<TARGET "mos" DOCINFO AUTHOR "Hind Amel Mostari"TITLE "A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria"SUBJECT

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A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation

and language use in Algeria

Hind Amel Mostari

University of Sidi Bel Abbes

The Algerian National Constitution stipulates that Classical Arabic is the

only official language of the nation, supposedly used by all members of the
speech community. French is regarded as a foreign language and is taught
starting from the fourth year of the primary level. The Algerian diglossic
situation is characterized by the use of Classical Arabic and French as high
varieties used in formal and public domains, and colloquial dialects, namely
Algerian Arabic and Berber, as low varieties for informal and intimate situa-
tions. In public domains, Classical Arabic is present virtually everywhere and
used (especially at the written level) in varying degrees. In some domains,
such as education or the physical environment, Classical Arabic dominates;
in other domains such as the economy, Classical Arabic is used in parallel
with French. This linguistic reality is primarily the outcome of many years of
intensive campaigns of Arabisation and major political and even financial
decisions, beginning right after independence, aimed at promoting the status of
Classical Arabic and giving to Algeria its Arabo-Muslim identity.
The present paper examines the process and outcomes of Arabisation and its
effects on language use, providing a brief historical sketch of the Arabisation
process in various domains, including its application in public life, notably
in administration, the physical environment and education. The Arabisation
process has touched practically all spheres of public life previously character-
ized by the sole use of the French language. Also discussed is the impact of
Arabisation on language use at the institutional and individual levels. The
impact of Arabisation has been significant in some domains, namely educa-
tion and the physical environment, but less evident in others, such as in
university studies, especially in scientific and medical departments, where
French remains the main medium of instruction and communication. The
paper also encompasses a brief survey of the linguistic rights of Berbers
under the Arabisation process, and at the same time it also attempts to address
the issue of the Arabisation process in relation to other concepts, notably Islam

Language Problems & Language Planning 28:1 (2004), 2544.

issn 02722690 / e-issn 15699889! John Benjamins Publishing Company
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26 Hind Amel Mostari

and Islamism; Arabisation does not mean Islamisation. Finally, the results
of the Arabisation campaigns are analyzed and critiqued. Arabisation has
faced many criticisms, among them paucity of human and financial means,
as well as the lack of a coherent strategy of implementation in which the
political and sociolinguistic realities of the Algerian speech community are
taken into consideration.

Algeria won its independence on July 5, 1962. Algerian leaders, especially the
nationalists, soon adopted the motto, dervied from Abdelhamid Ibnou Badis, the
nineteenth-century leader of the Ulama League (the Scholars League), Lislam est
notre religion, lAlgrie est notre patrie, la langue Arabe est notre langue(Islam is our
religion, Algeria is our mother country, Arabic is our language).
After independence, Algeria felt an urgent need to regain its Arab and
Muslim identity. Since Classical Arabic is the language of the Koran throughout
the Muslim world and since language is an instrument of power (Hadjarab
2000: 2), major Arabisation campaigns were launched to replace French, the
language of the colonizer, with Classical Arabic, the language of Arabo-Islamic
identity. For the Algerian elite, especially the nationalists, Classical Arabic was
the best vehicle of communication and instruction, without which Algeria
would probably lose its identity and values. Within this framework, President
Boumedine (1968, quoted in Bouhania 1998: 26) declared, Sans la
rcupration de cet lment essentiel et important qui est la langue nationale, nos
efforts resteront vains, notre personnalit incomplte et notre entit un corps sans
me (without recovering that essential and important element which is the
national language, our efforts will be vain, our personality incomplete and our
entity a body without a soul).
Arabisation was probably an expected choice. Algerian society, whose true
identity had been denied for 132 years, could not begin to reconstruct itself
without restoring the bedrock of that identity, namely the Arabic language,
which remains a vivid symbol of Arabic identity and Islamic values. The group
actively promoting Arabisation right after independence consisted of Algerian
nationalists and political leaders who were extremely eager to find their place in
an overwhelmingly French-speaking country. Hence, the political leaders first
preoccupation was to build Algerian identity on two major points: Islam and
Arabity. Such goals could not be achieved without an effective language policy.
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A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 27

Arabisation Policies in Algeria

Algeria, then, inherited a heavy linguistic heritage of 132 years; the Arabisation
process was intended to change such a situation. Arabisation, as the term is
understood in the Maghrebi regions, means restoring the Arabic language
(Grandguillaume 1997a: 3). Several laws, decrees and ordinances aimed at
implementing Classical Arabic and strengthening its position in all public
domains were duly enacted, reinforced and applied. For Algerian Franco-
phones, the Arabisation policy was a real catastrophe since it reduced the status
of French to a foreign language. Hence, the process was marked by a prolonged
clash between the defenders or promoters of Classical Arabic and the advocates
of retention of French. The former regarded Classical Arabic as an integrated and
essential component of the Algerian personality; the latter gave priority to develop-
ment, claiming that Classical Arabic was an outdated language which could not
cope with modernism and technology. Arabisation campaigns were launched in
various public domains, notably administration, environment and education.

Administration
Classical Arabic was confronted with the hostility of the French infrastructure
inherited after independence. Algeria faced many socio-cultural and linguistic
problems, among them a highly illiterate population, a small elite with a French
or Arabic background, and an Arabic language (Classical Arabic) imposed as
the sole official and national language of the new nation. Within the French-
dominated administration, Algerian officials were seemingly slow to master
Classical Arabic; accordingly, the government decided to restore Classical
Arabic in administration progressively but quickly. By a 1968 Decree (quoted
in Grandguillaume 1983: 3), President Houari Boumedine (19651978)
attempted to create radical and effective changes in public administration:
Dans un dlai de trois ans, les fonctionnaires doivent apprendre suffisamment
darabe pour travailler dans cette langue (within a period of three years,
functionaries should learn enough Arabic to work in this language).
Although the decree imposed Arabisation on the civil service, ordering civil
servants to learn Arabic quickly, not many of them managed to do so. However,
there is no doubt that this measure effectively opened the doors of the civil
service to Arabisation. In 1977, a Technical Committee on Arabisation was set
up to provide all the means needed to realize Arabisation in government
administration. Later, on December 17, 1996, the Algerian Transitional
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28 Hind Amel Mostari

National Council (CNT) voted unanimously to adopt a law on the Generaliza-

tion of the Use of the Arabic Language. Its main stipulation was that by July 5,
1998 (or the year 2000 in the case of higher education), Les administrations
publiques, les institutions, les entreprises et les associations quelle que soit leur
nature sont tenues dutiliser la seule langue arabe dans lensemble de leurs activits
telles que la communication, la gestion administrative, financire, technique et
artistique (all public administrations, institutions, enterprises and associations,
of whatever nature, are required to use only the Arabic language in all their
activities, including communication and administrative, financial, technical and
artistic management). The act also specifies that the use of any foreign
language in the deliberations and discussions of official meetings is forbidden.
(quoted in Grandguillaume 1997a: 3).

The physical environment

Article 3 of the Circular of July 1976, on the Arabisation of the environment,
stated its intent to Arabiser totalement toutes les enseignes extrieures des
administrations et socits publiques et interdire absolument toute inscription en
langue trangre (Arabise totally all the external and internal signage of public
administrations and companies and absolutely forbid any inscription in a
foreign language). Article 4 adds as an additional goal Utiliser seulement
lcriture en arabe pour les divers services, bureaux et guichets internes et pour les
diverses inscriptions, panneaux dindication ou dorientation (to use only Arabic
script for the various services, offices and pay-desks and for the various inscrip-
tions, and indication or orientation panels) (quoted in Grandguillaume 1997a:3).
Accordingly, public inscriptions were soon written in Classical Arabic.
Interestingly, in Algiers in October 1976, in a single night, all transcribed panels
were replaced with others written in Classical Arabic. French names of avenues
and streets were also replaced with Arabic ones: Baudelaire Street in the town of
Sidi Bel Abbs, for example, became Sakiet Sidi Youcef Street. The names of
villages and townships changed too: Descartes became Mustapha Ben Brahim
and Detrie became Sidi Lahcen (these villages are in the Sidi Bel Abbs area). In
fact, the real objective was to impose Arabisation, to force people, to some
extent, to read everything, everywhere, in Classical Arabic and to expose them
to an environment one-hundred-percent Arabized. Algerian politicians wanted
not only to promote the status of Classical Arabic but also to give to Algeria
what Grandguillaume (1997a: 3) calls an Arab face (un visage Arabe).
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A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 29

In reality, if public administration principally uses Classical Arabic in its

written forms, other structures, especially the social ones, use both Classical
Arabic and French. In the economic field, some import-export companies
employ both Classical Arabic and another foreign language (French, English or
Spanish depending on the country of origin) for labels and packaging, as in the
case of pharmaceutical, cosmetic or general consumption products.
Within this framework, Article 21 of Law 9105 of 1996 states that les
documents imprims, embalages et botes (printed documents, packages and
boxes.) sont imprims en langue Arabeet en plusieurs langues trangres (are
printed in the Arabic languageand in various foreign languages)(quoted in
Grandguillaume, 1997a: 3).
Despite the tremendous financial and political efforts made to Arabise the
environment, many private enterprises seemingly prefer using French or
English names in their signs rather than Classical Arabic. At the social level, this
can be explained by the strong European influence on the Algerian speech
community; at the economic level, it seems that customers are more attracted
by foreign goods.

Education
The educational profile of Algerian society changed dramatically with indepen-
dence, when most French and other Europeans left. As the majority of techni-
cians and administrators were Europeans, Algeria was left with a shortage of
highly-skilled and educated people. In the educational system, the first reform,
adopted right after independence, was to teach Classical Arabic starting from
the primary level. French became a second language (1964), and then a foreign
language with the application of the Foundation School system in 1976. In
reaction to this change, within the Foundation School System a political
attempt was made to reconcile the restoration of the national language Classical
Arabic with the retention of French, an essential medium for the acquisition of
technology and modern science. Ahmed Benbella, President from 1963 to 1965,
declared in 1965 that Arabisation campaigns did not mean the elimination of
the French language (Grandguillaume 1983: 55). It should be noted, however,
that Arabisation was not evident and its implementation strategies were not
easy to realise in various domains such as education.
At the beginning of the 1963 school year, the education system was in
complete disarray, and enrolments in schools at all levels totalled only 850,000.
In the years immediately following, teachers were hastily trained or recruited
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30 Hind Amel Mostari

from the countries of the Middle East, especially Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Class-
rooms were improvised, many in the vacated homes of former French residents.
Attendance climbed to 1.5 million in 1967, to nearly 3 million by 1975, and to
6.5 million in 199192. In the mid 1970s, the Algerian authorities legislated a
number of reforms for the educational system at primary, secondary and
university levels. To accelerate the Arabisation process and realize a total
Arabisation at the primary and secondary levels, all teacher training centers
were Arabised and as of 1974 no Francophone teachers were trained. The first
National Conference on Arabisation, held from May 14 to 17, 1975, recom-
mended Arabisation in all sectors of life. This Conference gave birth to a Sub-
Commission on Training and Teaching which determined a three-term
progressive Arabisation:
A short term from 1976 to 1978 during which the rate of Arabized classes in
primary and secondary levels would increase from one-third to one-half.
A middle term from 1976 to 1980 during which partial Arabisation would
be introduced in some scientific and technical fields in universities.
A long term from 1976 to 1982 at the end of which Arabisation would be
brought to a successful conclusion at the primary and secondary levels.
In the universities, Arabisation started in the year 1970 when Mohamed Seddik
Benyahia was minister of higher education. Commissions were set up on
October 12, 1971, to develop an Arabisation plan (Grandguillaume 1983). The
Arabisation process was gaining ground at the university level, and courses in
Arabic were opened to teach terminology to students in various fields and
disciplines. However, if Arabisation was totally achieved in both primary and
secondary levels, such was not the case in universities, where Arabisation was :
integral in literature, history and pedagogy;
partial in geography, law, journalism, sociology and psychology;
non-existent in scientific and technical specialities such as medicine, the
hard sciences and engineering, where French had acquired a position of
paramount importance since it became an essential and omnipresent tool
of teaching. Despite linguists efforts to modernise Classical Arabic, it
remains relatively unable to replace French in such departments, which
have strongly resisted Arabisation campaigns.
 A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 31

The Impact of Arabisation in Public Domains

One of the most important concerns of Algeria during the post-independence

era was to restore Classical Arabic as the main medium of interaction, and
numerous laws, decrees and ordinances were enacted to this end. However, the
result was not as intended. What was planned was one thing but what occurred
in practice was quite another. The impact of the Arabisation process varied
from one field to another, being efficient in some public domains and non-
existent in others.

Administration
Administration was among the public domains where Arabisation was particu-
larly intense, but after many years of hard work, Arabisation partly failed in this
area. Only the ministries of defence, education and justice have been Arabized,
the condition of the other domains being best characterised as Arabic / French
bilingualism. Consequently, in some public institutions and departments, we
find documents written in Classical Arabic on the right and in French on the
left side to facilitate comprehension, such as bank cheques, post office forms
and airline tickets.
Thus, after 41 years of intensive efforts and optimistic expectations, French
is still a strongly-felt presence in Algerian government administration and its
dominance is such that many Algerians from different sociolinguistic and
cultural backgrounds, have difficulty completing forms or writing administra-
tive letters in Arabic. What is striking and interesting in this case, is that many
people seem proud of their inability to understand Classical Arabic: for them
French is a reflection of modernity and education, and mastering Classical
Arabic is not a priority.

The physical environment

The Arabisation process was launched on a massive scale through the enact-
ment and application of several Ordinances, Presidential Decrees and Laws such
as the 1976 Law on Arabisation, followed by the Presidential Decree of March
1981 and 1982. The latter permitted bilingualism, i.e. the use of both Classical
Arabic and French in printed public inscriptions for such practical reasons as
the inability of foreigners or even some Algerians to read Classical Arabic.
Although the Arabisation process was particularly intensified in the physical
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32 Hind Amel Mostari

environment in ways already mentioned, it seems that the old French names
still stuck in the minds even of the younger generations. For instance, among
twenty young speakers I asked, twelve (60 %) stated that when visiting a
particular place they generally give the taxi driver its old French name.

The mass media

Let us consider the main channels or means of communication that reach a
large number of people, namely radio, television and newspapers.
First, radio. Radio is supervised in Algeria by the Ministry of Information
and Culture, which has a monopoly on radio and television broadcasting. The
national networks cover the entire country with three channels: Arabic, French
and Berber. Among the radio stations broadcasting in Arabic is Alger Chane I.
Although news and the majority of its programs are presented in Classical
Arabic, French and Algerian Arabic may also be used, especially in programs
where there is a direct interaction between a presenter and guests, or in phone-
in programs where listeners participate in songs or games or give their opinions
on particular issues. Alger Chane III broadcasts in French and Chane II and
Mitidja FM in Berber. In addition to these national channels, there are regional
ones such as El Bahia FM in Oran, El Bahdja in Algiers, and Bechar Essaoura in
Bechar. The existence of more than one channel broadcasting in different
languages certainly reflects not only the linguistic diversity of the speakers but
also their will to express themselves in other languages than Classical Arabic. In
short, as Grandguillaume (1997) emphasizes, Algerian society is pluralist in its
regions and in its languages.
Second, television. In Algeria, there are three television channels operated
by ENTV (Entreprise National de Television) under the Ministry of Informa-
tion and Communication, one national and two international (mostly ad-
dressed to Algerian immigrants in Europe). In the national channel, most
programs are presented in Classical Arabic. Since Classical Arabic is supposed
to be the only language of communication on television, some television
interviewers, journalists and presenters ask speakers to answer in that language.
In some cases, the journalists even translate the speakers from Algerian to
Classical Arabic. The use of only Classical Arabic on television is difficult not
only for ordinary people but also for the fervent supporters of Arabisation, as
Hadjarab (2000: 2) confirms: Cela donne des situations absurdes. Des hommes
politiques qui sexpriment trs mal en arabe classique baragouinent et cherchent
dsesprment leurs mots classiques la tlvision au lieu de parler la langue du
 A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 33

peuple (This leads to absurd situations. Politicians who express themselves

badly in Classical Arabic jabber and desperately look for their classical words on
television instead of speaking the language of the people).
As for Algerian films and television series, we can divide them into three
types:
Films or television series where actors use Classical Arabic exclusively, e.g.
historical films dealing with Islamic issues or Arabic literature;
Films or television series reflecting the real linguistic situation of the
Algerian speech community, where actors may use Algerian Arabic,
Classical Arabic, or French;
Films where the actors are obliged to use mostly Classical Arabic and a little
Algerian Arabic. In this case, the majority of the actors speech is translated
into Classical Arabic, which tends to make the screenplay artificial.
The great Algerian actor Hassan El Hassani (1979) once declared, a mest
arriv de refuser de jouer dans des films parce quon ma demand de dire na :fida
au lieu de ta:qa (I eventually refused to play in films because I was asked to
say window [in Classical Arabic] instead of window [in Algerian Arabic]).
Article 17 of the Arabisation Process stipulates, Les films cinmato-
graphiques et/ou tlvisuels ainsi que les missions culturelles et scientifiques sont
diffuses en langue arabe ou traduits ou doubls (Cinematographic and/or
television films as well as cultural and scientific shows are diffused in the Arabic
language or translated or dubbed). We note, however, that Algerian television and
cinema, which are government-owned communication media, have not applied
the Arabisation rules nor have they respected Algerian rights of free expression.
As for newspapers, there are two types: national and regional publication
which may appear daily or weekly. They appear mainly in two languages:
Classical Arabic and French. Among national newspapers in Classical Arabic are
al-Jumh:riyya (The Republic), al-Axba:r (The News), and Ashshacb (The
People). National newspapers in French include Libert, Le Matin, Le Monde, El
Watan (The Nation), and LExpression.

Education
One of the most important concerns during the post-independence era was to
restore Classical Arabic as the main medium of teaching in all disciplines and if
possible to reduce the use of French. Arabisation campaigns were launched at
different educational levels, from the primary to the university levels, aiming at
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34 Hind Amel Mostari

promoting the status of Classical Arabic and correcting the faults of the
educational system under colonialism.
Despite great political effort and huge investment (with more than 40% of
the national budget devoted to education), education appears to be suffering
from a lack of any real policy that takes into account the sociolinguistic and
cultural environment of the students. As Grandguillaume (1997a: 3) puts it,
Lcole Algrienne se porte mal (The Algerian school is in bad shape). The
deplorable situation of education in Algeria today is probably the result of the
accumulation of many political and sociolinguistic factors, among them the
Arabisation process. Indeed, the Arabisation of education was the outcome of
an authoritarian decision taken with no consultation, no plan and no method.
It has spread to all stages of primary and secondary schooling. In higher
education, the social sciences and humanities have been taught in Arabic since
1980; the other disciplines are variously affected. Carried out in an authoritari-
an way, Arabisation has seriously affected the capacity of the education system
to acquire the scientific and technical knowledge needed for any improvement.
Teachers and researchers who have always worked in French have had to refresh
their knowledge of Classical Arabic in order to keep their jobs. In 1978, a report
by the Algerian National Ministry of Education deplored the increasing
marginalisation of scientific and technical education, which was taught in
French and was jeopardised with teachers being marginalised or underutilised
(quoted in Bessis, Goumeziane & Dahmani 2001: 20).

Arabisation and the linguistic rights of the Berbers

The Amazigh or Berber population represents 2025% of the total population.

The Berber language encompasses many dialects, among them Chaouia,
Tamazight, Taznatit, and Kabyle. Kabylians, in the northwest of the country, are
the most populous group. The Shawiya live in the Aures Mountains, Mozabites
in the Mzab and the Tuaregs in the Ahaggar and Ajjer regions. Thus some six or
seven million Algerians speak one of the varieties of Berber (Grimes 1996: 13).
Following independence, as we have already noted, successive Algerian
governments took on the task of reviving Classical Arabic and establishing it as
the national language, with the aim of recovering the pre-colonial past and
eventually restoring a national identity and the Arab Muslim personality of the
newly freed nation. Such a policy was supported by the vast majority of Algeri-
ans. Nevertheless, since the Arabisation project did not consider the Berber
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A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 35

language as an integral part of the process, the Berbers, especially the Kabylians,
intensified their efforts to slow down, if not to halt, the Arabisation campaigns.
During the 1970s in an attempt to Arabise the registry office, it was forbidden
to give Berber names to new-borns, and in June 1976 the publication of the
periodical Fichier berbre (Berber File) was suspended by the authorities. This
periodical was published by French missionaries and was concerned with
Berber history and culture (Grandguillaume 1983).
Antagonism between Berbers and the Algerian government has since
become explosive, with political protests, massive demonstrations and general
strikes. Although there were protests in the 1960s and 1970s, the number of
demonstrations increased remarkably after 1991. On July 5 of that year a
controversial law came into force making Classical Arabic the only language to
be used in official documents and other areas of public life, at which point fury
exploded in the Berber-speaking regions and Berber anger swiftly turned
against the State and its Arabisation policy. Pour les Berbres, remarks
Grandguillaume (1997a: 3), cette loi sclrate a pour but non seulement
dacclrer et dintensifier le processus darabisation mais surtout de supprimer
dfinitivement le berbre (for the Berbers, this outrageous law aims at not only
accelerating and intensifying the Arabisation process but also definitively
suppressing the Berber language).
On October 3, 2001, a government statement announced that the Constitu-
tion would be amended to make Tamazight a national language. More recently,
on April 8, 2002, the Algerian Parliament approved, by a vote of 484 to 2, a law
with that intent (as reported in Le Quotidien). This is of course news of prime
importance. However, in the current situation it raises questions about the
form of such a constitutional amendment, the space afforded for Tamazight,
and the uses of Tamazight as a national language alongside Classical Arabic. In
making such an announcement, the authorities run the risk of favouring the
status of Berbers, especially Kabylians (about 30% of the population), over the
rest of the population, who might well imitate the Berbers by calling for
recognition of their local dialects, such as Algerian Arabic, as additional
national languages.

Arabisation and Factional Struggles

The enactment and application of the many laws on Arabisation has created
stormy debates and generated intense struggles at the political as well as the
36 Hind Amel Mostari

sociolinguistic level. Probably the largest conflict is the constant clash between
the Arabophones and the Francophones. Arabisation has not offered the
Arabophones equality of social and intellectual mobility with the Francophones,
who in turn consider Arabisation campaigns a real linguistic threat to their
political and sociolinguistic position in the country. A further struggle that
emerged right after the launching of the Arabisation campaigns is the competi-
tion between Classical Arabic and French . Arabisation is also presented as a
conflict with France, and even with those Algerians who use French in their
working or private lives, denounced as Hizb Fransa (members of the Party
of France).
The Arabic language is linked to the two sources of legitimacy on which the
government draws: the struggle for national liberation and the defence of Islam.
From this point of view, Arabic is the national language and French that of the
colonists. The endless repetition of this argument effectively tarred the Franco-
phone classes, who once had a virtual monopoly of power, and so to assuage
this guilt by association they co-operated readily with Arabisation measures.
During the presidency of Chadli Ben Djedid (19791991), the State was
plunged into factional struggles. In fact when the Arabisation of higher educa-
tion was pursued through the 1980s, Berber movements fiercely opposed to the
process appeared on the scene, especially after the government banned a
prominent writer from lecturing on the history of Berber poetry. In addition to
the conflicts which emerged between the advocates of Classical Arabic and the
Francophones, and between the nationalists and Berber activists, there was
another split the rift between Classical Arabic and peoples spoken mother
tongues, including Algerian Arabic (with its regional variations) and Berber.
Thus the defenders of Classical Arabic, who wanted to see the total linguistic
unification of their country, showed great hostility toward the Arabic dialects,
which they considered as degenerate forms of pure Classical Arabic. Further
confusing the situation, the ideologues of Arabisation declared that written
Arabic was the true mother-tongue since it was the ancestral language.
Educational directives were issued ordering this written language to be taught
as a spoken language. Arabic dialects are seen in Algeria as incorrect forms,
faults that teaching ought to correct, if necessary by accusing the pupil or even
the adult citizen of unworthy behaviour. Thus, the Algerian speaker, once called
a bougnoule (wog) by the French colonists, is now termed an uncivilised savage
by his own rulers. Yet Arabisation was supposed to restore his cultural dignity.
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A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 37

Arabisation vs. Islamisation

Benbella was invested as the first president of independent Algeria in 1963, and the
National Constitution established a single party regime, the FLN (Front National
de Libration: National Liberation Front) on September 8th 1963, with one
officially recognized language, Classical Arabic, and one religion, Islam.
Supposedly, the constitution guarantees fundamental liberties and rights to
all Algerians, but at the same time it establishes a single-party regime which to
a great extent conditions and limits those rights. The constitution makes a clear
bet on socialism, and institutes the army as the main guarantor of independence
and the construction of socialism in the country When the Arabisation process
was launched, Benbella (quoted in Bouhania, 1999: 54) stated, LArabisation
nest pas Islamisation (Arabisation is not Islamisation). In fact, although the
national constitution stipulates that Algeria is an Arabo-Muslim nation whose
sole language is Arabic and sole religion is Islam, Algeria has never adopted a
radical or extreme approach to Islam and therefore has never been an Islamist
state in the same way as Iran or Afghanistan has been. The first aim of the
Arabisation process was basically the restoration of Classical Arabic in the place
of French. It was in any case a matter of re-Islamisation: Algerians are, after
all, Muslims who have always practiced and defended their religion under
differing situations (during colonialism and after independence). Unfortunate-
ly, many people, especially in the western world, confuse Arabisation with Islam
and Islamism. What, then, is the relationship between such concepts and how
can we find a link between them?

From Arabisation to Islamisation

Many lay people and even intellectuals do not distinguish between an Arab, a
Muslim and an Islamist. Under the occidental model, such concepts sound
different but have the same meaning. The equation Arab = Muslim = Islamist
seems always to apply. In fact, an Arab is a person of Arab origins, who may or
may not speak Arabic and may or may not be Muslim: Arabs may be Muslims,
Christians or hold other beliefs.
The word Islam is derived from salaam, meaning peace. Islam is a
monotheistic religion based on the Koran. Islam (as with almost all religions) is
a religion based on peace and tolerance. It is important to emphasize that there
is a difference between Islam and Islamism: the former is the religion of the
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38 Hind Amel Mostari

Koran and Sunna; the latter is often the perversion of Islam. Islamism is also a
total transformation of traditional Islam: it serves as a vehicle of modernisation,
and deals with the problems of urban living, of working women and others at
the cutting edge, and not the traditional concerns of Arabs. As Olivier Roy, the
French scholar (quoted in Pipes 1998), puts it, Rather than a reaction against
the modernisation of Muslim societies, Islamism is a product of it.
However, once the word Islamism is used, it is automatically linked to
extremist and violent movements. In the word Islamism, we may distinguish
between Islamist non-violent movements, also called religious movements,
whose prime objective is to establish modern and civilized Arab nations based
on moderate Islam, and the most extremist Islamic movements, properly called
Islamist movements. The latter flourished by exploiting the Arab sentiments
of hatred and antagonism against the western world which arose especially in
the 1970s and 1980s, in order to gain ground all around the world. Such
movements applied the extremist version of the Koran, using violence and
oppression in the name of God. They soon became a powerful force in many
governments such as those in Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan. Unlike Islam itself,
Islamism politicizes the religion and follows a political path to a great extent
resembling the one adopted by communism or fascism. Like these ideologies,
Islamism takes a hostile and extremist position regarding human rights and is
indisputably very far from the tolerant, indulgent and peaceful nature of Islam
(and many other religions).
The spread and expansion of political Islam in the Maghreb is very recent,as
Islamic leaders themselves recognize. Rachid Gunnachi, for example, referring
to Tunisia, remarked in 2002, Islam has been here for a long time but Islamism
is new (quoted in Rashwan 2003: 5).
The recent history of Islamism in Algeria brings us to the post-indepen-
dence period, when the Arabisation of education favoured the arrival of
thousands of teachers from Egypt and the Near West. Islamic fanatics spread
the new Islamist discourse of the Muslim brotherhood. The outcome of the
intensive Arabisation campaigns especially in the educational system was the
emergence of a bloc of Arabic-speaking students who found their lack of
fluency in French kept them from getting jobs in areas of advanced technology
and higher management. These qualified Arabic speakers found access blocked
to all the key sectors, above all in industries requiring technical knowledge and
foreign languages. Arabic-speaking youth, including graduates, intellectuals and
formerly employed students, formed a bridge to the numerous discontented
young people who found themselves jobless after many years spent in an
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A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 39

inefficient and underfunded educational system. Living under deplorable and

appalling conditions that constituted true socio-economic injustice, they ended
by turning to the mosque. Islamist intellectuals have made careers by dominat-
ing the theological and Arabic-language faculties (especially faculties of Arabic
literature, Islamic studies, law etc.), thereby gaining control of many positions,
particularly among Imams in the mosques and teachers in the lyces. Thus, they
have formed a strong network that ensures the recruitment of more Islamists to
such positions and the inculcation of Islamist ideas among the new generations.
This in turn has enabled them to exert influence over a vast number of young
people. Ahmed Rouadia (quoted in Rashwan 2003: 4) notes in 2002 that
Islamist groups began to grow from the mid-1970s onwards, receiving support
in the universities from Arabic-speaking students, who see in Islam the only
possible way to create significant social and economic change. For them, the
restoration of Islam would make the socio-economic inequalities and frustra-
tions disappear.

Some Criticisms of Arabisation

Arabisation has faced many criticisms, among them the inability of Classical
Arabic to cope with technology and modernity, but probably the major obstacle
to the development and promotion of Classical Arabic lies in the yawning gap
between political decisions and their execution. Arabisation as a goal is one
thing, but its implementation in a society is quite another. The policy of
Arabisation evolved in a hostile sociolinguistic environment, bringing Classical
Arabic into conflict with other languages, especially French.
Any political project related to language implementation in public domains
should be preceded by a serious and pragmatic investigation, a study that takes
into account the socio-cultural and linguistic environment in which language
is actually used. Such an effort is more likely to guarantee a safe beginning and
avoid the irreversible consequences of making wrong decisions. In language-
planning terms, such a study or investigation would have taken into consider-
ation the state of Classical Arabic and its communicative potential, the domains
in which it could be implemented, and the consequences or the results of
language restoration in particular domains.
In education, Arabisation has never gone beyond the limits of school, and
it has been applied primarily in fields which do not have a great impact on the
out-of-school environment. Thus, the family circle remains hostile to
40 Hind Amel Mostari

Arabisation. In addition, pre-schooling and post-schooling are not organised in

a way calculated to sustain, over the longer run, school action intended to
influence and favour the environment for Arabisation and the expansion of
Classical Arabic. In education, a revision of existing policies must be conducted,
designed to make the educational system part and parcel of the social environ-
ment, which influences and is influenced by it.
The linguistic policy pursued by Algerian politicians has always been
dictated primarily by political objectives. Aside from these imperatives, the
authorities have shown no great desire to give Classical Arabic its true value by
encouraging historical research and reflection on the Algerian identity. Thus,
Arabisation has been politically conceived, not sociolinguistically planned: it has
deviated from its purpose as a socio-cultural project. Language is, after all, a
crucial means of socialisation and intellectual pursuit, yet Arabisation has been
unable to accommodate the claims of other languages and has tended to rely on
imposition rather than persuasion.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the decision to promote Classical Arabic as the official
and national language stems from the role it plays as ideally unifying the
Algerian community within geographical and religious space. But Arabisation
has at least partly failed in reaching its aims: at the oral level, its impact has been
almost non-existent, since Algerians are basically Arabic/ French bilinguals; at
the written level, it has partly succeeded in some contexts and failed altogether
in others.
Today it is urgent and crucial to look at Algerias pluralism and diversity as
a kind of linguistic richness that should be respected, preserved and exploited
rather than ignored or eradicated. The new Arabisation Law does not go in that
direction. While the essential task is to forge a consensus around the acceptance
of pluralism, official linguistic policy proceeds by constraint and exclusion. On
one level, it is forcing a language on people when the sensible thing to do is to
persuade them to love it. On another level, it is again hurling anathema at the
languages people actually speak, Berber in particular, but also French.
Arabisation, to put it bluntly, tends to exclude every language except one the
one used by the authorities and no-one else. The periodic repetition of these
radical measures demonstrates their ineffectiveness, denounced as scandalous
by Arabist ideologues. But is the failure to make Arabisation total any more
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A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 41

shocking than the fact that, for a large part of the population, it has come to
symbolise waste, mess and educational failure? In a universe of languages which
reflect so deeply the plurality of Algerian society, the authorities do not strive to
create a space of tolerance, openness and respect for differences.
Algerian society is pluralist: in its regions, its languages, its attitudes to the
past and the future, and its view of the West and the Arab world. So far, this
diversity has never been properly acknowledged, in the context of a general will
among Algerians to live with one another. In the absence of a symbolic enclave
of government which, like the keystone of an arch, would hold the entire
edifice together, each individual element not only feels threatened, but is seen
by the others as a threat to unity.
Probably the only way to escape from the present sociolinguistic and
political crisis is through the establishment of a consensus on this central
enclave, in which the rule of law would be recognised and the government
could at least be seen as the guarantor of societys real pluralism (Grand-
guillaume 1997b).
The process of Arabization seems to be caught between national identity
and unity on the one hand and non-secularist Islam on the other, and this the
real problem. Indeed, many people from diffferent socio-economic spheres link
Arabisation to other concepts such as Islam and Islamisation, and sometimes
accuse it of being the root cause of the bloody war in Algeria. Since 1992,
Algeria has been living one of these wars without name, a real human butchery
which has resulted in thirty-thousand or more victims. In such a context, it is
crucial to stress that Arabisation does not mean Islamisation, or the reestablish-
ment of Islamic ideologies or thinking within the Algerian speech community.
In fact, Islamic thought has developed from contact with the great western
ideologies. For the Islamists, the problem is to develop a modern political
ideology based upon Islam, which they see as the only way to come to terms
with the modern world and the best vehicle for confronting foreign imperial-
ism. On the other hand, most, if not all, Algerians are well aware that
Arabisation is not Islamisation, and that Arabisations first aim is the restora-
tion of Arabo-Islamic identity and not the re-Islamisation of the state.
While, as we have noted, the Arabisation process has positive and negative
outcomes, we cannot accuse it of responsibility for the Islamists crimes and for
the bloody war in Algeria. In fact, neither Islam nor Islamism, nor even
Arabisation, is directly responsible for todays political chaos in Algeria. The
political leaders and decision makers should solve the Islamist question in Algeria
and apply the Arabisation Process pragmatically, taking into consideration not
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"mos-r1">
"mos-r2">
"mos-r3">
"mos-r4">
"mos-r5">
"mos-r6">
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42 Hind Amel Mostari

only the political aims of the nation but also the socio- economic and linguistic
realities of the Algerian speech community.

References

Bessis, Sophie, Smail Goumeziane & Ahmed Dahmani. 2001. A Vulnerable Population:
Algeria Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Alternative Report to the
Report Submitted by Algeria to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, 27th Session of the Committee, November 2001. FIDH Report 319/2.
Paris: FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights).
Bouhania, Bachir. 1999. The Substitution of French Loan Words for Arabic Counterparts in
Oran Arabic: A Case Study. Unpublished Masters Dissertation, Oran University of Arts
and Letters.
Grandguillaume, Gilbert. 1983. Arabisation et politique linguistique au Maghreb. Paris:
Maisonneuve et Larose.
Grandguillaume, Gilbert. 1997a. LArabisation confront lislamisme: Arabisation et
dmagogie en Algrie. Le Monde Diplomatique. February 1997: 3.
Grandguillaume, Gilbert. 1997b. Algeria: The case for diversity demagogues and
Arabisers. Trans. John Howe, from Le Monde Diplomatique, February 1997: 3.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/32/080.html (cited February 16, 2004)
Grimes, Barbara F., ed. 1996. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 13th ed. Dallas: Summer
Institute of Linguistics.
Hadjarab, Mustapha. 2000. LAlgrie au pril de larabisation. Lettres sur la Loi de la Gnral-
isation de lArabisation. Legisnet Internet Journal. www.legisnet.com (cited 2003).
Pipes, Daniel. 1998. Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism. Washington: Center for
Strategic and International Studies. http://www.danielpipes.org/article/954 (cited
February 16, 2004)
Rashwan, Salem. 2003. Political Islamism in the Maghreb. Washington, DC: Middle East
Policy Council.

Sommaire

Une perspective sociolinguistique de lArabisation et de lusage des langues

en Algrie
La constitution national algrienne stipule que larabe classique est la seule et unique langue
officielle de la nation, qui est suppose utilise par tous les membres de la communaut
linguistique algrienne. Le franais tant considr comme langue trangre est enseign
partir de la quatrime anne du cycle primaire. La situation diglossique algrienne est
caractrise par lusage de larabe classique et du franais considers comme des langues
suprieures, utilises dans les domaines formels ou publics, cependant que les dialectes,
 A sociolinguistic perspective on Arabisation and language use in Algeria 43

larabe algrien et le berber, considrs comme des langues infrieures sont utiliss dans les
situations informelles et intimes. Gnralement, dans les domaines publics, larabe classique
est partout prsent et utilis, spcialement pour lcrit, des degrs diffrents. Dans certains
domaines, comme lducation ou lenvironnement (laffichage), larabe classique prend la
part du lion; dans dautres domaines tels que lconomie, larabe classique est utilis en
parallle avec le franais.
Cette ralit linguistique nest entre autres que le rsultat et le cumul de plusieurs annes
de travail consacres au lancement de campagnes darabisation intensives et lexcution
dimportantes dcisions politiques et financires prises juste aprs lindpendance, ceci afin
de promouvoir le statut de larabe (larabe classique en particulier) et donner lAlgrie son
identit arabo-musulmane. En consquence, ce prsent article examine le processus de
larabisation et ses effets sur lusage des langues, en commenant par donner un bref aperu
historique sur le processus de larabisation dans des domaines varis et son application dans
le domaine public, notamment dans ladministration, lenvironnement et lducation. En
effet, le processus de larabisation a pratiquement touch toutes les sphres de la vie publique
qui taient prcdemment caractrises par lusage unique de la langue Franaise. Aussi est
discut dans cet article, limpact de larabisation sur lusage des langues aux niveaux
institutionnel et individuel. Ce prsent travail a rvl que limpact du processus de
larabisation tait important dans certains domaines, notamment dans lducation et
lenvironnement, et moins important dans dautres domaines comme luniversit, en
particulier dans les dpartements mdicaux et scientifiques o le franais reste le moyen le
plus efficace dinstruction et de communication. Dune part ce travail comprend aussi une
brve investigation concernant les droits linguistiques des Berbres sous le rgime de
larabisation, dautre part, cette tude tente de rsoudre la problmatique de larabisation en
relation avec dautres concepts, notamment ceux de lIslam et lIslamisme. Soulignons quen
aucun cas, arabisation ne veut dire Islamisation. Enfin les rsultats des campagnes
darabisation seront brivement analyss et critiqus. En effet larabisation a t critique et
parmi ces critiques figurent aussi bien linsuffisance des moyens humains et financiers mis
disposition que linexistence dune vraie stratgie de mise en application dans laquelle on
prendrait en considration les ralits politiques et sociolinguistiques de la communaut
linguistique algrienne.

Resumo

Socilingvistika perspektivo pri arabigo kaj lingvouzo en Algerio

La Algeria Nacia Konstitucio stipulas, ke la klasika araba estas la sola oficiala lingvo de la
nacio, supozeble uzata de ciuj anoj de la parolkomunumo. La francan oni konsideras fremda
lingvo kaj oni instruas gin ekde la kvara jaro de la elementa nivelo. La algerian diglosian
situacion karakterizas uzado de la klasika araba kaj la franca kiel altaj variaj^oj uzataj en
formalaj kaj publikaj sferoj, kaj kolokvaj dialektoj, nome la algeria araba kaj la berbera, kiel
malaltaj variaj^oj por neformalaj kaj intimaj situacioj. En publikaj sferoj, la klasikan araban
oni trovas preskau cie, kaj uzas gin (precipe skribe) diversproporcie. En kelkaj sferoj,
ekzemple edukado au la fizika medio, la klasika araba regas; en aliaj sferoj, ekzemple la
</TARGET "mos">

44 Hind Amel Mostari

ekonomia, oni uzas la klasikan araban paralele kun la franca. Tiu lingva realo rezultas cefe el
multaj jaroj da intensaj arabigaj kampanjoj kaj grandaj politikaj kaj ec financaj decidoj, ekde
la periodo tuj post sendependigo, kun la celo antauenigi la statuson de la klasika araba kaj
doni al Algerio ties arab-islaman identecon.
Tiu ci artikolo ekzamenas la procedon kaj rezultojn de arabigo kaj giajn efikojn ce la
lingvouzado, liverante mallongan historian skizon de la arabiga procedo en diversaj sferoj,
inkluzive gian aplikigon en la publika vivo, precipe en administrado, la fizika medio, kaj
edukado. La arabiga procedo jam tusis preskau ciujn aspektojn de la publika vivo antaue
markitajn de ekskluziva uzado de la franca. La artikolo ankau konsideras la efikon de arabigo
je lingvouzo ce la niveloj institucia kaj individua. G i montrigis signifa en iuj sferoj, nome
edukado kaj la fizika medio, sed malpli evidenta en aliaj, ekzemple en universitataj studoj,
precipe en sciencaj kaj medicinaj fakoj, kie la franca restas la cefa instru- kaj komunikmedio.
La artikolo ankau donas mallongan superrigardon de la lingvaj rajtoj de berberoj en la
arabiga procedo, kaj samtempe gi celas fronti la demandon de la arabiga procedo en rilato al
aliaj konceptoj, nome Islamo kaj islamismo: arabigo kaj islamigo ne sinonimas. Fine, la
artikolo analizas kaj prikritikas la rezultojn de la arabigaj kampanjoj. Oni multe kritikis
arabigon, interalie pro malmulteco de homaj kaj financaj rimedoj, kaj ankau pro manko de
kohera realigostrategio prenanta en konsideron la politikajn kaj socilingvistikajn realojn de
la algeria parolkomunumo.

Authors address
07, Rue Sakiet sidi Youcef
Sidi Bel Abbes 22000
Algeria
Hmostari@yahoo.com

About the author

Hind Amel Mostari teaches sociolinguistics, the dynamic of languages in the Arab world, and
English linguistics in the English section of the Department of Foreign Languages, University
of Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria, and holds degrees in computer science and management, and in
English linguistics.