De la diglossie à la
quadriglossie
pp. 49-64
Moha Ennaji
Abstract
Ferguson's (1959) theory of
diglossia whereby the Arab world has two varieties of Arabic. one high (Classical
Arabic) and one low (Dialectal Arabic), is no longer valid as it does not
reflect the present-day linguistic situation in Morocco and perhaps in the
rest of the Maghreb. In reality, four varieties of Arabic co-exist (quadriglossia)
with each one them having its own linguistic features, functions and domains
of use. Classical Arabic is the language of the Coran and of ancient Arabic
literature. Standard Arabic is linguistically less rigid than Classical
Arabic; it is the language of modern culture used in the media, education,
and administration. Modern Moroccan Arabic is an emerging variety which is
basically associated with the educated. it is much simpler than Standard
Arabic and uses Standard Arabic lexicon extensively. It is spoken on radio,
television, and in schools in semi-formal situations. Finally, there is
Dialectal Arabic, the variety spoken in everyday conversations at home, iii
the street, at work. in the market place. etc. In general, educated
Moroccans practice this kind of quadriglossia because they have internalized
the four Arabic varieties. Quadriglossia may have serious ramifications for
education given the linguistic gap between home and school. The writing
medium and the transfer of knowledge is carried out essentially through
Standard Arabic and French. In education, more weight is to be assigned to
the mother tongue and to the other intermediate Arabic varieties in order to
depict the sources of interference and the causes of the pedagogical hurdles
which hinder school achievement. |