Languages of Morocco - French - History of French

History of French

In 1912 the French colonial authorities in Morocco introduced the French language to the country, making it the language of government administration, educational instruction, and the media; therefore Classical Arabic was only used for traditional activities and religious services. The French government had intended for the French culture and the French language to be viewed as "civilization and advancement". In 1956 Morocco declared independence, and in the government declared Classical Arabic as the official language. In the early 1960s the Moroccan government began the Arabization process. After independence, to facilitate economic growth and to increase its ties to Europe, the Moroccan government decided to strengthen its ties with France, resulting in the promotion of French. By 2005 Morocco engaged in economic liberalisation and privatization; Ennaji said that these activities, in many sectors, reinforced the usage of French.

Read more about this topic:  Languages Of Morocco, French

Famous quotes containing the words history of, history and/or french:

    Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.
    —Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (1741–1794)

    History takes time.... History makes memory.
    Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)

    French rhetorical models are too narrow for the English tradition. Most pernicious of French imports is the notion that there is no person behind a text. Is there anything more affected, aggressive, and relentlessly concrete than a Parisan intellectual behind his/her turgid text? The Parisian is a provincial when he pretends to speak for the universe.
    Camille Paglia (b. 1947)