<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail-td-pb-row" style="box-sizing:border-box;width:1021px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;font-size:12px"><div class="gmail-td-pb-span12" style="box-sizing:border-box;width:1020px;min-height:1px;float:left;margin-left:0px;border-left:1px solid rgb(230,230,230);border-top-color:rgb(230,230,230);border-right-color:rgb(230,230,230);border-bottom-color:rgb(230,230,230)"><div class="gmail-td-post-header gmail-td-pb-padding-side" style="box-sizing:border-box;padding:20px 19px 0px 20px"><h1 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:35px;margin:6px 0px 5px;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-weight:400;line-height:50px;letter-spacing:-0.02em">Minister: Official Languages are Important, But Foreign Languages are Essential</h1></div></div></div><div class="gmail-td-pb-row" style="box-sizing:border-box;width:1021px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;font-size:12px"><div class="gmail-td-pb-span8 gmail-td-main-content" style="box-sizing:border-box;width:680px;min-height:1px;float:left;margin-left:0px;border-left:1px solid rgb(230,230,230);border-top-color:rgb(230,230,230);border-right-color:rgb(230,230,230);border-bottom-color:rgb(230,230,230)"><div class="gmail-td-ss-main-content" style="box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box"></div><div class="gmail-td-post-content gmail-td-pb-padding-side" style="box-sizing:border-box;padding:20px 19px 0px 20px;font-size:15px;line-height:24px;border-top:1px solid rgb(230,230,230);border-right-color:rgb(230,230,230);border-bottom-color:rgb(230,230,230);border-left-color:rgb(230,230,230)"><div class="gmail-first-para" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:18px;padding-bottom:12px;font-style:italic;line-height:26px;color:rgba(66,66,66,0.753)"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:26px;margin-bottom:24px;padding-bottom:12px">The Minister believes that there are more references for scientific and technology research in foreign languages than the Arabic language.</p></div><div class="gmail-td-post-featured-image" style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Moroccan-Minister-of-Education-Said-Amzazi.jpg" class="gmail-td-modal-image" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none"><img width="640" height="424" class="entry-thumb gmail-td-animation-stack-type0-1" src="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Moroccan-Minister-of-Education-Said-Amzazi-640x424.jpg" alt="Moroccan Minister of Education Said Amzazi wants too ban smartphones" title="Minister: Official Languages are Important, But Foreign Languages are Essential" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin-bottom: 0px;"></a>Morocco's Minister of Education Said Amzazi</div><div class="gmail-meta-info" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:"Open Sans",arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;margin-bottom:14px;border-top:1px solid rgb(205,205,205)"><div class="gmail-author-box-wrap" style="box-sizing:border-box;border-top:1px solid rgb(230,230,230);padding:17px 15px;border-right-color:rgb(230,230,230);border-bottom-color:rgb(230,230,230);border-left-color:rgb(230,230,230);display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;width:115.188px"><a href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/author/kasraoui-safaa/" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none"><img src="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/userphoto/133667.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Safaa Kasraoui" width="65" height="80" class="gmail-photo gmail-td-animation-stack-type0-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: 80px; margin-bottom: 0px; border-radius: 50%; margin-right: 10px; width: 80px; object-fit: cover;"></a></div><div class="gmail-author-meta-info" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;width:512px"><div class="gmail-td-post-author-name" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;margin-right:3px"><div class="gmail-td-author-by" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline">By</div> <a href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/author/kasraoui-safaa/" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-weight:700;text-decoration-line:none">Safaa Kasraoui</a><div class="gmail-td-author-line" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline"> -</div></div><div class="gmail-meta-author-description" style="box-sizing:border-box">Safaa Kasraoui is a journalist at Morocco World News.</div><span class="gmail-td-post-date" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;margin-right:3px">May 9, 2019</span></div></div><div class="gmail-post-info-description" style="box-sizing:border-box;float:left;width:640px"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify">Rabat – <span style="box-sizing:border-box">Morocco’s Minister of Education<a title="Amzazi: Contractual Teachers Knew They Could Not Join Public Service" href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267443/said-amzazi-contractual-teachers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none"> Said Amzazi</a> has said that Morocco has a “balanced and harmonious” language policy that preserves the position of all languages both the  foreign and <a title="The Challenges of Morocco’s Many Languages Lead to Academic Debate" href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/05/271728/morocco-spoken-languages-academic-debate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none">official languages</a>.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">Speaking at the Parliament on Tuesday, the minister announced that his administration has already started to implement all the strategic requirements  for education reform.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">Amzazi said that the reform will encompass the much-debated <a title="Why Everyone Should Learn More Than One Language" href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/04/270442/opinion-everyone-language-morocco/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none">language policy</a>. He emphatically explained that the policy is part of  the strategic implementation of the requirements and basic references of the Moroccan Constitution.</span></p><div class="gmail-moroc-content" id="gmail-moroc-128816853" style="box-sizing:border-box"><ins class="gmail-adsbygoogle" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;text-decoration-line:none;display:block;text-align:center;height:160px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_1_expand" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;display:inline-table;border:none;height:160px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:640px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_1_anchor" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;display:block;border:none;height:160px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:640px"></ins></ins></ins></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">The minister quoted the provisions of Chapter 5 of the Constitution, which emphasized the importance of the Arabic and Amazigh (Berber) language for Morocco. His point was that adopting foreign languages as for teaching scientific subjects in schools does not equal total abandonment of the country’s national languages.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:700">Importance of foreign languages</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">While the constitution acknowledges the special importance of Arabic and Amazigh, the minister argued, it also stresses the importance of  the widely spoken foreign languages because they are essential for communication, knowledge, and openness to different cultures and civilization.</span></p><blockquote class="gmail-td_quote_box gmail-td_box_center" style="box-sizing:border-box;padding:15px 23px 0px;border-width:2px;border-left-style:solid;border-color:rgb(49,69,148);margin:0px 0px 29px;background-color:rgb(252,252,252)"><h5 style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:"Open Sans",arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-weight:400;margin:4px 0px 11px;font-size:17px;line-height:25px">Read Also: <a title="The Challenges of Morocco’s Many Languages Lead to Academic Debate" href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/05/271728/morocco-spoken-languages-academic-debate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none">The Challenges of Morocco’s Many Languages Lead to Academic Debate</a></h5></blockquote><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">Amzazi  said that the education strategic vision 2015-2030 “ensures the presence of the two official national languages.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">The minister’s comments on the importance of foreign languages in the <a title="Modernity, Democracy Forum to Discuss Language in Moroccan Schools" href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/04/269730/modernity-democracy-language-morocco-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none">education system </a>comes amid an intense debate about which language should be used in teaching scientific subjects in Moroccan schools.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">As the debate intensifies, however, it has also involved the role of languages in affirming or questioning national identity, pride, and honor.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">Several Moroccan politicians emphasize the importance of preserving the official national languages in the education system. For other, more left-leaning </span><span style="box-sizing:border-box">teaching</span><a href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/04/269524/muslim-scholars-union-president-rebukes-morocco-for-putting-french-first/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">scientific subjects</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box"> is a more reasonable choice to propel Morocco in the era of global competitiveness.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">In his speech before the Parliament, Amzazi attempted to convince the parliament to vote  on the draft framework Law 51.17, a bill which he said seeks to make students proficient in foreign languages.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">The bill has been vigorously criticized by several politicians and scholars defending Arabic language. They argued that adopting foreign languages in schools will subsume Moroccan culture and identity.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">In April the National Coalition for the Arabic Language launched a petition to oppose Amzazi’s proposed draft law. The coalition also held a press conference to oppose the government’s plans to prioritize French in some subjects in Moroccan schools.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">But the heavy criticism does not seem to have discouraged Amzazi. The minister is </span><a href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/04/271284/education-minister-moroccan-schools-french-social-equality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(49,69,148);text-decoration-line:none"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">adamant</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box">  that teaching technology and science in foreign languages will enable the Moroccan system to overcome the problems associated with the different languages used in secondary schools and universities.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;line-height:24px;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-bottom:24px;text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">As far as Amzazi is concerned, foreign languages remain “essential for scientific and technological research as they provide more references, especially in technology, engineering, and scientific teaching.”</span></p></div></div></div></div></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>