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PUBLISHED DATE: - 23-08-2024
DOI: -
https://doi.org/10.37547/tajssei/Volume06Issue08-09
PAGE NO.: - 107-120
EXPLORING THE PATTERNS OF AMAZIGH
MAINTENANCE AND SHIFT: A STUDY OF
YOUNG AMAZIGH BILINGUALS IN AGADIR,
MOROCCO
Abdelaziz Ait Taleb
Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
Mohamed Elghazi
Ibn Zohr university, Agadir, Morocco
INTRODUCTION
The study of Language Maintenance and Shift
(LMS) has been at the heart of both macro and
micro sociolinguistics research for several
decades. The foundations of research in this field
are principally attributed to Joshua A. Fishman's
seminal writings and research studies he
conducted to investigate LMS processes among
minority groups in the USA (Fishman 1964, 1965).
Equally, other pioneers in the field, including Susan
Gal (1979) and Nancy Dorian (1981), have made
significant contributions to the div of research in
this field. Recently, the challenges posed by
globalization have triggered more awareness and
concern among researchers about the need to
preserve the world's linguistic and cultural
diversity.
Early research in the field focused mainly on the
LMS dynamics in migrant settings in Europe and
North America, with less attention given to
indigenous ones (Pauwels, 2016). The specificities
that characterize each type of these settings imply
that they potentially involve different types of
variables and, therefore, require particular
research approaches and methodologies. Kloss
(1966) contended that the same factors that
promote language shift in one group might lead to
language maintenance in other ethnolinguistic
groups. These views imply that each bilingual
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Abstract
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context is unique in terms of the factors involved in
Language Maintenance (LM) and Language Shift
(LS) processes. While these intergroup differences
mean that attempting generalizations about
various language contact situations is not feasible,
they establish the need to approach each language
group as a unique community that needs to be
investigated on its own. Accordingly, the present
study envisages exploring the patterns of LM and
LS processes among a young population of
Tashlhiyt variety speakers- an Amazigh variety
spoken widely in the Souss region in Morocco.
These patterns are investigated by exploring the
informants' Amazigh proficiency and their
synchronic and diachronic use of Amazigh in daily
communication.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Language Maintenance vs Language Shift
Language shift, as defined by Weinreich (1953,
p.68), is "the change from the habitual use of one
language to that of another" and typically occurs
among
subordinate
or
minority
speech
communities in continuous contact with a
dominant
speech
community.
Conversely,
language maintenance (LM) is the counterpart of
language shift, involving the continued use or
retention of one's native language in various
spheres of language use (Pauwels, 2016, p.20). The
domain construct is often employed in defining
LSM processes, with language shift signifying a
reduction in the habitual use of a language within
specific domains.
The process of language shift is presumed to be
gradual, occurring across generations. Scholars
(e.g.Veltman,1983; Fishman,1989) assert that
language
shift
involves
the
progressive
replacement of one language by another, with the
first generation predominantly maintaining their
first language, the second becoming bilingual in
their first and second learned languages, and the
third generation exclusively using the second
language. However, some argue that changes in
language use can transpire within a single migrant
generation (Jia & Aaronson,2003; Pease-
Alvarez,2002).
Clyne (2003) has illustrated a variety of meanings
that are associated with language shift. First, the
term can describe the language behavior of both
the whole community and the individual. Besides,
language shift is viewed as a gradual process
through which a particular language is gradually
and slowly replaced by another as the case of the
Hungarian which was replaced by German in
Oberwart (Gal,1979). In addition, language shift
can designate a change in the main language, the
dominant language of an individual or a group, the
language of one or more domains (home, work,
school for example), and the “exclusive language
for between one and three of the four language
skills" (Clyne,2003, p.20).
Fishman et al. (1966: 424) contended that "The
study of language maintenance and shift is
concerned with the relationship between change
and stability in habitual use, on the one hand, and
ongoing psychological, social or cultural processes
on the other hand, when populations differing in
language are in contact with each other". This
delineation underscores the association of
language shift and maintenance phenomena with
alterations or stability in the habitual use of
linguistic varieties among their speakers.
Pauwels (2016, p.18) delineates language shift as
the gradual replacement of one's main language or
languages (L1) by another language (L2) across all
spheres of usage. The rate and pace of the shift vary
across different communities, emphasizing the
gradual nature of the process and its non-
simultaneous occurrence across all functions,
settings, and uses of the native language.
This definition has highlighted two key features of
the language shift process which will be of
paramount importance to the objectives of the
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present study. The first feature is that LS is a
gradual process, which occurs across generations,
and, hence, may take more than one generation
before a language is completely replaced by
another one. The second feature that can be
inferred from the definition is the fact that “ the
shifting away from the L1 does not occur
simultaneously across all its uses or functions;
rather ,it gradually recedes across an increasing
number of uses, functions and settings”(Pauwels,
2016,p.19).
Research in this domain primarily focuses on
investigating the impact of psychological, social, or
cultural factors on bilinguals' linguistic behavior
tendencies regarding language maintenance or
shift. Language shift typically emerges in
multilingual contexts, linked to 'subtractive
multilingualism,' which denotes the loss of the
native language due to the development of another
language (L2), often the dominant language in the
community or educational setting.
The phenomenon of shifting from AMZ to MA in the
Moroccan context is an excellent example of
indigenous settings that LMS researchers have not
sufficiently attended. The only two studies that the
researcher has accessed are exploratory (
Bentahila & Davies,1992; Boukous, 1995); they did
not provide an in-depth analysis of the
complexities of the patterns and dynamics of AMZ
maintenance and shift. Accordingly, the present
study focuses on the dynamics of LMS in the
Moroccan linguistic setting by exploring the
patterns of the shifting from an Amazigh (AM)
variety (Tashlhit) to Moroccan Arabic (MA) among
youngsters from five higher education institutions
in Agadir.
Amazigh Maintenance and Shift research
Many Moroccan researchers and linguists have
warned against the regression of AMZ in Morocco
particularly in urban areas (Bentahila and Davies,
1992; El Aissati, 2001; Ennaji,1997). The number
of AM-speaking populations is gradually
decreasing in these areas due to the linguistic and
cultural assimilation that AMZ people have been
subject to for centuries (Haut Commissariat au
Plan ,2014)).
Ennaji (1997) and El Aissati (2001) discussed the
factors that stand behind AMZ speakers' language
shift process. The main factor is rapid
urbanization, resulting from emigration from rural
areas to urban ones. Since the 1960s, there has
been a massive emigration of Amazighophones
towards such cities as Casablanca, Agadir,
Marrakech, Fes Nador, and Elhoceima. Searching
for job opportunities and better living conditions
have been the main motives behind this
movement. This emigration created a favorable
context in which Amazigh-Dialectal Arabic was
nurtured. The new AMZ arrivals find themselves in
a context where they had to learn MA as the
language of daily activities.
Another reason behind the AMZ regression is the
spread of education (Ennaji, 1997) and its
expansion to rural areas, especially during the post
protectorate period. At school, Amazighophone
children have been exposed to Arabic both as a
language of instruction and also as a content
subject. Besides, they are also exposed to foreign
languages like French and English, which promote
multilingualism among them. What is more, AMZ
has been initially excluded from education until
2003, when it has been first introduced in some
schools. This kind of marginalization, which was
paralleled with an Arabization education policy,
has led to the regression of AMZ in Morocco.
The spread of the new technology to rural areas
has also been considered a threat to the AMZ
language (El Aissati,2001). Rural areas have
usually been considered strongholds of AMZ
varieties as they have resisted language loss for
centuries. However, the advancement of the new
media technology has brought these 'protected
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zones' into contact with other languages and
cultures. The main worry is that this massive
contact would lead shortly to the erosion and
regression of AMZ among its indigenous speakers.
Ennaji (1997) argued that the low status of AMZ is
another factor that is involved in AMZ regression.
The fact that AMZ has been officially treated for a
long time as a mere 'dialect' has influenced
people's attitudes towards its utility, which has led
to its regression in various domains of language
use.
Bentahila and Davies (1992) investigated AMZ
language shift issue among 180 families whose
members are bilingual in an AMZ and MA.
According to the study, it was reported that the
surveyed families exhibited a very low degree of
intergenerational language transmission as the
youngest generation has completely shifted to MA.
What is more, the respondents expressed little
sense of regret about their children's loss of
Amazigh. This might be explained by the type of
attitudes and perceptions they hold toward AMZ
language, which is usually considered less useful
compared to Arabic. The study also showed that
63% of the respondents consider AMZ as their
language, whereas 27% believe Arabic as their
own. More importantly, the study reported that
only 30% of AM-speaking respondents consider
themselves exclusively AM, while 47% think of
themselves as being both AMZ and Moroccan; of
those who have entirely shifted to MA, only 37%
still define themselves as AM.
Despite the rapid regression of AM, its status as a
mother tongue of many Moroccans has kept it
away from the danger of extinction (Sadiqi,2003).
That is to say, the fact that AMZ is spoken as a
mother tongue among large AM-speaking
communities living in rural areas is vital in
preserving both the AMZ language and culture.
Moreover,
AM-speaking
communities'
concentration in such big cities as Agadir,
Casablanca, and El Hoceima has contributed to its
maintenance. Although these factors have
contributed to the survival of AMZ for centuries,
their influence is diminishing in the face of rapid
urbanization and the spread of education in rural
areas. The present study investigates this issue in
Agadir, which is considered the capital city of the
Souss region.
Context of the study
Morocco's linguistic landscape is characterized by
diversity, with multiple varieties in interaction.
This includes Arabic varieties (Standard, Classical,
and Moroccan Arabic), Amazigh varieties
(Tamazight, Tashlhit, and Tarifit), as well as
French, Spanish, and English. Within this linguistic
mosaic, Amazigh and Moroccan Arabic stand as the
predominant native language varieties.
The focus of the present paper is on the Moroccan
language contact situation that involves Amazigh
and Darija (Moroccan Arabic) varieties as mother
tongues of most Moroccans. The most common
bilingualism pattern that results from the contact
between these varieties is a one-way, Amazigh-
Arabic bilingualism. In this vein, Bensoukas (2010)
argued that Darija is gradually gaining the status of
a mother tongue instead of a second language in
Moroccan urban bilingual settings. This implies
that, in such contact settings, Amazigh speakers
are more susceptible to the language shift process,
whereby their traditional home language is
gradually replaced by Darija.
Today, it seems that this shifting process is
reaching up to Amazighophone areas that used to
be considered the repository of AMZ language and
culture. For instance, Agadir is considered the
capital city of the Souss basin- a vast region in the
center of Morocco, which is dominantly populated
by speakers of the Tashlhit variety. As the biggest
urban center in Souss, it has been initially the
direction of waves of migration from various
neighboring Souss areas. Therefore, most of the
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city inhabitants are of AMZ origin; yet, MA tends to
be more dominant in public places. More
specifically, shifting to MA was observed among
youths descending from various urban and rural
areas in the Souss region. Accordingly, the present
study explored the patterns and determinants of
AMZ maintenance and shift in a unique linguistic
where the observed process of L1 shifting (AM)
occurs in a language contact setting where L1
speakers constitute the majority rather than a
minority.
Research objectives & questions
The present study investigates some patterns of
AM maintenance and shift among young bilinguals
in Agadir, Morocco. It characterizes how Amazigh
youths descending from urban and rural areas
vary in their Amazigh proficiency and in their
patterns of Amazigh use. The purpose is to explore
how urbanization impacts these youths’ Amazigh
maintenance and shift as indicated by their
reported L1 proficiency and their diachronic use of
Amazigh in daily communication. Accordingly, the
present study endeavors to address the following
research questions:
•
How do Amazigh youths descending from
urban and rural areas vary in terms of their
Amazigh proficiency?
•
How do Amazigh youths descending from
urban and rural areas compare in terms of their
patterns of Amazigh use in daily communication?
•
Has the informants’ use of Amazigh in daily
communication changed over time?
METHODS
The research design adopted in this study is a
'mixed-methods research' in which quantitative
and qualitative elements are integrated. At the
exploratory stage, qualitative data was collected
through conducting unstructured interviews with
ten informants representing variant cases of
Amazigh maintenance and shift. This initial phase
constitutes a starting point where major patterns
and variables related to LMS processes were
explored. The qualitative exploration of the issue
under study was also a preparatory stage for
developing a more structured questionnaire that
was used to collect quantitative data.
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Table1
Demographic Information of the Sample
Variable
Categories
Sample population in
% (N=300)
Gender
Male
41
Female
58
Age
18-21
63
22-25
26
More than 25
10
Place of origin
Agadir city (AC)
38
Regional urban areas
(RUA)
32
Regional rural areas
(RRA)
30
Higher
education
institution
CPGE
30
FLSH
36
FSA
18
FSJES
9
FLASH
5
As Table 1. Displays (see Appendix), the sample of
this study included 300 students of Amazigh
origin, who were sampled from five higher
education institutions in Agadir, namely CPGE
Reda Slaoui, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences
(FLSH), Faculty of Science (FSA), Faculty of Law
and Economics (FSJES), and Faculty of Arts and
Languages (FLASH). The participants were 124
males (41%) and 176 females (76%); the age of
most of them (90%) ranges from 18 to 25, while
only 10% were above 25, but less than 28. In terms
of their linguistic background, the participants are
reportedly bilingual in Tashlhit variety, as their
mother tongue, and Darija (Moroccan Arabic) as an
L2. Additionally, as Moroccan higher education
students, they have assumedly developed some
proficiency in one or some foreign languages
taught at school, particularly French, English, and
Spanish.
The participants are originated in different urban
and rural areas in the region of Souss. Accordingly,
they were categorized into three groups according
to their home city or village. The first group
constitutes 38% of the sample. It includes
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informants who were born and raised in Agadir
city (AC group), the second one (32% of the
sample) is the group of informants who are from
regional urban areas (RUA) like Tiznit, Biougra,
and Taroudant. The third group (30% of the
sample) includes informants from regional rural
areas (RRA).
The self-report questionnaire is the instrument
that was employed in this study to collect data
about the informants’ Amazigh proficiency and
use. Following Milroy (2001), the present study's
questionnaire data was obtained in one shot as the
respondents were required to report their
language choice patterns during the time of the
study.
The questionnaire was divided into two main
parts. The first part was about the socio-
demographic and linguistic background of the
respondents. The second part of the questionnaire
was devised to collect information about
informants' perceived Amazigh proficiency and
use.
RESULTS
Proficiency in Amazigh
The use of a particular variety by an individual
speaker is particularly determined by one's
proficiency in that language. Accordingly,
exploring the informants' proficiency in the variety
under study (Tashlhit) is a necessary step before
the investigation of their language choice patterns.
Figure1 (see Appendix) demonstrates statistics
about the respondents' perceived proficiency in
the Tashlhit variety across three major regions
from which they descend.
Figure.1.
The Informants' Reported Proficiency in Tashlhit Variety
As Figure1 displays, informants from regional
rural areas (RRA) of Souss seem to be more
proficient than other regions: 87% from this group
reported their ability to use Tashlhit variety to
converse about everything in all situations; 10%
stated that they could use Tashlhit variety to
interact in limited situations. Very few informants
(2%) declared that they could use merely some
words and sentences, but none of them expressed
his inability to speak the Tashlhit variety.
Also, the statistical results show that the language
proficiency of the regional urban areas (RUA)
descendants is almost similar to their rural area
counterparts: 85% of the informants from this
group reported a high level of proficiency in
Tashlhit as they can carry on conversations about
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any topic and in different contexts; 7% stated that
they are not very proficient as they can have
conversations only in limited situations; equally,
the same number (7%) expressed their lack of
proficiency as they can speak only some words and
sentences. It is also noticed that none of the
respondents from this group expressed their
inability to speak Tashlhit.
However, the group of Agadir City (AC) residents
seems to differ from the general tendency of
language proficiency exhibited by the former two
groups. This group is less proficient in the Tashlhit
variety than other groups. The results show that
63% of the respondents from this group can use
Tashlhit to speak about any topic in different
situations; 19% reported that they could use
Tashlhit only in limited situations; 14% declared
their ability to use only some words and sentences,
and 2% stated that they do not speak Tashlhit at
all.
Table2.
Language Proficiency across the Place of Settlement
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
AC
113
1.56
.834
RUA
94
1.22
.571
RRA
90
1.14
.412
Total
297
1.33
.671
To summarize these statistics, Table 2 (see
Appendix) demonstrates the Means and Standard
deviation of the major tendencies across the
groups. The participants' reported language
proficiency is analyzed along a continuum of
values that ranges from 1 to 4, with the value 1
indicating the highest level of proficiency (A
native-like) and value 4 describing the lowest
proficiency level. As presented in the table, the
total Mean (M=1.33, SD= .671) indicates that the
whole sample is relatively proficient in the
Tashlhit variety. However, individual means
reflect differences among participants descending
from different geographical backgrounds; the
regional rural areas group seems to be more
proficient than other groups (M=1.14, SD= .412),
followed by the descendants from regional urban
areas (M=1.22; SD=571), and finally, the Agadir
city group (M=1.56; SD=.834).
The frequency of Amazigh use in daily
communication
Descriptive were run to identify variance in the use
of Amazigh (AMZ) in daily communication among
informants descending from the three main
regions of Souss: AC, RUA, and RRA. The following
sections present the statistical results of the
informants' reported frequency of using Amazigh
in daily communication.
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Figure 1
Patterns of the Frequency of AMZ Use in Daily Communication
Figure 2 (see Appendix) displays the descriptive
statistics of the questionnaire item that probes the
informants' frequency of AMZ use in daily
communication. A small number from the AC
group reported their frequent use of AMZ in their
daily communication (always (19%); very often
(30%), while a quite higher number of informants
from both RUA (Always:41.5%; very often:38.3%)
and RRA ones (always: 44.4%; very often:41.1%)
stated that they use AMZ frequently on a daily
basis. Also, 23.7% of the AC group indicated that
they rarely use AMZ in their daily communication,
while a smaller number of RUA (4.3%) and RRA
(1.1%) reported a similar tendency.
Table 3
Means and Standards Deviations of the Frequency of Amazigh Use
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
AC
114
2.60
1.127
RUA
94
1.85
.903
RRA
90
1.73
.804
Total
298
2.10
1.043
These differences among the groups become
clearer in Table 3 (see Appendix), where the Mean
and Standard deviation values relevant to each
group are displayed. The frequency of AMZ use
was analyzed on a scale of values ranging from 1 to
5, with lower Means indicating more use of AMZ in
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daily communication and higher Means indicating
less use and a greater tendency to shift to other
varieties (often Moroccan Arabic). As displayed in
the table, the total Mean is 2.10, with an SD=1.043
indicating a fairly average degree of AMZ use in
daily communication. However, the Mean related
to each group of informants displays varying
degrees of the frequency of AMZ use in daily
communication. While the Means related to
informants descending from RRA (M=1.73
/SD=.804) and RUA (M=1.85 /SD=.903) show a
high degree of similarity, indicating more frequent
use of AM, the Mean pertinent to the residents of
AC is far higher (M= 2.60/ SD=1.127) pointing out
to less frequent use of AMZ in daily
communication.
The rate of Amazigh use between past and
present
Figure 3 (see Appendix) demonstrates the
percentages of the informants' self-reports about
the change in their language use between past and
present.
Figure 3
The Informants' Reported Diachronic Change in AMZ Use
As the statistics show, less than half (42%) of AC
informants and over half (58%) of RUA and RRA
descendants stated that there had been no change
in their AMZ use between past and present. Also, a
small number of the respondents from the three
groups (AC,16%; RUA,14%; and RRA, 6%)
reported that they tend to use more AMZ at
present. On the other hand, a fairly big number of
AC (33%) and RRA (30%) informants indicated
that their present language behavior is
characterized by less use of AMZ compared to the
past. Finally, a few respondents from the three
geographical areas (AC,7%; RUA,3%; RRA,4%)
declared that they were unsure if their AMZ use
had changed over time.
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Table 4
The Means and Standard Deviations of the Change in Amazigh Use
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
AC
112
2.05
1.030
RUA
95
1.71
.933
RRA
90
1.80
1.019
Total
297
1.87
1.004
Table 4 (see Appendix) sums up the respondents'
major tendencies by displaying the Means and
Standard deviations relevant to each group. The
change in informants' AMZ use has been examined
through a scaled question, with values ranging
from 1 to 3. The lowest mean value (1) indicates
stability in AMZ use, followed by value (2), which
indicates an increase in AMZ use (value2), and the
mean value (3) points out to a decrease in its use.
As the statistics in Table 4 (see Appendix)
demonstrate, informants from both RUA and RRA
groups exhibited a tendency towards stability
(RUA: M= 1.71, SD=.933/ RRA: M=1.80, SD=1.019),
whereas the Mean value related to the AC group
(M=2.05, SD=1.030) indicates increased use of
AMZ in daily interactions.
DISCUSSION
The present study investigated the patterns and
determinants of AMZ maintenance and shift
among a sample of 300 AMZ variety (Tashlhit)
speaking youths enrolled at one of the higher
education institutions in Agadir city. More
specifically, it investigates the informants' self-
reported language proficiency and their language
use across It is also worth mentioning that the
constructs of Amazigh maintenance and shift in the
present study were measured with reference to 1)
the reported Amazigh proficiency, 2) the
synchronic and (3) diachronic use of Amazigh in
daily communication.
The reported Amazigh proficiency
First, the reported AMZ proficiency showed
variation across the three main regions in the
expected direction: youths from rural areas
exhibited better maintenance of AMZ than their
urban counterparts. As was hypothesized, the RRA
group appeared to be more proficient than RUA
and AC groups. This suggests that urbanization
impacts the youths' AMZ proficiency; the closer
they are to urban regions, the poorer their AMZ
proficiency is; in turn, the closer they are to the
rural areas, the more proficient they become. This
can be explained by the massive contact that AMZ
youths have with Darija speakers in urban areas.
This goes in line with other studies' findings
(Ennaji,1997; El Aissati, 2001), which contended
that the main factor behind the AMZ regression is
the rapid urbanization that resulted from a
massive emigration from rural areas to urban ones
since the beginning of 1960s. The Amazighophone
arrivals in urban areas had to learn Darija since it
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is the language of daily activities in the city. In this
vein, Sadiqi (2003) argued that the spread of Darija
in Amazighophone areas is attributed to the
prestigious status that it enjoys as a predominant
language in such vital domains as trade
transactions, education, and media. Accordingly,
the low status of AMZ is more likely to nurture
negative attitudes towards it as a less useful
variety in matters of trade and transaction.
However, the informants' reported language
proficiency as an indicator of LMS remains
questionable; it may either reflect the reality of the
informants' actual AMZ proficiency or their
emotional attachment to the mother tongue.
In general, the informants' LMS patterns, as
determined by their reported AMZ proficiency,
revealed that youths from rural areas tend to
maintain AMZ better than those from urban ones.
This variance was attributed to the effect of
urbanization, the parents' language policy, and the
contact variable. The following section explores
the informants' reported language use as a second
indicator of AMZ maintenance and shift.
The reported Amazigh use
In the present study, the frequency of language use
was adopted as one of the measures of the
processes of LM and LS. As Jasparet and Kroon
(1993) argued, the frequency of language use
should be considered, along with language
functionality, in measuring the process of shift.
They explained that reduced frequency designates
the scarcity of occasions/domains where speakers
find themselves and which call for the use of that
variety. Accordingly, the frequency of AMZ use in
the current study was explored in both synchronic
and diachronic ways: the former designates the
current frequency of AMZ use in daily
communication, and the latter refers to stability/
change in language use across time.
Firstly, the reported frequency of AMZ use in daily
communication indicated an overall tendency
towards shifting to Darija with variant degrees.
The statistical results indicated a low rate of AMZ
use frequency among the three groups despite the
RRA and RUA groups' tendency to use AMZ more
frequently than the AC group. This expected
overall tendency towards shifting to MA can be
attributed to the situational factors (Topic,
interlocutor) related generally to the urban
linguistic setting where youths live (Agadir city),
and particularly to the school/ university
environment in which MA tends to be dominant.
While the informants from urban centers (AC &
URA) have already been familiar with such a
bilingual urban setting, the language behavior of
rural areas informants is more likely to undergo a
significant change since their arrival in the new
linguistic environment. In such a setting, MA tends
to be dominant as the primary language of
communication among youths. Besides, MA can
even sometimes function as the lingua Franca of
speakers of different AMZ varieties, especially
when there is a lack of mutual intelligibility
between these regional varieties (Ennaji, 1991).
These school-related factors will be discussed in
more detail in the section about the school domain.
Secondly, despite the significant differences among
the groups in their diachronic change in AMZ use,
the informants' reported AMZ use indicated an
overall instability of AMZ use across time. The
change in AMZ use exhibited mainly by the AC
group can be well clarified if the language learning
history is taken into account. It is worth
mentioning that the mother tongue was among the
criteria used to sample all the informants of this
study. This means that all informants' mother
tongue is the Tahlhit variety under study- the
variety that has been acquired from parents or
other caretakers. Accordingly, we can assume that,
during childhood, the main variety of
communication in the home domain, at least, used
to be AM. Hence, any change in language use can be
attributed to the competing LMS forces
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represented by other language use domains.
Additionally, although the RRA and RUA groups
appeared to be more stable in their use of AMZ
than the AC group, the statistics showed that
almost half of the sample reported that their
language behavior had witnessed a sort of the
change in either L1 maintenance or shift. This is an
expected result as one's language behavior is often
prone to change depending on both subjective and
objective factors. In the same direction, it appears
that the AC group exhibited a tendency to shift
from AMZ more than the other two groups. This
can be explained by the fact that the city-grown-up
youths are more subject to language shift as they
have more contact with MA speakers, and
therefore more chances to develop bilingual
proficiency, which may eventually end up in
subtractive bilingualism or language shift (Appel &
Muysken, 2005).
More importantly, though unexpectedly, the RRA
group reported lower use of AMZ in daily
communication than RUA. This can be attributed to
the fact that the new linguistic environment
(Agadir city) is significantly different from its
counterpart in rural areas where AMZ is spoken
natively by most people; arriving in the biggest
urban center in the region (Agadir city) has
induced an abrupt change in the language behavior
of youths from rural areas. They find themselves in
a context where they need to use MA more to
integrate into the new environment, particularly at
school, where students usually come from
different linguistic backgrounds.
Reversely, the tendency to use more AMZ in the
present has been reported by more youths from
urban areas (AC & RUA groups) than the rural
ones. This can be related to the AMZ exposure that
the new school setting offers. While the home used
to be the main setting of AMZ use for most youths
from the AC & RUA groups, the school now
provides an ample environment for more AMZ use
thanks to the contact they have with other
classmates and roommates from rural areas, who
sometimes lack sufficient MA proficiency.
CONCLUSION
This study reveals that youths’ Amazigh
proficiency varies significantly based on their
proximity to urban or rural regions, with rural
youths demonstrating better maintenance of
Amazigh. This tendency is attributed to the
massive urbanization and emigration from rural to
urban areas, leading to increased contact with
Darija speakers in cities. The higher status that
Darija enjoys in domains like trade, education, and
media has led to its dominance, thereby reducing
the perceived utility of Amazigh. In the same vein,
reported language use frequency indicates an
ongoing shifting process towards Darija,
particularly in urban settings such as Agadir city,
where the bilingual environment promotes the use
of Darija over Amazigh. Although rural youths
exhibited better maintenance of Amazigh in daily
communication, the new linguistic environment of
urban centers promotes a shift towards Darija.
However, urban youths occasionally report
increased AMZ use due to interactions with rural
classmates lacking Darija proficiency.
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