In Morocco, young people prefer English to French

“In English please?” Saukena Mahanty interrupts the discussion. She wants to continue in English and she is not comfortable in French. “Our generation uses English a lot. A 19-year-old Moroccan woman he met at Mohammed VI University in Casablanca, where she was studying medicine. We exchange news, talk to each other, read, watch movies… in English. It is the language of the future for us! »

On university campuses in Morocco, the Darija (Interlanguage Arabic) has actually become permeable to English. Or at least “globish”, a simplified version of it. Othman Al-Gorch, 20, in the Faculty of Economics, judges a language “Easier, more effective, more popular”. So famous in his view, A “The Beginning of Change” Among his generation takes place: “French is gradually disappearing and English is replacing it. We are moving away from the old system towards a more modern, open Morocco. And much better. »

Morocco, the fourth most French-speaking country in the world, is slow “clicker” ? The international organization of La Francophonie estimates the proportion of French speakers in the country to be 36%. Although not an official language, French continues to play an important role in economic life, administration and the media. It is the first foreign language of school children And two-thirds enjoy the status of language of instruction in higher education courses. However, doubts are being asked about the future of Francophonie in the face of Molière’s attachment to the language, which will erode among large sections of young Moroccans in favor of Shakespeare.

“Self Learning”

A step A survey published by the British Council In 2021, 40% of them consider English an important language to learn, compared to 10% for French. Two-thirds believe that English will replace French as the first foreign language in the coming years.

A preference is measured by the criterion of their school level: only 11% of students pass the prerequisites in French at the end of middle school, According to a recent national estimate Released in 2021. “Upon attaining the baccalaureate degree, a student received 2,000 hours of French instruction, compulsory from the first year of elementary school, and less than 400 hours of English, taught from the last year of college. However, they often have a high level of English », reports Fouad Shafiqi, Inspector General for Education Affairs at the Ministry of National Education. theirs “Self Learning Practices”, their ” “Language Immersion” Explain this gap, according to him, in a largely English-speaking cultural universe. Like the fact that “English becomes their second language, no longer a foreign language”.

Current “irreplaceable” According to anthropologist Mohamed-Skir Zanjar, it began thus. “Undoubtedly similar to what Tunisia and Algeria are experiencing and what happened in Lebanon or Egypt”. In Morocco, The magazine’s founder observes Forewords, “Unbeknownst to us, English has arrived. We discovered that our children speak English late in the last ten years. Social demand is changing and public authorities are jumping into the fray.

On May 23, the Ministry of Education in a circular announced the gradual generalization of teaching English from the first year of college by 2025. In high school, there is talk of making it the language of instruction for some subjects, like French, while English-speaking courses are proliferating in universities. At the same time, the supply of trilingual private schools is developing in large cities. Seven British schools have sprung up since 2019, joining the historic five American schools, competing with a massive French network of 42 institutions – the second largest in the world after Lebanon.

“The place where the least French is spoken”

The evolution of the linguistic landscape in Morocco can be seen in the growing English-speaking shelves in bookstores and the creation of an English learning program on national radio in 2021. Or the announcement of plans to broadcast information in English on public television channels in early May.

Some studies still question this interest in English among young Moroccans. Can it be summed up as a fashion, a worthwhile choice? Does it have a political dimension? If Saukena chose the country’s first English-speaking medical faculty to open in 2021, it’s because of English. “The International Language: Research, Publications, Conferences… All in English, The French speaking area is very limited. » France is no longer the preferred destination for Moroccan students, according to him: “The dream of most people is to complete their studies in countries like USA, Canada, Great Britain, Dubai…”

For others, English is a neutral language with no colonial past. “More than sixty years after independence, it is time to turn the page”, Jawad Dousript, an engineering school student, argues. A colonial legacy, French has traditionally been the language of the country’s elite. But according to this 23-year-old young Casablancan, these power balances are shifting: “Before, you spoke a little French to show your social status. Today’s youth don’t like these categories. English is very democratic and it is for everyone. »

The evolution of social markers, in short, is measured at both ends of the scale. Among young people from working-class backgrounds with low levels of stigmatized French, the use of English is a “Revenge” : “Failure to master the social norms of the upper class, they further distance themselves from it and withdraw the stigma”, were analyzing, In a column published in Conversation In September 2022, Hafsa Al-Bekri, a researcher at the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez, and Hicham Septi, deputy director of Essec in Rabat, investigated this preference for English among their students.

“The New Elite”

In privileged circles, youth a “The New Elite” more english speaking, “Made on benches American, Canadian and British universities encourage more intensive use of English and strengthen links with the Anglo-Saxon world.. At the same time, add two educators, “Tensions between France and Morocco, particularly visa restrictions, or the rise of racist rhetoric in France, have revived these elites’ questions about the privileged relationship with this ally”.

Amid a major diplomatic chill between Paris and Rabat, the recent announcement to generalize English in middle school was interpreted and welcomed on social networks as a move. “Anti-French”When doing a lobbying “alternate” French through English at school is fueled by growing tensions. “However, this is not the position of the company, which has a strategy of linguistic diversification rather than substitution. Mr. Chafiqi assures. In my opinion, French is a part of our heritage that needs to be preserved. » However, he observes, “This alternative question, which did not arise a few years ago, is now constantly coming up in social debates, including in Parliament”.

But still “Can we be happy to stop teaching French? Why would you cut yourself off from a language, especially when you have a centuries-old multilingual history? », asks Kenza Sephiroi. Franco-Moroccan journalist and editor, coordinator of joint work Morocco: A War of Languages? (Fully, 2018), this claim with its aftertaste of decay misses the real issue: “Having an education system capable of guaranteeing equal opportunities and access to major international languages ​​for all. » Thus there is a need to break out of the logic of linguistic dominance and exclusion that breaks Moroccan society.