble" and temma "there" from Classical thamma. Algerian Arabic is the dialect or dialects of Arabic native to Algeria. ...

There are a number of Moroccan Arabic dictionaries in existence, including (in chronological order):

• A Dictionary of Moroccan Arabic: Moroccan-English, ed. Richard S. Harrell & Harvey Sobelman. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1963 (reprinted 2004.)
• Mu`jam al-fuṣḥâ fil-`âmmiyyah al-maghribiyyah معجم الفصحى في العامية المغربية, Muhammad Hulwi, Rabat: al-Madaris 1988.
• Dictionnaire Colin d'arabe dialectal marocain (Rabat, éditions Al Manahil, ministère des Affaires Culturelles), by a Frenchman named Georges Séraphin Colin, who devoted nearly all his life to it from 1921 to 1977. The dictionary contains 60 000 entries and was published in 1993, after Colin's death.

1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Some words borrowed from Berber

• Mouch or Mech : cat (orig. Amouch)
• Khizzou : carrots
• Meziane : good (orig. Ameziane)
• Yekh : onomatopoeia expressing disgust (orig. Ikhan)
• Dcher or Tcher : zone
• Yeh : yes
• Neggafa : wedding facilitator (orig. taneggaft)
• sifet : send

Some words borrowed from French

• forchita : fourchette (fork)
• tomobile : automobile (car)
• telfaza : television
• radio : radio
• bartma : appartement (apartment)
• tobis : autobus (bus)

Some words borrowed from Spanish

Some of those words might also have come through Andalusi Arabic brought by Moriscos when they were expelled from Spain following the Christian Reconquest. Andalusi Arabic was a dialect of the Arabic language spoken in Al-Andalus, the regions of Spain under Muslim rule. ... Morisco (Spanish Moor-like) or mourisco (Portuguese) is a term referring to a kind of New Christian in Spain and Portugal. ... The Reconquista (English: Reconquest) was the process encompassing almost 8 centuries, by which the Christian kingdoms of northern Hispania (modern Portugal and Spain) reconquered the Iberian peninsula from the Muslim and Moorish states of Al-Ándalus. ...

• roueda : rueda (wheel)
• kutche : coche (car)
• cuzina : cocina (kitchen)
• simana : semana (week)
• manta or malta : manta (cover)
• rial : real (five centimes; this term has also been borrowed into many other Arabic dialects)
• fundo : fondo (bottom of the sea or the swimming pool)
• carrossa : carrosse

Some useful sentences

Grammar

The grammar of Moroccan Arabic is not always simpler than Classical Arabic grammar, but fortunately, as the language is never written, nobody is concerned about spelling. Arabic is a Semitic language. ...

The grammar, like the pronunciation, is heavily influenced by Berber. Afro-Asiatic - Berber The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ...

The regular Moroccan verb conjugates with a series of prefixes and suffixes. The stem of the conjugated verb may change a bit depending on the conjugation. Example:

The stem of the Moroccan verb for "to write" is "kteb".

The present tense of this verb:

I write: Kanekteb

You (masculine) write: Katekteb

You (feminine) write: Katketbi

He/it writes: Kayekteb

She/it writes: Katekteb

We write: Kanketbu

You (pl) write: Katketbu

They write: Kayketbu

Note that the stem "kteb" turns into "ketb" before a vowel suffix. Between the prefix "kan, kat, kay" and the stem "kteb", an "e" vowel appears, but not between the prefix and the transformed stem "ketb"

In the North, you write is always katekteb, regardless of whom you are speaking to. Instead of the prefix "ka", some speakers prefer the use of "ta" (e.g.: tanekteb: I write). The co-existence of these two prefixes has historical reasons. In general "ka" is more used in the north and "ta" in the south.

The past tense of this verb:

I wrote: Ktebt

You wrote: Ktebti

He/it wrote: Kteb

She/it wrote: Ketbet

We wrote: Ktebna

You (pl) wrote: Ktebtuu

They wrote: Ketbuu

To form the future tense, just remove the "ka-" from the present and add "gha" or "ghad" or "ghadi" instead. For the subjunctive and infinitive, just remove the "ka-": bghit nékteb I want I write (I want to write), bghit tekteb I want you write (I want you to write).

Evolution

In general, Moroccan Arabic is one of the most innovative (in the technical sense of "least conservative") of all Arabic dialects. Nowadays Moroccan Arabic continues to integrate new French words, mainly technologic and modern words. However, in recent years constant exposure to revived classical forms on television and in print media and a certain desire among many Moroccans for a revitalization of their Arab and Islamic identities has inspired many Moroccans to integrate words from Standard Arabic, replacing their French or Spanish counterparts or even speaking in Modern Standard Arabic while keeping the Moroccan accent to sound less pedantic. This is a phenomenon mostly among literate people. By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a level of technological mastery sufficient to leave the surface of the planet for the first time and explore space. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب) are a heterogeneous ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... In linguistics, an accent is a pronunciation characteristic of a particular group of people relative to another group. ...

Though rarely written, Moroccan Arabic is currently undergoing an unexpected and pragmatic revival. It is now the preferred language in Moroccan chat rooms or for sending SMS, using Arabic Chat Alphabet composed of latin letters supplemented with the numbers 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 for coding specific Arabic sounds as is the case with other Arabic speakers. A chat room is an online forum where people can chat online (talk by broadcasting messages to people on the same forum in real time). ... SMS arrival notification on a Siemens phone Received and displayed SMS message on a Motorola RAZR handset. ... The Arabic Chat Alphabet is used to communicate in the Arabic language over the Internet or for sending messages via cellular phones when the actual Arabic alphabet is unavailable for technical reasons. ...

The language continues to evolve quickly as can be noted while consulting the Colin dictionary. Many words and idiomatic expressions integrated during its making from 1921 to 1977 are now obsolete. 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

Diglossia and social prestige

While being a natural localization of Classical Arabic for geographic and historical reasons, as French has evolved from Vulgar Latin, Moroccan Arabic is considered as a language of low prestige and suffers from the fact that Classical Arabic is the language of the Qur'an which serves as a reference. While being the mother tongue of nearly twenty million people in Morocco it is rarely written, this situation probably explains in part the high illiteracy rates in Morocco. Vulgar Latin, as in this political engraving at Pompeii, was the language of the ordinary people of the Roman Empire, distinct from the Classical Latin of literature. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎ , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ... First language (native language, mother tongue, or vernacular) is the language a person learns first. ...

This situation is not specific to Morocco, but occurs in all Arabic speaking countries. The French Arabist William Marçais coined in 1930 the term diglossie (diglossia) to describe this situation, where two (often) closely-related languages co-exist, one of high prestige, which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige, which is usually the spoken vernacular tongue. Oddly enough the situation in Morocco is also very similar to the one found in Brazilian Portuguese, although this can be explained by the similar historic and immigration patterns. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... In linguistics, diglossia is a situation where, in a given society, there are two (often) closely-related languages, one of high prestige, which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige, which is usually the spoken vernacular tongue. ... Look up Vernacular in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In linguistics, diglossia is a situation where, in a given society, there are two (often) closely-related languages, one of high prestige, which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige, which is usually the spoken vernacular tongue. ...

Artistic expression

There exists some poetry written in Moroccan Arabic like the Malhun. In the troubled and autocratic Morocco of the ’70s with no freedom of speech, The legendary Nass El Ghiwane band wrote beautiful and allusive lyrics in Moroccan Arabic which were very appealing to the youth even in other Maghreb countries. Malhun (or Milhûn, in Arabic الملحون) meaning the melodic poem is a Moroccan music that borrows its modes from the Andalusian music. ... Nass El Ghiwane are a legendary band from Morocco, they have played a big role in the renewal of the Maghrebi music. ... The Algerian bay (view from the west). ...

Another interesting movement is the development of an original rap music scene which explores new and innovative usages of the language. Generally, Moroccan Arabic remains the preferred language of Moroccan singers. Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ...

Newspapers

There are now at least three Moroccan Arabic speaking newspapers, their aim is to bring information to people with a low level of education. Telquel Magazine, has now a Moroccan arabic edition Nichane. There is also a free weekly magazine that is totally written in "standard" Moroccan dialect: Khbar Bladna, i.e. 'News of our country'. A cover of October 20th 2006 Tel Quel (French: ) (slogan:Morocco as it is), is a French-language Moroccan weekly magazine. ... Nichane (meaning Direct in Moroccan Arabic and Berber:نيشان) (formerly Aljareeda Alokhra) is a Moroccan weekly arabophone and darijophone (in Moroccan arabic) magazine. ...

See also

• Varieties of Arabic
• Dialect continuum
• Maghreb Arabic
• Algerian Arabic
• Tunisian Arabic
• The language of The Qur'an for the relationship between modern Arabic dialects and the Qur'an's Arabic

The Arabic language is classified as a Semitic language. ... A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater. ... Maghreb arabic is a dialect of Arabic spoken in the Maghreb, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya. ... Algerian Arabic is the dialect or dialects of Arabic native to Algeria. ... Tunisian Arabic is a Maghrebi dialect of the Arabic language, spoken by some 9 million people. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎ , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ...

References

• Lonely Planet Moroccan Arabic Phrasebook ISBN 0-86442-586-4
• Ernest T. Abdel Massih, Introduction to Moroccan Arabic, Univ of Michigan, Washington, 1982.
• Jordi Aguadé, "Notes on the Arabic Dialect of Casablanca", AIDA 5th Conference Proceedings, Universidad de Cadiz, 2003, 301-308.
• Dominique Caubet, L'arabe marocain, Paris-Louvain, Peeters, 1993.
• Olivier Durand, L'arabo del Marocco. Elementi di dialetto standard e mediano, Università degli Studi La Sapienza, Rome, 2004.
• Richard S. Harrel, A Dictionary of Moroccan Arabic, Georgetown University Press, Washington, 1966.
• Angela Daiana Langone, "Khbar Bladna. Une expérience journalistique en arabe dialectal marocain", in Estudios de Dialectologia Norteafricana y Andalusi n.7, 2003, 143-151.
• Angela Daiana Langone, "Jeux linguistiques et nouveau style dans la masrahiyya en-Neqsha, Le déclic, écrite en dialecte marocain par Tayyeb Saddiqi", in Actes d'AIDA 6, Tunis, 2006, 243-261.
• Abderrahim Youssi, Grammaire et lexique de l'arabe marocain moderne, Wallada, Casablanca, 1994.

External links

• Learning Moroccan Arabic
• Morocan Arabic/French Dictionnay
• A small online Moroccan Arabic/French Dictionnary
• History of le Colin Dictionnary (French)