It uses a historical perspective to understand the processes involved in language change, language policies and languageineducation practices of the polity. A sociolinguistic study of language policy in algeria. It is suggested that algeria is in need of a new transitional teacher training and development system as an essential requirement for the appropriate implementation of this policy. Upon decolonisation, nationalist leaders in two north african countries, algeria and sudan, promoted a policy called arabisation tarib, which sought to impose standard literary arabic at the expense of english in sudan, french in algeria, and other local languages in both places. Two main modern pronouncements on language policy in nigeria merit our attention, to wit the national policy on education 1977, revised in 1981, and the 1979 constitution, which is more cited than its 1989 reincarnation. An introduction to modern algerian history and politics being algerian has been described as the most complicated history of citizenship in the world khanna 2008. Algeria combines an ancient berber culture with the historical in. The third part addresses the status of the french and english languages. Language policy and planning, described in the fourth part, considers, first, the unilingual demand of the nationalist period in favour of arabisation, then, the new language policy which promotes multilingualism within a democratising structure. Lillian flemons graduated in 2020 from an mphil in multidisciplinary gender studies from the university of cambridge. Pdf this paper is a personal reflection that will attempt to foreground the evolution of the english language in algeria since this country. Competition of these languages is linked to the french. This monograph describes the language planning situation in algeria.
Algerian arabic has a substantially changed vocabulary with many new words and many words from berber, turkish, and french, and, like all arabic dialects, has dropped the case endings of the written language. The primary focus is to explore the linguistic context in order to identify the principles of language policy making in algeria that have produced the current situation. Language policy, multilingual education, and power in. Pdf language and politics in algeria mohamed benrabah.
Algeria proved to be a relevant example to language planning between the former colonial language french, and the native languages tamazight and algerian. It argues that arabisation led to crises and that recent policy decisions may produce changes that are more in tune with the countrys linguistic situation. Language policy meets gender in algeria middle east centre. An exploration of foreign language teachers beliefs about. The present paper attempts to deeply describe foreign language policy in algerian education in general and at higher education in. However, a month before independence, algerian revolutionary leaders declared that. One of the most widely circulated algerian newspapers liberte.
In 1993, the algerian government introduced english as the first foreign language in primary schools instead of french, a colonial language so far dominant. Language ineducation policy and planning volume 14 christina bratt paulston, susanne mclaughlin skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Country case study on the language of instruction and the quality of. Senior lecturer tlemcen universityalgeria faculty of. Fortyfive countries are represented, and understandably, the languages are listed on the map close to the. In actual facts, the education system is described as a real failure. Before colonialism, algeria was home primarily to arabic and berber speakers. The book also discusses the implications this language policy will have on language ineducation planning in algeria, namely from the perspective of teacher education. The query of language education policies in algeria appears to be among the most crucial issues involved in current language research. This paper argues from a different trajectory of diaglossic language policy such that gives functional roles to both. Zakia djebbari senior lecturer tlemcen university algeria faculty of letters and foreign languages department of english email. Language policies of algeria we distinguish two main language policies in algeria. Languageineducation planning in algeria univtebessa. All official documents are printed in arabic and those from nonarab households usually learn the language in school.
The interplay between language and politics in a postcolonial country fouzi bellalem abstract. This paper examines the factors behind the weak performance of a big number of algerian english learners at university despite their high motivation to learn that language in reference to the educational reforms implemented at all educational levels since 2000 to the present day and the learners complex linguistic background. Since language policies are largely communicated in schools, my research also focuses on algerian schools and how arabic and french are represented within the education system. Due to algerias french colonial past, french was the first foreign language taught in algerian schools.
Algeria s economy is dominated by its export trade in petroleum and natural gas, commodities that, despite fluctuations in world prices, annually contribute roughly onethird of the countrys gross domestic product gdp. English language policy in algeria 1990 1999 english language policy in algeria 1990 1999. Tshotsho university of fort hare private bag x 14, alice, south africa abstract this paper evaluates the current mother tongue debates and the south african language policy. The algerian postindependence linguistic policy a recovery of. Leading arabic language newspaper based in kouba, algiers echorouk online. Nonnative speakers learn literary arabic at school, and as such a relative majority of the population understands standard arabic or the algerian arabic dialect. The intergovernmental conference on language policies in africa, which was held in harare zimbabwe from 17 21 march 1997, was the first meeting of its kind involving language specialists attending as governmental experts and doing the preparatory work for and advising. Algeria s official language is arabic, which is spoken by an estimated 81% of the population. The first section of the paper focuses on the recent changes in government language policy return to arabicfrench bilingualism in schools and reactions to them following the recommendations made by the national commission for the reform of the educational system in march 2001. Algeria makes an interesting object for study on language policy and. Origins and characteristics of the arabization policy 1. Language policy and planning in algeria, cote divoire, nigeria and tunisia. The language in education policy documents which follow have been the subject of discussions and debate with a. The language planning situation in algeria request pdf.
Until 1962 the economy was based largely on agriculture and complemented frances economy. In fact, english was introduced in grade 4 of some pilot primary schools, before it was. Mohamed benrabahs detailed and wideranging study addresses each aspect of the question, from everyday language attitudes, through the problems of policy and planning, to education, popular culture, and literature. The third part examines the language profile of algeria and the diachronic evolution that led to it. Mother tongue debate and language policy in south africa dr.
Language planning decisions may be required, for example, where a number of linguistic groups compete for access to the mechanisms of daytoday life, or where a particular linguistic minority. The evolution of rwandas language policies since 1996 has played and continues to play a critical role in social reconstruction following war and genocide. An exploration of foreign language teachers beliefs about curriculum innovation in algeria. Teaching english in algeria and educational reforms. It also discusses problems that have arisen from the arabisation. The first one is the policy of arabisation between 1962 and 1999. It is believed that algeria absorbed heavy colonial impact not only in its social life but also in its educational policy. Since july 2015, a heated ideological debate on language and its relation to national identity has occupied algeria, sparked by the ministry of educations decision to use dialect or colloquial arabic language in teaching during the early stages of primary school. For the elite of independent algeria, arabization signified the policy of substituting modern standard arabic msa for french in politics, education, and public administration.
This language policy reflected the worldview of muslim leaders, who hoped to break from the. Algerian arabic is the language of 73% of algerias population. It uses a historical perspective to understand the processes involved in language change, language policies and language in. Pdf english language policy in algeria 1990 1999 fouzi. In algeria, as elsewhere, spoken arabic differs very substantially from written arabic. This paper examines language poli cy in algeria, known as arabization, and its effect on education and the economy. The language situation in algeria mohamed benrabah 3. Algeria is one of a handful of countries that have achieved 20% poverty reduction in the past two decades. An introduction to modern algerian history and politics.
Language of instruction policy and practice in africa ayo bamgbose preliminary information and comments this text is intended to accompany the map entitled african community languages and their use in education. Since the colonial era, the politics of language has been one of the most corrosive and divisive issues in algeria. Library of congress federal research division country profile. Most of the population resides along the mediterranean coast, while the sahara and its extreme climate dominate the country. The final part of the monograph focuses on future prospects against the background of past practices and algerias new language policy. Algeria, large, predominantly muslim country of north africa. Although an integral part of the maghreb and the larger arab world, algeria also has a sizable amazigh berber population.
The first section of the paper focuses on the recent changes in government language policy return to arabicfrench bilingualism in schools and reactions to them following the recommendations made by the national commission for the reform of the educational system in. The second policy concerns the educational reform since 2000. The paper presents the language policy arabisation pursued in algeria since independence in 1962. Chapter two provides an insight into the history of language policy in algeria. The algerian government took significant steps to improve the wellbeing of its people by implementing social policies in line with the united nations sustainable development goals. The aim of this paper is to present a critical overview of language policy development in south africa. Algeria is a pertinent example of language contact and planning between a former colonial language french, a language of national identity standard arabic and native languages algerian arabic. The policy makers frame the change as a major factor in the success of social and education reforms aimed at promoting. Also, second or third generation immigrants have often been naturalised, while still speaking their grandparents heritage language. An outlook into reforms abstract the query of language education policies in algeria appears to be among the most crucial issues involved in current. Status of languages in algeria in 1962 when it became independent in 1962, algeria was a multilingual. Arabic has been the official language of the country since 1963. Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctorate in education. He calls his book a study of the use of language as a proxy for conflict p.
Arabic algerian translation services english to arabic. Learn more about the algeria economy, including the population of algeria, gdp, facts, trade, business, inflation and other data and analysis on its economy from the index of economic freedom. In language conflict in algeria, mohamed benrabah surveys nearly two centuries worth of language politics and linguistic culture in algeria, from the eve of the french colonial conquest of 1830 until 2012. Comments by responsible african writers support this original intention. Mother tongue debate and language policy in south africa. Language policy and planning decisions arise in response to sociopolitical needs. The issue of language education policies in algeria is a sensitive. Newspaper published in french language and covering economy, culture, inside algeria news, history, and more. For example, professor ali mazrui in an article published as recently as 1967 commented on the comparatively mild and smooth conclusion of british colonial rule and contrasted this with the antibritish language policy in tanganyika after independence. Languages and language policies in germany 225 language, not much is gained from statistics on countries of origin.