By Jamal Elabiad
Whenever I come across a book or an article shedding light on the Amazigh question, I remember the demands of the Amazigh movement in the North African monarchy. Among the movement demands are “the teaching of Tamazight at all levels of education, the recognition of the Amazigh language as an official language, the re-writing of Moroccan history, the use of Tamazight in public life, and the authorization of Amazigh names.”
Doubtless Amazighs will sooner or later realize all their demands, excluding that of teaching Tamazight at all levels of education, or as some Amazigh activists put it, “Tamazight must be like Arabic or French at Moroccan school.” Truth be told, this is a pie in the sky.
Tamazight as a dialect of limited speakers and different writing systems (Tifinagh, the Latin alphabet, and the Arabic script) is unable to keep pace with science and global developments. Amazigh people, as a result, will remain ignorant of what’s happening around the world. A person, for instance, who speaks only Tamazight can’t surf the net. But if an Amazigh speaks Arabic, French, or English, s/he will not encounter any difficulties in everyday life. At this point, it’s worth noting that not all Arabic speakers are of Arab descent!
Another reason lying behind the impossibility of Tamazight becoming a major subject at school is the fact that it hasn’t entered yet a number of strategic spheres, such as the world wide web, the legal system, economy, and industry.
I totally agree with the researchers who suggested that Tamazight be used in primary school only to facilitate the learning of the other languages. For Example, to present the words religion, blood, and mother in Arabic, a teacher can use the Amazigh words eddin, idamen , and ymma respectively. These words are among a large number of words that Tamazight has borrowed from Arabic.
After 1956, the year Morocco gained independence, numerous “patriots” and political leaders, though they were advocates of Arabization, sent their children to study in France, for they were aware of the importance of the French language in the decades to come. And soon after coming back, their children became senior officials in Morocco. Anybody with an iota of knowledge on the Moroccan ruling elite can know where their grandchildren are studying now.
Those “patriots” and politicians reminded me of many Amazigh activists who master both French and English and whose children know next to nothing about Tamazight due to the fact that Tamazight lies beyond the scope of the French and American schools their children attend!
Like the “Arabists”, those Amazigh Activists are conscious of the importance of foreign languages at the present time, particularly English, but it isn’t for all Amazighs. It’s only for their children…!