BETWEEN FRENCH AND ARABIC: LANGUAGE CONTACT AND CODE SWITCHING IN MOROCCO

Abstract

The language situation in Morocco is an ongoing process jointly influenced by historical, political, sociocultural, and educational forces. The ethnocultural diversity, colonialism, post-independence discourse, and language policy are all dynamic structures that have shaped the multilingual landscape and particularly influenced the status and use of Moroccan Arabic. The aim of this study is to contextualize these forces in relation to the linguistic evolution of Moroccan Arabic and its frequent use of code switching. To this end, I review the language contact and code switching between Moroccan Arabic and French and its constraints at the covert and the overt levels. Adopting this approach is crucial for the understanding of language shift and language attitudes and the implications for Moroccan society and language policy in education.