Morocco Languages

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Morocco

Languages

Description

Morocco's official languages are:

• Moroccan Arabic - known as Darija.
• Berber - Also known as Standard Moroccan Berber. There are three dialects spoken:
  • Tarifit
  • Tashelhit
  • Central Atlas Tamazight

French is widely used in government, media, companies, international commerce, and often in international diplomacy. French is taught as an obligatory language in all schools.
Spanish is spoken by many Moroccans, particularly in the northern regions.

A Government study in 2012 showed -

• 98% of Moroccans spoke Moraccan Arabic
• 63% spoke French
• 26% spoke Berber
• 14% spoke English
• 10% spoke Spanish

Word List(s)

• Arabic Genealogical Word List
• French Genealogical Word List
• Spanish Genealogical Word List
• Useful Moroccan Arabic phrases - Omniglot
• 50 basic words and phrases in Moroccan Arabic - SpeakMoroccan
• Moroccan Arabic Phrases and Common Sentences - Linguanaut
• Moroccan Arabic: Phrases and Vocabulary - FeelMorocco
• Some useful sentences in Moroccan Arabic - Wikipedia
• Bacon, Dan. Moroccan Arabic phrasebook. Footscray, Vic: Lonely Planet, 2013. Available at: WorldCat.

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Alphabet

• Moroccan Arabic alphabet - Omniglot
• Moroccan Arabic Vowels & Consonants - Wikipedia
• Central Atlas Tamazight Alphabet - Omniglot

Pronunciation

• Moroccan Arabic Pronunciation - Tijine Qui Parle
• Moroccan Arabic pronunciation dictionary - Forvo

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Dictionaries

• Harrell, Richard S and Harvey Sobelman. A dictionary of Moroccan Arabic. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004. Available at: WorldCat.
• Maamouri, Mohamed. The Georgetown dictionary of Moroccan Arabic : Arabic-English, English Arabic. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
• McClelland, Clive W. A Tarifit Berber-English dictionary. Lewiston, N.Y: Edwin Mellen Press, 2004. Available at: WorldCat.

Online Dictionaries

• Dictionary English - Moroccan Arabic - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Standard Moroccan Tamazight - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Tarifit - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Tachelhit - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Central Atlas Tamazight - Glosbe

Language Aids

• Moroccan Arabic Grammar - Wikipedia
• Harrell, Richard S. A short reference grammar of Moroccan Arabic. Washington, D.C: Georgetown Univ Press, 2010. Available at: WorldCat.
• Ennaji, Moha. Contrastive syntax : English, Moroccan Arabic, and Berber complex sentences. Würzburg: Königshausen + Neumann, 1985. Available at: WorldCat.
• Alalou, Ali. Grammar of Tamazight. Muenchen: LINCOM GmbH, 2019. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

• Moroccan Arabic 101 - IndustryArabic
• Abdel-Massih, Ernest T. An introduction to Moroccan Arabic. Ann Arbor, MI: MPublishing, 2011. Available at: WorldCat.