''Language Attitudes among Arabic–French Bilinguals in Morocco'' () is a 1983 book by Abdelâli Bentahila, published by the Clevedon company of Avon, England. The book discusses

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

bilingualism in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. The author was a Moroccan linguist who, after receiving his PhD, began teaching in the city of

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

(Fez) in Morocco.Weinstein, p. 437. The book focused on "balanced bilinguals" who attended bilingual secondary schools and/or universities.Stevens, p. 73. In the book Bentahila argued that the Moroccan officials do not consult their people on the language planning issue and therefore do not find success with their

language planning In sociolinguistics, language planning (also known as language engineering) is a deliberate effort to influence the function, structure or acquisition of languages or language varieties within a speech community.Kaplan B., Robert, and Richard ...

. He also concludes that the bilingual Moroccans who establish the education system believe both

Classical Arabic Classical Arabic ( ar, links=no, ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ, al-ʿarabīyah al-fuṣḥā) or Quranic Arabic is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notab ...

and

have an important role in Morocco's development and their own lives, and therefore they are highly loyal to both languages. As part of his research, Bentahila collected data from 432 Moroccans,Weinstein, p. 438. aged 17 to the late 30s who had been educated in both Arabic and

. His subjects included clerks, secretaries, students, and teachers.

The book has seven chapters. The initial portion of the book discusses the history of the languages of instruction in the Moroccan school system from the pre-colonial through post-colonial periods.Weinstein, p. 437-438. The next portion involves the author discussing the results of his questionnaire. and includes a survey of the literature about the language situation from inside and outside the Maghreb. The book has a chapter about comparative attitudes towards

Moroccan Arabic Moroccan Arabic ( ar, العربية المغربية الدارجة, translit=al-ʻArabīya al-Maghribīya ad-Dārija ), also known as Darija (), is the dialectal, vernacular form or forms of Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is part of the Maghrebi ...

, Classical Arabic, and French. There is also a chapter on language planning in Morocco.Weinstein, p. 439.

Reception

Paul B. Stevens of the '' Journal of Language and Social Psychology'' said that it was the first book-length work on bilingualism in North Africa written in the English language, and for writing the book Bentahila "is to be applauded on several counts." He said "Taken as a whole, Bentahila's book is a worthwhile one and, some of the remarks which follow notwithstanding, it deserved to be read."Stevens, p. 74. Brian Weinstein of the ''

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development The ''Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the study of topics in the sociology and social psychology of language, in language and cultural politics, policy, planning, and practice. T ...

'' wrote that the book is "an important addition to the literature on language attitudes" and that it "also is valuable methodologically and for the implicit and explicit suggestions for further research into attitudes and their relationship to social change or social stagnation."

References

*Stevens, Paul B.
Language Attitudes among Arabic-French Bilinguals in Morocco
" (book review) '' Journal of Language and Social Psychology''. 1985 4:73. p. 73-76
DOI: 10.1177/0261927X8500400107
*Weinstein, Brian ( Howard University Department of Political Science). "Language Attitudes Among Arabic-French Bilinguals in Morocco" (Book Review) ''

'', ISSN 0143-4632, 1984, Volume 5, Issue 5, p. 436-439.

Notes

{{reflist 1983 non-fiction books Languages of Morocco Books about Morocco Arabic language Francophonie Works about bilingualism

Contents

Reception

See also

References

Notes