Socio-political Implications of Recognizing Berber in Morocco

[idir]

2006 Meeting Program

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20
2:30PM-4:30PM


New Sources and Perspectives in the Study of Modern Morocco

The Enthography of Speaking: Socio-political Implications of Recognizing Berber in Morocco
Mohammed Errihani, University of Illinois, Chicago

http://mesa.wns.ccit.arizona.edu/annual/session8.htm

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Volume 7 Issue 1 AIMS Newsletter Spring 2004

Language Policy and Cultural Identity: Problems and
Prospects of Teaching Berber in Moroccan Schools
Mohammed Errihani



For the first time in the history of Morocco, the Berber
language and culture have officially been recognized as part
of the historical and cultural make-up of this country. The
AIMS grant will allow me to investigate several questions
and issues concerning the implementation of teaching Berber
in Moroccan schools. These questions include: why now?
What made the Moroccan policy makers decide to
implement this policy at this very juncture of Moroccan
history? Furthermore, if recognizing the language and the
culture of the Berber people is a human right, how will
non-Berbers feel about their human rights if their children
are forced to learn a language that they do not identify with
and that holds neither symbolic nor social capital in their
view? To what extent is this de jure policy going to become
de facto in public contexts? Are two weeks of training enough
to prepare teachers to teach a second language? Is it
reasonable or feasible for pupils to be able to absorb four
languages in the first three years of elementary education?
How is this new policy going to affect the linguistic culture
of Morocco as a whole? I will be researching these and other
questions in Rabat and several schools currently teaching
Berber. This research will lay the groundwork for my
dissertation.

[agerzam]

Psoer la question, c'est déjà y répondre :rolleyes: