Languages in the Maghreb and the Arab World in the light of the 2011 Spring revolution

COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL HALLE, COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL HALLE, LANGUES EN CONTACT: LE FRANÇAIS À TRAVERS LANGUES EN CONTACT: LE FRANÇAIS À TRAVERS LE MONDELE MONDE

Languages in the Maghreb and the Arab World in the Languages in the Maghreb and the Arab World in the light of the 2011 Spring revolutionlight of the 2011 Spring revolution

• The background: multiculturalism linked to English as a global language which in some cases enables to overcome frustrations from the language of the colonizer

• Tifinagh (dental clinic)• Sociolinguists on Facebook• Academia Sin Fronteras

Dr Daphné L. Romy-Masliah

Why such a topic?Why such a topic?

"Dégage" élu mot de l'année 2011 par le Festival du mot

• Cf. Editorial du Monde: • Après deux années "économiques" avec les choix de "Dette" en 2010 et

de "Parachute doré" en 2009, les jurés du "mot de l'année" qui élisent tous les ans, un mot censé incarner la tendance forte de l'année en cours, ont cette fois-ci, fait un retour au politique, en choisissant "Dégage !".

• Ce choix n'est pas franchement une surprise (…), mais il réjouit Stéphane Hessel, président d'honneur du festival du mot, Le festival du mot qui se tient à La Charité-sur-Loire, dans la Nièvre, jusqu'au dimanche 5 juin, réunit 15 000 personnes environ. »

Colloque International Halle, Langues Colloque International Halle, Langues en contact: le Français à travers le en contact: le Français à travers le

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More seriously…but humour is More seriously…but humour is never far….never far….

Colloque International Halle, Langues en contact: le Français à travers le mondeColloque International Halle, Langues en contact: le Français à travers le monde

DEGAGE, has become a sign of protest and refusal, a word which at present est devenu signe de protestation et de refus, un mot qui perfore actuellement les tympans de plusieurs dirigeants et qui symbolise la REVOLTE contre tout régime dictatorial. http://www.tunivisions.net

Dégager: Verbe du 1er groupe se conjuguant avec le verbe avoirImpératif Présent

dégagedégageonsdégagez

) DEGAGE, est devenu signe de protestation et de refus, un mot qui perfore actuellement les tympans de plusieurs dirigeants et qui symbolise la REVOLTE contre tout r égime dictatorial.

En françaisEn français

Colloque International Halle, Langues en contact: le Français à travers le monde

La révolution françaiseLa révolution française influence influence


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La dégage attitudeLa dégage attitude


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Linguistic mazeLinguistic maze

BERBER LANGUAGES

ABORIGINAL

AMERINDIAN

LANGUAGES…and beyond!!!!!

Meaningful political gesture?

Or….

Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity

Flash in the pan?

Success? English is the international language but this fact actually helps

preserving regional or minority languages

(Maurais, 2003)

Failure? Changes in the contents or function of a

language can only be actualized by social

acceptance and not by decree… » Khubchandani,

1977:38)


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North Africa and North Africa and (T)amazight (T)amazight

French linguistic hegemony and ensuing arabization;

Algerian multilingualism and perpetual diglossia;

Tamazight and amazighity

Morroccan recognition of Tachelhit (Schleuh)

Tunisian on its final days (thanks Rahouda Kamoun!) despite UN demands

Diversity and globalization with English as an increasingly educational prerequesite…


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The various groupsThe various groups• Oldest group in North Africa dating back to 10,000 BC

(Gravel, 1978:28). • The majority of the descendants of these Berbers

are to be found nowadays in Algeria and Morocco.• Very few Kabyles remain in Tunisia, less than one

percent of the population mostly located southern part on the island of Djerba. (ghriba synagogue built by my ancestors, the Didi family)

• 5 groups in Morocco (estimated 50% of the population speaking 3 language varieties Tamazighe, tarifit and tachelhit), 4 in Algeria (Kabyles, Schawias, the Mozabites and the touaregs)


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The spread….cf. Le Diplo 1994 and 1995The spread….cf. Le Diplo 1994 and 1995


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Recognition vs Application Recognition vs Application of a Lawof a Law

In Algeria, The 1989 Constitution, article 3, stipulates that « l’arabe est la langue nationale et officielle ». However a major step is taken in the preamble where a mention is made of the « amazighity », i.e. the Berber Civilization :

Aboutissement d’une longue résistance aux agressions menées contre sa culture, ses valeurs et les composantes fondamentales de son identité que sont l’islam, l’arabité et l’amazighité, le 1er novembre aura solidement ancré les luttes présentes dans le passé glorieux de la Nation.

•Executive Decree nr. 03-470, appendix B on National Educational and Linguistic Centre for the Teaching of Tamazight »•In Peru the 23d of June RECOGNITION….•And even if a law were enacted and enforced…The Irish Case…


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In MoroccoIn Morocco

• 2001 creation of the IRCAM (Institut Royal de la Culture Amazigh au Maroc) with an aim to standardize and obtain official recognition of the language;

• 2007 introduction in the public education

• Introduction of the tifinagh alphabet


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Let’s thus briefly review some of Let’s thus briefly review some of the International Instruments the International Instruments

• The European Charter of Minority and Regional languages of November 1992

• UN Periodical reviews and their impact on Member-States :– the 74th Session of Feb.16th to March 6th,

2009 inviting Tunisia to amend. It’s people took care of the amendment in January 2011!


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Reasons to doubtReasons to doubt

• While all these groups try, thanks to the UN working groups on Indigenous population, to unite, such as agreeing to hold an international Amazigh Congress ,

• « What always stood as an obstacle to the Berbers is their isolation. ‘If we could manage to gather our forces we would have a considerable impact, especially at a time when the Arab Maghreb Union project is rather weak’ declares M. Ouzzin Aherdan. It would be the first time since 2000 years, since Jugurtha, that Berbers are unified. »Joël Donnet, Monde Diplomatique, 1995….


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Reasons to remain optimisticReasons to remain optimistic• Departments of Berber language and cultures have been created

since the 90s in Tizi-Ouzou and Béjaia Universities;• Daily news broadcasts in Berber languages (on the Arabic TV…)

and a national channel: Tamazight TV4 started on 18 March 2009 transmitting 6 hours a day in Kabyle, Chaouia, Targui, Chenoui and Mozabites.

• source of minoration : berber is only’ ‘également langue nationale’ while arabic is the national and official language;

• The central question of graphic transcription was finally decided in favour of latin characters instead of the arabic alphabet…not in Morocco, Algerian arch-enemy which adopted the tifinagh!

• Thursday 8 october 2009 : According to a survey by El Watan (daily newspaper), 59% of population (higher academic degree) is in favour of the generalisation of the optional teaching in Tamazight. 27% think that Tamazight shouldn’t be taught (lower or no primary education).


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Some concluding remarksSome concluding remarks

Exerpts from an Interview of Abdelaziz Berkaï, Berber Linguistics Professor at the Bgayet (Bougie)University

How did you get to where you are now ?During the Spring 80 Berber upraising the demonstrators made us conme with them and scream « Imazighen ! Imazighen !... Ad nerrez wala ad neknu !... This marked me for life. Then later with three students we created a secret group with a tifinagh symbol (Z) and collected words including the names of plants in kabyle

The UNESCO forecasts the disappearance of the berber language after 2050, what’s your opinion?

The simple fact that in amazigh speaking regions, thousands of young people less than 20 years old are unilingual (Kabyles, Touaregs, chleuhs...) However, it’s positive in the fact that it shakes the amazigh speaking population. And Internet helped reviving Esperanto and Yiddish…

CONCLUDING PARAMETERSCONCLUDING PARAMETERS


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BibliographyBibliography

Abid-Houcine, S. (2006). Plurilinguisme en Algérie, Sidi Bel Abbès.Ali, M. O. (2003). Enseignement du Tamazight à Sidi Bel Abbès. Le quotidien d'Oran. Oran: 13.

http://www.amazighworld.orgKeon-Cohen, B. and B. Morse (1984). Indigenous Land Rights in Australia and Canada.

Aborigenes and the Law. P. Hanks and K.-C. B. Sydney, George Allen and Unwin: 74.

Grin, F. (1994). Combining Immigrant and Autochthonous language rights. Linguistic Human Rights: Overcoming Linguistic Discrimination. T. Skuttnab-Kangas and R. Phillipson. Berlin-New York, Mouton de Gruyter. 1: 39:70.

Jenson, J. (1993). "Naming Nations: Making Nationalist Claims in Canadian Public Discourse." Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology(29): 385-396.

Koubi, G. (2000). Penser les Minorités en Droit. Le Droit et les Minorités: analyses et textes. A. Fenet, G. Koubi and I. Schulte-Tenckhoff. Bruxelles, Bruylant: 385-468.

Schulte-Tenckhoff, I. (2000). Le Droit et les Minorités. Le Droit et les Minorités: analyses et textes. A. Fenet, G. Koubi and I. Schulte-Tenckhoff. Bruxelles, Bruylant: 661.

UNESCO, Atlas des Langues en Danger, Mars 2009 version électronique.Varennes (de), F. (1999). Les droits de l'homme et la protection des minorités

linguistiques. Langues et Droit: Langues du droit, droit des langues. H. Guillorel and G. Kouby. Bruxelles, Bruylant: 129-141.


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Final noteFinal note

• Sociolinguists on FB and Académie Sans Frontières on FB;

• Cosmopolitanism.wordpress.com• Droit et Culture on English and Cultures and

upcoming issue S’entendre sur la Langue with contributions of J. Fishman, G.Solis and M.Yatako, F.de Varennes and many more from all continents!

• [email protected]

Languages in the Maghreb and the Arab World in the light of the 2011 Spring revolution

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