Labyrinthine Linguistics in al-Maghrib

Ahlan w sahlan! La bas? Ma lish? Ça va? How’s it going?

I’ve entered another linguistic maze this summer, and compared to my trip to Niger last year I have to say it doesn’t necessarily get easier to navigate. In Niger there are dozens of indigenous languages with which I had no familiarity. French was the language of colonial administration and of formal secular education, so it was different from what most Nigeriens spoke in their daily lives and was also the second, third, fourth, etc. language for most speakers; its usage was, for the most part, clearly delineated once I became familiar with the sound of West African French.

In Morocco, it gets tricky because the spoken language in daily life and the written and more formal language of media, etc. are closely related forms of Arabic: one, the local dialect known as Darija, and the other, Fus’ha, often referred to in English as Modern Standard. It’s hard to know in which language someone is speaking, and, in fact, it seems like this is not only due to my own confusion but also due to uncertainty by others about what I’ll understand. (In truth, I’ve probably misunderstood some of the linguistic relationships I’m about to describe.) Darija blends standard Arabic with vocabulary derived from French and from indigenous Amazigh (Berber) languages, which are related to Tamasheq (the Tuareg language I studied a bit while in Niger). But beyond simply drawing new vocabulary there are completely different expressions, greetings, patterns for verb conjugations, etc. Further complicating the picture is that not all Moroccans have studied Fus’ha. In other words, the little Arabic I have studied so far—Fus’ha, in my coursework—has limited utility at this stage.

Each day I am speaking a blend of Fus’ha, Darija, French, and English with members of my host family in order to be understood. Remarkably, we’re getting by, and it’s an absolutely exhausting but rewarding experience. The other students are at a variety of levels of Arabic; I am among those with the least amount of training, so it can sometimes be frustrating as I can’t always keep up with everyone else, even though almost none of us arrived familiar with Moroccan Darija. On Monday we’ll resume classes in Fus’ha but will also begin studying Darija, which will make communicating in Morocco infinitely more enjoyable and rewarding. [Note: I wrote this on Saturday but didn’t get a chance to post until Monday…I’ve done the Darija class, it’s great; I’ve also just met my Moroccan language partner, Younnes, with whom I’ll be meeting at least 3 hours a week to talk, explore Meknes, etc.]

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Baab al-Mansour, a beautiful and enormous doorway in the old walls of Meknes.
Baab al-Mansour, a beautiful and enormous doorway in the old walls of Meknes.

View from the roof of the language center where I'm studying. You can see part of the gorgeous plateau in which Meknes is nestled; the climate and environment is really, really pleasant—it's been cooler than it was in Southern California lately, but completely sunny.
View from the roof of the language center where I’m studying. You can see part of the gorgeous plateau in which Meknes is nestled; the climate and environment is really, really pleasant—it’s been cooler than it was in Southern California lately, but completely sunny. [Update on Monday: Okay, now that I’m carrying a bag full of books around town, I’ll admit that it’s become rather hot.]
The Language Pledge: "I will speak Arabic (and Moroccan darija) only from now until the end of the program, and . . ." [we then add our own component to the pledge]
The Language Pledge: “I will speak Arabic (and Moroccan darija) only from now until the end of the program, and . . .” [we then add our own component to the pledge]

Tea at my Moroccan home on Friday. Friday is the big prayer day and pretty much all of Morocco takes a shorter work day and eats couscous. We hosted some other students from my program and members of their host families. Here you see some members of my host family as well as my classmate Michael and my roommate Corey (from left to right): Ifnan, Yussef, Michael, Corey, Hafsa, and Lotfy.
Tea at my Moroccan home on Friday. Friday is the big prayer day and pretty much all of Morocco takes a shorter work day and eats couscous. We hosted some other students from my program and members of their host families. Here you see some members of my host family as well as my classmate Michael and my roommate Corey (from left to right): Ifnan, Yussef, Michael, Corey, Hafsa, and Lotfy.

4 Replies to “Labyrinthine Linguistics in al-Maghrib”

  1. Love the 1st posting. Looks like an awesome adventure and experience. Enjoy your precious time and have a blast Eric. Love you, Aunt Jeanne

  2. Thanks for sharing what you can, Eric. You know that we are fascinated with your travels and enjoy whatever photos / details you have time to post. It’s important and wonderful that you are broadening our minds and enriching our knowledge of other cultures and the influence of music in our world.

  3. So happy for you that you get to have these amazing experiences traveling the world. It is so cool to see what other cultures are like rather than seeing it on tv or reading in a book. I am looking forward to hearing more of your adventures. Hailey loves seeing the pictures and hearing the stories. She has always referred to you as “prince” Eric and now her prince eric is traveling the places where the disney princes from the movies actually live. EXCITING through a 6yr olds eyes!!!

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