Population: 33,757,176 (July 2007 est.) Ethnic groups: Maghrebians (Arab-Berbers) by heritage, and Arab or Berber by identity. Languages: Classical Arabic (official, though not used in daily speech) Amazigh (A standardized version of all Moroccan Berber languages, official since July 2011) Moroccan Arabic (not used in writing, locally known as Darija) Vernacular Berber: Tarifit, Tachelhit, and Central Atlas Tamazight (spoken and written but not fully standardized). Hassaniya Arabic: Primarily in the south French and Spanish: used along Arabic in business, government, military, and diplomacy. Literacy: (definition: age 15 and over can read and write) total population: 52.3% (male: 64.7% / female: 40.6%) (2004 census) Legal system: based partly on Islamic law, French and Spanish civil law systems; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of The Moroccan Higher Council (the equivalent of the US Supreme Court). Literature Main article: Moroccan literature The history of Moroccan literature started in the early Middle Ages. In the era of the Berber dynasties, coinciding with the flowering of Al-Andalus, there were several important Moroccan writers, especially in the fields of religion and Ethnic groups and languages Jewish Wedding in Morocco by Eugène Delacroix, Louvre, Paris Morocco is considered by some as an Arab-Berber country. Others insist on the Berber-African identity of Morocco. Classical Arabic is an official language of Morocco, rather than a mother tongue, and is used in a limited and formal socio-economic and cultural range of activities (like newspapers and official documents), in competition with French, and until recently, Berber. The most common spoken languages of Morocco are Berber and Moroccan Arabic. Linguistically, Berber belongs to the Afro-Asiatic group, and has many variants. The three main varieties used in Morocco are Shilha, Central Atlas Tamazight, and Riff (also called Tamazight by its speakers). Collectively, they are known as Shelha in Moroccan Arabic, and as Barbaria in the Classical Arabic used in the Middle East. The terms Barbar and Shelha are considered offensive by most Berber activists, who prefer the term Amazigh.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 13:40:17 +0000
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