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Lindsay Andreas

BBC NEWS | Africa | Trail-blazing for Morocco's Berber speakers - 1 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8233812.stm

language instruction Morocco Berbers comparative education

shared by Lindsay Andreas on 07 Sep 09 - Cached
  • We studied the older texts that were passed down orally, but we are also writing new literature to reflect the current situation for Berbers in Morocco. It's really ground-breaking."
  • Although Berbers were Morocco's first inhabitants and account for some 60% of Morocco's population, they faced widespread discrimination and it is only now that the language is required to be taught in public school.
  • Their academic qualifications may not help them much on the jobs market, but the availability of a further degree in a subject that was once virtually outlawed in their North African country underscores Berber success in gaining official acceptance of the language.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Although many Amazigh are illiterate, the government has put in place measures to assist schools to teach the written form of the language.
  • This written form is expected to have a unifying effect.
  • "My parents couldn't read a newspaper or understand the television because they were in Arabic," he says. "Now we have our own television channel and magazines in Berber. We feel much closer now to people in the Rif and Atlas Mountains."
  • "Most Moroccans grow up speaking Berber - why should they be at a disadvantage in having to use classical Arabic which is a foreign language whenever they brush up against bureaucracy?"
  • Lindsay Andreas on 07 Sep 09
     
    First, I love the Berbers. Second, this article serves as a great example of the issues that arise with language instruction. I think it is important to study comparative education, in order to help us see our own education system more clearly.
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