Morocco # English board

Today Morocco celebrates it liberation from the French colonisation.
My father spent a large part of his youth side by side with Allal el Fasssi and zerkhtouni; he was exiled by the French from Fes to Casablanca. His was arrested tortured etc…
He never wanted fame and status nor money and wealth for what he did. He was a true Moroccan. He refused to speak French in Morocco not even the small words he always used the Arabic version. At times it was funny to hear that but he was in a mission to liberate the country from the French mental colonisation. No one cares now days it is trendy to speak it and perhaps one wouldn’t get a job in an office if one had the attitude of my late father.
What do you think about martyrs?
Are you against French words in our Moroccan language? Do you think about the illiterate Moroccan elderly when you talk to them using French words?
Regards

Hi Adds,

Since this is about your father, you'll forgive me in advance if my opinion differs a little, I have the utmost respect for people who lived those days and lived to tell about it.
Yes, I do find laughable people who speak french because it's trendy, most of them don't even speak it well by the way.
However, it would be difficult on a day to day basis not to speak french, most of the technical words are not available in arabic, and since we're on the subject of arabic, it's not even our language, it is also the product of a previous wave of colonizers. Oups ! Did I say "colonizers" ? Now there's a hornet's nest I shouldn't have kicked
On a more serious note, the french language is so intertwined with our darija that it would be impossible to ignore it, just as arabic or spanish.
I do understand your father or others like him for whom french was the vehicle by which a culture administered our country for a while. But for me, it's another idiomatical wealth added to our own.
So in short, no to l'3ia9a* in french, yes to actually learning it properly and using it when needed.
As for the colonization part of it, we'll leave that to historians. But for the here and now, well... wouldn't that be a kick if we stopped speaking the languages of the civilizations who colonized us...What would we be left with ? Chel7a ssoussia ? Zayane ? Tarifit ?

Dear Chelhman
How are you buddy? It has been a while since we have exchange post; part of it its my fault.
Funny enough, I agree with you because I Love languages. French is a lovely language; mastering any extra language is a gift our nation should be proud of. Using that tool appropriately requires discipline.
They are Moroccans who write and speak French far better than the majority of the present French people. We have a long list of our Moroccan French writers who we should be proud to have such as Tahir Ben Jaloune, abd Ellatif Elaabi, Mahdi el Menjera and others.
I was watching 2M and have seen youth trying so hard to make a couple of sentences in French, when they could have simply used our lovely Darija with one or two French words.
when one is asking a question in Darija and the other person is trying to be cool and struggling in French it shows a bit of disrespect
.
You are absolutely right about the integration of the French words in our language
And vice versa the north African dialogs in French. (Tahir Ben Jaloune has a short story about it)
Actually it is a very good point you mentioned about Arabic. It is the first foreign language but no one shows off by using it. Some of the Arab countries are so rich and more developed than Morocco. Is that because the Arabic language is seen not cool? Ugly? or because it reminds us of the primary schools?

Not that I would dare to do it, what would you think of me if you saw me in Morocco talking a bit of Darija and the rest in English ( good or bad English) to everyone regardless.

Best wishes
Regards

Quote
adds
Actually it is a very good point you mentioned about Arabic. It is the first foreign language but no one shows off by using it. Some of the Arab countries are so rich and more developed than Morocco. Is that because the Arabic language is seen not cool? Ugly? or because it reminds us of the primary schools?

Not that I would dare to do it, what would you think of me if you saw me in Morocco talking a bit of Darija and the rest in English ( good or bad English) to everyone regardless.

Hi Adds,

I do know people who show off in arabic, they love to dazzle you with pristine foss7â, quoting great arabic poetry.
Just as french or english are cool these days, I imagine that, early on, speaking perfect foss7â was a thing of the elite in our country. Now, since the arab world mainly projects an image of violence, conservatism and so on, it's not so attractive anymore. Arabs did it to themselves actually.

As for us, Moroccans, we absorb whatever comes in and take the best of it, if it's french or english, so be it, I have no problem with it. As long as it's done right, and it's not these days. You mentioned primary schools, the education system is so lousy, students are nowhere, arabic is not taught properly, french either. I wish people at the ministry of education made up their mind, we go that way or that way but the present system is schizophrenic. I'd love to hang the genius who decided to "arabize" science classes in the eighties, it was the beginning of the dumbing down of generations of students.

For your last question regarding speaking english, it would be fun to watch..., especially the reactions around you.
Take care.