Moroccan Arabic


Moroccan Arabic is a form of vernacular Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is part of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum, and as such is mutually intelligible to some extent with Algerian Arabic and to a lesser extent with Tunisian Arabic. It has been heavily influenced mainly by the Berber languages and to a lesser extent by Latin, Punic, Persian, French, and Spanish.
While Modern Standard Arabic is rarely spoken in daily life and is used to varying degrees in formal situations such as religious sermons, books, newspapers, government communications, news broadcasts or political talkshows, Moroccan Arabic is the spoken common language of Morocco, and has a strong presence in Moroccan television entertainment, cinema and commercial advertising.
Sahrawi Hassaniya Arabic spoken in the disputed Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara is usually considered as a separate spoken Arabic variety.
Moroccan Arabic has many regional dialects and accents as well. Its mainstream dialect is the one used in Casablanca, Rabat and Fez and therefore it dominates the media eclipsing the other regional dialects like the ones spoken in Tangiers and Oujda.
It is spoken as a first language by about 50% to 75% of Morocco's population. The other half speaks one of the Tamazight languages. Educated Moroccan Tamazight-speakers can communicate in mainstream Moroccan Arabic.

Dialects

Moroccan Arabic was formed of several dialects of Arabic several belonging to two genetically different groups: pre-Hilalian and Hilalian dialects.

Pre-Hilalian dialects

Pre-Hilalian dialects are a result of early Arabization phases of the Maghreb, from the 7th to the 12th centuries, concerning the main urban settlements, the harbors, the religious centres as well as the main trade routes. The dialects are generally classified in three types: urban, "village" and "mountain" sedentary and Jewish dialects. In Morocco, several pre-Hilalian dialects are spoken:
Hilalian, or Bedouin, dialects were introduced to Morocco following the settlement of several Hilalian and Mâqilian tribes in western Morocco brought by the Berber Almohad king Yaqub Mansur.
The Hilalian dialects spoken in Morocco belong to the Mâqil subgroup, a family that includes three main dialectal areas: western Morocco, eastern Morocco and western Algeria, and the southernmost Hassaniya area. Among the dialects, Hassaniya is often considered as distinct from Moroccan Arabic.
Modern urban koines are also based on the Hilalian dialects and have mainly Hilalian features.

Phonology

Vowels

One of the most notable features of Moroccan Arabic is the collapse of short vowels. Initially, short and were merged into a phoneme . This phoneme was then deleted entirely in most positions; for the most part, it is maintained only in the position /...CəC#/ or /...CəCC#/, i.e. when appearing as the last vowel of a word. When is not deleted, it is pronounced as a very short vowel, tending towards in the vicinity of emphatic consonants, in the vicinity of pharyngeal and , and elsewhere. Original short usually merges with except in the vicinity of a labial or velar consonant. In positions where was deleted, /ŭ/ was also deleted, and is maintained only as labialization of the adjacent labial or velar consonant; where is maintained, surfaces as. This deletion of short vowels can result in long strings of consonants. These clusters are never simplified; instead, consonants occurring between other consonants tend to syllabify, according to a sonorance hierarchy. Similarly, and unlike most other Arabic dialects, doubled consonants are never simplified to a single consonant, even when at the end of a word or preceding another consonant.
Some dialects are more conservative in their treatment of short vowels. For example, some dialects allow in more positions. Dialects of the Sahara, and eastern dialects near the border of Algeria, preserve a distinction between and and allow to appear at the beginning of a word, e.g. "shorter", "go up!", "friends".
Long, and are maintained as semi-long vowels, which are substituted for both short and long vowels in most borrowings from Modern Standard Arabic. Long and also have many more allophones than in most other dialects; in particular, appear as in the vicinity of emphatic consonants and,,,, but elsewhere. In some dialects, such as that of Marrakech, front-rounded and other allophones also exist. Allophones in vowels usually do not exist in loanwords.
Emphatic spreading occurs much less than in many other dialects. Emphasis spreads fairly rigorously towards the beginning of a word and into prefixes, but much less so towards the end of a word. Emphasis spreads consistently from a consonant to a directly following vowel, and less strongly when separated by an intervening consonant, but generally does not spread rightwards past a full vowel. For example, "eggs", "sparks", "stairs", "she hit him", "student". Contrast, for example, Egyptian Arabic, where emphasis tends to spread forward and backward to both ends of a word, even through several syllables.
Emphasis is audible mostly through its effects on neighboring vowels or syllabic consonants, and through the differing pronunciation of and. Actual pharyngealization of "emphatic" consonants is weak and may be absent entirely. In contrast with some dialects, vowels adjacent to emphatic consonants are pure; there is no diphthong-like transition between emphatic consonants and adjacent front vowels.

Consonants

Phonetic notes:
Moroccan Arabic is not often written. Most books and magazines are in Modern Standard Arabic; Qur'an books are written and read in Classical Arabic, and there is no universally standard written system. There is also a loosely standardized Latin system used for writing Moroccan Arabic in electronic media, such as texting and chat, often based on sound-letter correspondences from French, English or Spanish and using numbers to represent sounds not found in French or English.

Vocabulary

Substrates

Moroccan Arabic is characterized by a strong Berber as well as Latin stratum.
Following the Arab conquest, Berber languages remained widely spoken. During their Arabisation, some Berber tribes became bilingual for generations before abandoning their language for Arabic; however, they kept a substantial Berber stratum that increases from the east to the west of the Maghreb, making Moroccan Arabic dialects the ones most influenced by Berber.
More recently, the influx of Andalusi people and Spanish-speaking–Moriscos influenced urban dialects with Spanish substrate.

Vocabulary and loanwords

Most vocabulary of Moroccan Arabic language is derived from Classical Arabic and Amazigh, supplemented by French and Spanish loanwords.
There are noticeable lexical differences between Moroccan Arabic and most other Arabic languages. Some words are essentially unique to Moroccan Arabic: daba "now". Many others, however, are characteristic of Maghrebi Arabic as a whole including both innovations and unusual retentions of Classical vocabulary that disappeared elsewhere, such as hbeṭ' "go down" from Classical habaṭ. Others are shared with Algerian Arabic such as hḍeṛ "talk", from Classical hadhar "babble", and temma "there", from Classical thamma.
There are a number of Moroccan Arabic dictionaries in existence:
;Examples of Arabic words
;Examples of words inherited from Amazigh
;Examples of words of French origin
;Examples of words borrowed from Spanish
Some loans might have come through Andalusi Arabic brought by Moriscos when they were expelled from Spain following the Christian Reconquest or, alternatively, they date from the time of the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco.
;Examples of words borrowed from Portuguese and German
They are used in several coastal cities across the Moroccan coast like Oualidia, El Jadida, and Tangier.
;Examples of regional differences
  • Now: "deba" in the majority of regions, but "druk" or "druka" is also used in some regions in the centre and south and "drwek" or "durk" in the east
  • When?: "fuqaš" in most regions,"fe-waqt" in the Northwest but "imta" in the Atlantic region and "weqtaš" in Rabat region
  • What?: "ašnu", "šnu" or "aš" in most regions, but "šenni", "šennu" in the north, "šnu", "š" in Fes, and "wašta", "wasmu", "waš" in the far east
;Some useful sentences
Note: All sentences are written according to the transcription used in Richard Harrell, A Short Reference Grammar of Moroccan Arabic .:

Verbs

Introduction

The regular Moroccan Arabic verb conjugates with a series of prefixes and suffixes. The stem of the conjugated verb may change a bit, depending on the conjugation:
The stem of the Moroccan Arabic verb for "to write" is kteb.
Past tense
The past tense of kteb is as follows:
I wrote: kteb-t
You wrote: kteb-ti
He/it wrote: kteb
She/it wrote: ketb-et
We wrote: kteb-na
You wrote: kteb-tu / kteb-tiu
They wrote: ketb-u
The stem kteb turns into ketb before a vowel suffix because of the process of inversion'' described above.
Present tense
The present tense of kteb is as follows:
I am writing: ka-ne-kteb
You are writing: ka-te-kteb
You are writing: ka-t-ketb-i
He's/it is writing: ka-ye-kteb
She is/it is writing: ka-te-kteb
We are writing: ka-n-ketb-u
You are writing: ka-t-ketb-u
They are writing: ka-y-ketb-u
The stem kteb turns into ketb before a vowel suffix because of the process of inversion described above. Between the prefix ka-n-, ka-t-, ka-y- and the stem kteb, an e appears but not between the prefix and the transformed stem ketb because of the same restriction that produces inversion.
In the north, you are writing" is always ka-de-kteb regardless of who is addressed.
This is also the case of de in de-kteb as northerners prefer to use de and southerners prefer te.
Instead of the prefix ka, some speakers prefer the use of ta. The coexistence of these two prefixes is from historic differences. In general, ka is more used in the north and ta in the south, some other prefixes like la, a, qa'' are less used. In some regions like in the east, most speakers use no preverb.
Other tenses
To form the future tense, the prefix ka-/ta- is removed and replaced with the prefix ġa-, ġad- or ġadi instead or ġadi t-ketb-u "You.
For the subjunctive and infinitive, the ka- is removed.
The imperative is conjugated with the suffixes of the present tense but without any prefixes or preverbs:
kteb Write!
ketb-i Write!
ketb-u Write!
Negation
One characteristic of Moroccan Arabic syntax, which it shares with other North African varieties as well as some southern Levantine dialect areas, is in the two-part negative verbal circumfix.
/ma-/ comes from the Classical Arabic negator /ma/. /-ʃi/ is a development of Classical /ʃayʔ/ "thing". The development of a circumfix is similar to the French circumfix ne... pas in which ne comes from Latin non "not" and pas comes from Latin passus "step".
The negative circumfix surrounds the entire verbal composite, including direct and indirect object pronouns:
Future and interrogative sentences use the same circumfix. Also, unlike in Egyptian Arabic, there are no phonological changes to the verbal cluster as a result of adding the circumfix. In Egyptian Arabic, adding the circumfix can trigger stress shifting, vowel lengthening and shortening, elision when /ma-/ comes into contact with a vowel, addition or deletion of a short vowel, etc. However, they do not occur in Moroccan Arabic :
Negative pronouns such as walu "nothing", ḥta ḥaja "nothing" and ḥta waḥed "nobody" can be added to the sentence without ši as a suffix:
Note that wellah ma-ne-kteb could be a response to a command to write kteb while wellah ma-ġa-ne-kteb could be an answer to a question like waš ġa-te-kteb? "Are you going to write?"
In the north, "'you are writing" is always ka-de-kteb regardless of who is addressed. It is also the case of de in de-kteb, as northerners prefer to use de and southerners prefer te.
Instead of the prefix ka, some speakers prefer the use of ta. The co-existence of these two prefixes is from historical differences. In general ka is more used in the north and ta in the south. In some regions like the east, most speakers ue no preverb:
Verbs in Moroccan Arabic are based on a consonantal root composed of three or four consonants. The set of consonants communicates the basic meaning of a verb. Changes to the vowels between the consonants, along with prefixes and/or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as tense, person and number in addition to changes in the meaning of the verb that embody grammatical concepts such as causative, intensive, passive or reflexive.
Each particular lexical verb is specified by two stems, one used for the past tense and one used for non-past tenses, along with subjunctive and imperative moods. To the former stem, suffixes are added to mark the verb for person, number and gender. To the latter stem, a combination of prefixes and suffixes are added. The third person masculine singular past tense form serves as the "dictionary form" used to identify a verb like the infinitive in English. For example, the verb meaning "write" is often specified as kteb, which actually means "he wrote". In the paradigms below, a verb will be specified as kteb/ykteb, indicating the past stem and the non-past stem.
The verb classes in Moroccan Arabic are formed along two axes. The first or derivational axis is used to specify grammatical concepts such as causative, intensive, passive or reflexive and mostly involves varying the consonants of a stem form. For example, from the root K-T-B "write" are derived form I kteb/ykteb "write", form II ketteb/yketteb "cause to write", form III kateb/ykateb "correspond with " etc. The second or weakness axis is determined by the specific consonants making up the root, especially whether a particular consonant is a "w" or " y", and mostly involves varying the nature and location of the vowels of a stem form. For example, so-called weak verbs have one of those two letters as the last root consonant, which is reflected in the stem as a final vowel instead of a final consonant. Meanwhile, hollow verbs are usually caused by one of those two letters as the middle root consonant, and the stems of such verbs have a full vowel before the final consonant, often along with only two consonants.
It is important to distinguish between strong, weak, etc. stems and strong, weak, etc. roots. For example, X-W-F is a hollow root, but the corresponding form II stem xuwwef/yxuwwef "frighten" is a strong stem:
In this section, all verb classes and their corresponding stems are listed, excluding the small number of irregular verbs described above. Verb roots are indicated schematically using capital letters to stand for consonants in the root:
Hence, the root F-M-L stands for all three-consonant roots, and F-S-T-L stands for all four-consonant roots.
The following table lists the prefixes and suffixes to be added to mark tense, person, number, gender and the stem form to which they are added. The forms involving a vowel-initial suffix and corresponding stem PAv or NPv are highlighted in silver. The forms involving a consonant-initial suffix and corresponding stem PAc are highlighted in gold. The forms involving no suffix and corresponding stem PA0 or NP0 are not highlighted.
The following table lists the verb classes along with the form of the past and non-past stems, active and passive participles, and verbal noun, in addition to an example verb for each class.
Notes:

Sample Paradigms of Strong Verbs
Regular verb, form I, fʕel/yfʕel
Example: kteb/ykteb "write"
Some comments:
Example: kteb/ykteb "write": non-finite forms
Number/GenderActive ParticiplePassive ParticipleVerbal Noun
Masc. Sg.katebmektubketaba
Fem. Sg.katb-amektub-aketaba
Pl.katb-inmektub-inketaba
Regular verb, form I, fʕel/yfʕel, assimilation-triggering consonant
Example: dker/ydker "mention"
This paradigm differs from kteb/ykteb in the following ways:
Reduction and assimilation occur as follows:
Examples:
Example: xrˤeʒ/yxrˤoʒ "go out"
Regular verb, form II, feʕʕel/yfeʕʕel
Example: beddel/ybeddel "change"
Boldfaced forms indicate the primary differences from the corresponding forms of kteb, which apply to many classes of verbs in addition to form II strong:
Example: sˤaferˤ/ysˤaferˤ "travel"
The primary differences from the corresponding forms of beddel are:
Example: ttexleʕ/yttexleʕ "get scared"
Sample Paradigms of Weak Verbs
Weak verbs have a W or Y as the last root consonant.
Weak , form I, fʕa/yfʕa
Example: nsa/ynsa "forget"
The primary differences from the corresponding forms of kteb are:
Example: rˤma/yrˤmi "throw"
This verb type is quite similar to the weak verb type nsa/ynsa. The primary differences are:
Verbs other than form I behave as follows in the non-past:
Examples:
Hollow have a W or Y as the middle root consonant. Note that for some forms, hollow verbs are conjugated as strong verbs.
Hollow verb, form I, fal/yfil
Example: baʕ/ybiʕ "sell"
This verb works much like beddel/ybeddel "teach". Like all verbs whose stem begins with a single consonant, the prefixes differ in the following way from those of regular and weak form I verbs:
In addition, the past tense has two stems: beʕ- before consonant-initial suffixes and baʕ- elsewhere.
Hollow verb, form I, fal/''yfu''l
Example: ʃaf/yʃuf "see"
This verb class is identical to verbs such as baʕ/ybiʕ except in having stem vowel /u/ in place of /i/.
Sample Paradigms of Doubled Verbs
Doubled verbs have the same consonant as middle and last root consonant, e.g. ɣabb/yiħebb "love" from Ħ-B-B.
Doubled verb, form I, feʕʕ/yfeʕʕ
Example: ħebb/yħebb "love"
This verb works much like baʕ/ybiʕ "sell". Like that class, it has two stems in the past, which are ħebbi- before consonant-initial suffixes and ħebb- elsewhere. Note that /i-/ was borrowed from the weak verbs; the Classical Arabic equivalent form would be *ħabáb-, e.g. *ħabáb-t.
Some verbs have /o/ in the stem: koħħ/ykoħħ "cough".
As for the other forms:
"Doubly weak" verbs have more than one "weakness", typically a W or Y as both the second and third consonants. In Moroccan Arabic such verbs generally behave as normal weak verbs. This is not always the case in standard Arabic.
Paradigms of Irregular Verbs
The irregular verbs are as follows:

Evolution

In general, Moroccan Arabic is one of the most innovative of all Arabic languages. Now, Moroccan Arabic continues to integrate new french words, even english ones due to its influence as the modern linga franca, mainly technological and modern words. However, in recent years, constant exposure to modern standard arabic on television and in print media and a certain desire among many Moroccans for a revitalization of an Arab identity has inspired many Moroccans to integrate words from Modern Standard Arabic, replacing their French or Spanish or otherwise any no arabic counterparts or even speaking in Modern Standard Arabic while keeping the Moroccan accent to sound less formal
Though rarely written, Moroccan Arabic is currently undergoing an unexpected and pragmatic revival. It is now the preferred language in Moroccan chat rooms or for sending SMS, using Arabic Chat Alphabet composed of Latin letters supplemented with the numbers 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 for coding specific Arabic sounds, as is the case with other Arabic speakers.
The language continues to evolve quickly as can be noted by consulting the Colin dictionary. Many words and idiomatic expressions recorded between 1921 and 1977 are now obsolete.

Code-switching

Some Moroccan Arabic speakers, in the territory previously known as French Morocco, also practice code-switching. In the northern parts of Morocco, as in Tetouan & Tangier, it is common for code-switching to occur between Moroccan Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, and Spanish, as Spain had previously controlled part of the region and continues to possess the territories of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa bordering only Morocco. On the other hand, some Arab nationalist Moroccans generally attempt to avoid French and Spanish in their speech, consequently, their speech tends to resemble old Andalusian Arabic.

Artistic expression

There exists some poetry written in Moroccan Arabic like the Malhun. In the troubled and autocratic Morocco of the 1970s, Years of Lead, the legendary Nass El Ghiwane band wrote beautiful and allusive lyrics in Moroccan Arabic that were very appealing to the youth even in other Maghreb countries.
Another interesting movement is the development of an original rap music scene, which explores new and innovative usages of the language.

Scientific production

The first known scientific productions written in Moroccan Arabic were released on the Web in early 2010 by Moroccan teacher and physician Farouk Taki El Merrakchi, three average-sized books dealing with physics and mathematics .

Newspapers

There are now at least three newspapers in Moroccan Arabic; their aim is to bring information to people with a low level of education. From September 2006 to October 2010, Telquel Magazine had a Moroccan Arabic edition Nichane. There is also a free weekly magazine that is entirely written in "standard" Moroccan Arabic: Khbar Bladna.
The Moroccan online newspaper Goud or "گود" has much of its content written in Moroccan Arabic rather than Modern Standard Arabic. Its name "Goud" and its slogan "dima nishan" are Moroccan Arabic expressions.

Literature

Although most Moroccan literature has traditionally been written in the classical Standard Arabic, the first record of a work of literature composed in Moroccan Arabic was Al-Kafif az-Zarhuni's al-Mala'ba, written in the Marinid period.