Languages in Conflict: Examining the Status of Standard Arabic and French in Morocco

Language attitudes toward Standard Arabic (SA) and French in Moroccan sociolinguistic literature (Bentahila 1983; Ennaji 2005; Marley 2004) have been presented as occupying a relationship of functional complementarity, where SA epitomizes local culture and traditional values, while French is imbued with status, iconic of modernity, and presented as instrumental for social mobility. The results of a French and SA matched guise test (MGT) conducted in Morocco show covert attitudes of middle-class members indicating status contested in both French and SA, and that, for the middle class, the solidarity traits cannot be allocated to either French or SA. The results show that French, introduced in Morocco as an exogenous code, is considered exogenous and has not been appropriated to covert prestige. Although speakers attempted to use French in different social domains, it cannot be considered, for middle-class respondents, as a solidarity code. This study reveals a complex attitudinal landscape of a rapidly changing linguistic market characterized by ongoing tensions between ex-colonial, regional, and local tensions, where the availability of each code is continually contested and challenged.