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Kingdom of Morocco. al-Mamlaka al-Maghrebia. 32,209,101. National or official language: Standard Arabic. Literacy rate: 30% to 50%. Also includes French (80,000). Information mainly from C. Coon 1931; Y. Zavadovskii 1962; D. Cohen 1963, 1985; J. Applegate 1970; J. Chetrit 1985. Blind population: 35,000 (1982 WCE). Deaf institutions: 1. The number of languages listed for Morocco is 11. Of those, 9 are living languages and 2 are extinct.
Living Languages
Arabic, Hassaniyya [mey] 40,000 in Morocco (1995). Southern Morocco, from Laayoune on down. Alternate names: Sahrawi, Maure, Mauri, Moor, Sulaka, Hasanya, Hassani. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic Arabic, Judeo-Moroccan [aju] 8,925 in Morocco (2000 WCD). Casablanca. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Moroccan Spoken [ary] 18,800,000 in Morocco (1995). Population total all countries: 19,480,600. Northern Morocco and southern Morocco south of the Atlas Mountains, and including the port cities of the Sahara. Also spoken in Belgium, Egypt, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Netherlands, United Kingdom. Alternate names: Moroccan Arabic, Moroccan Colloquial Arabic, Moroccan Darija, Maghrebi Arabic, Maghribi Colloquial Arabic. Dialects: Rabat-Casablanca Arabic, Fez. Meknes, Tangier, Oujda, Jebli (Jebelia, Jbala), Southern Morocco Arabic, Marrakech. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Standard [arb] Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Moroccan Sign Language [xms] Used in Tetouan and other cities. Dialects: Algerian Sign Language has influenced the strong deaf community of 60 to 70 men in the city of Oujda in the north. Lexical similarity less than 50% with American Sign Language. Classification: Deaf sign language
Spanish [spa] 20,000 in Morocco (1993 Johnstone). Melilla and scattered across the north coast. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, West Iberian, Castilian
Tachelhit [shi] 3,000,000 in Morocco (1998). Southwestern Morocco, from coast south to Ifni and north to near Agadir, northeast to outskirts of Marrakech, and east to Draa, including the valley of the Sous, and south near the border. Also spoken in Algeria, France. Alternate names: Tashilheet, Tashelheyt, Tachilhit, Tashelhit, Tasoussit, Shilha, Susiua, Southern Shilha. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern, Atlas
Tamazight, Central Atlas [tzm] 3,000,000 in Morocco (1998). Population total all countries: 3,150,000. Middle Atlas, High Atlas, eastern High Atlas Mountains. 1,200,000 in rural areas between Taza, Khemisset, Azilal, Errachidia; 100,000 outside the language area. Also spoken in Algeria, France. Alternate names: Central Shilha, Middle Atlas Berber, Shilha. Dialects: Central Atlas, South Oran. Much variety in dialects. May be more than one language. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern, Atlas
Tarifit [rif] 1,500,000 in Morocco (1991). Population total all countries: 1,700,000. Northern Morocco. The dialects listed are near Al Hoceima. Also spoken in Algeria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain. Alternate names: Rifi, Rifia, Northern Shilha, Shilha. Dialects: Urrighel, Beni Iznassen (Beni Snassen). There may be other dialects. Beni Snassen may be a separate language. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern, Zenati, Riff
Extinct Languages
Ghomara gho] Extinct. North and west of Tamazight, a small region near Chechaouen, western Rif mountains, Oued Laou Valley. Dialects: Coon says Ghomara is intelligible with Tarifit. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern, Zenati, Ghomara
Senhaja de Srair [sjs] Extinct. Northern, west of Tarifit. Alternate names: Sanhaja of Srair, Sinhaja Srir. Dialects: Coon (1939) says it was a separate language from Tarifit. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern, Zenati, Riff
Resources and Citations
Courtesy of Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.