French in the Maghreb

Algeria was part of the French colonial empire for over 130 years (1830-1962). Among the population of Algeria, there were more than a million French - speaking French -Algerians who, after Algeria gained independence in 1962, were expelled to France ^[2] .

Since gaining independence in 1962, the Algerian government has embarked on the course of Arabizing the country. Thus, a government decree of 1968 obliged all senior officials of Algeria to learn the Arabic language, in 1976 the National Charter was published, proclaiming a universal transition to the use of the Arabic language in all spheres of public and political life. In the new edition of the 1986 National Charter, the orientation towards the Arabization of the country was confirmed, and the Arabic language was recognized as the only means of national unity of the Algerian people. In 1991, there was a further tightening of the language policy - a ban was introduced on the use of any foreign language in all spheres of government , as well as in manufacturing enterprises and public organizations . In 1996, the country was tasked with completing the process of Arabization by 1998 ^[3] . At the same time, after a political debate in the late 1990s about replacing French with English in the education system, the government decided to keep French. English in Algeria is taught in first grade high school. Despite the large number of francophone, Algeria is the only Maghreb country that has not joined the Francophonie organization.

The policy of Arabization has led to the formation in Algerian society of two opposing camps: supporters of Arabization and supporters of the French (official) Algeria. Proponents of Arabization advocate the spread of the Arabic language in absolutely all spheres of public life , their opponents advocate a moderate and rational approach to the use of native and foreign languages ^[3] . Since the 1980s, the split between proponents of Arabization and Frenchization has deepened significantly and the existing complementarity of the Arab and French-speaking elites of Algerian society turned into their rivalry. Algerian President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika , who was in power in 1999-2019, takes a fairly moderate position regarding Arabization and pays tribute to all the languages ​​that exist in the country, including French.

According to government regulations, the following percentage quotas for use in administrative procedures (in official documents at the national and local levels, in judicial proceedings and in the religious sphere), as well as in the field of education (in primary, secondary and higher education), in the media (in the press, on radio, television, in cinema, in publishing), in private business and in professional activities:

• literary Arabic - 52.1%
• Algerian dialect of the Arabic language - 7.24%
• Tamazigh languages - 2.34%
• French - 32.47%
• English - 5.84% ^[3] .

At the same time, in the real language practice of the country, the picture is completely different:

• literary Arabic - 21.9%
• Algerian Arabic dialect - 50.4%
• Tamazigh languages ​​- 9.4%
• French - 16.1%
• English is 2.2% ^[3] .

Thus, the literary Arabic language in Algeria has a clearly overestimated status compared to its actual use in national language practice. As for the French language, which is officially prescribed a much smaller role, the level of its actual use is approaching the actual level of use of the literary Arabic language.

In Morocco, French serves as the lingua franca . As the Moroccan king Hassan II noted, “Morocco is a tree that is deeply rooted in African soil, but breathes the winds of Europe blowing its leaves ... It is a nation of synthesis, a link between the East and the West” ^[1] .

Data on the number of French speakers in Morocco vary. According to the Francophonie , 33% of Moroccans speak French, among them 13.5% are fully French-speaking. According to the 2004 census, almost 69% of alphabetic people can write and read in French.

French is the second most widely spoken language in Tunisia , which forced the first president of independent Tunisia, Habib Bourguib, to pass a law protecting the Arabic language. This law prescribed the compulsory study of Arabic in schools. Currently, Tunisian schoolchildren study French without fail from primary school. Educated people in Tunisia during a conversation among themselves often switch from Arabic to French and vice versa, without attaching special importance to such an arbitrary change of language.

Tunisia has been part of the Francophonie organization since 1970 ^[4] . According to government estimates submitted for the Francophonie, the number of French speakers in Tunisia is 6.360 million, or 63.6% of the country's population.

Mauritania has been a member of Francophonie since 1980 ^[4] . A significant portion of the population speaks French. In Arabic and French, there are: daily government newspaper Al-Shaab (Al-Chaab - “People”), weekly independent newspaper Nouakchott-info (Nouakchott-Info - “Nouakchott-info”), 6 times a year newspaper “The People” ( French Le Peuple ). In addition, the government-sponsored Journal of Officel ( French Journal Officiel ) is published in French every two weeks. Broadcast broadcasts are carried out in Arabic, French and the local languages ​​of Wolof , Sarakol and Tukuler ^[5] .

• African French
• Languages ​​Algeria
• Languages ​​of Tunisia
• Languages ​​Morocco
• Languages ​​of Mauritania