Tweet
Little is known about the linguistic situation in the Maghreb prior to the arrival of the Arabs. In Morocco, Berber was the mother tongue of the majority of the population and in the N. (former Mauretania Tingitana) a Romance language was also spoken in some major urban centres such as Tangier, Ceuta, Salé, Volubilis ... etc. The situation was similar in Algeria and Tunisia, where Late Latin was spoken in the most important towns, mainly on the coast, with the hinterland being entirely Berberophone. Arabic was first introduced into N. Africa by the Muslim conquerors of the 7th century. The first raid against the Byzantines in Tunisia took place in the year 647 ; Carthage was conquered in 698 and, only thirteen years later, in 711, Arab armies reached N. Morocco and crossed the Straits of Gibraltar to begin their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. However, all available data show that this first wave of Arabization was quite superficial and most probably restricted to the main towns and their outskirts.
At first, the process of Arabization was probably favoured by the structural similarities between Berber, a Hamito-Semitic language, and Arabic. However, the Arabization process in N. Africa was never completed and in large areas,
particularly in Algeria and Morocco, the Berber language has successfully resisted Arabization until today. Some non-linguistic factors played a decisive role in this context, first and foremost topography: Arabization was more successful on the plains than in the isolated and inaccessible mountainous areas, which generally— even until the 20th century—escaped control and influence from central power.
Demography was another key influence. Berber-speaking regions with a high population density, and a sedentary and mainly agricultural lifestyle, were better equipped to resist linguistic assimilation: the contrary was the case in areas with nomadic or semi-nomadic inhabitants and with a thin population. Finally, social structures also played an important role. This influence worked in both directions, that is, for and against Arabization: Berbers (particularly in rural areas) as well as Arabs both belonged to segmentary societies based on lineage which are characterized by strong internal cohesion. In this respect, tribal alliances between Berber and Arab tribes made linguistic assimilation easier. Aother factor that might have contributed to the Arabization of N. Morocco was the participation of important contingents of Jbāla Berber tribes in the jihād against Christians in al-Andalus. On returning home they had been Arabicized through contact with Arabic-speaking Andalusians. [...]
The Arabization process, no doubt, was always favoured by the fact that Arabic is the language of the Qur'ān and hence enjoyed great prestige among the Muslim population. In this context, it would be a mistake to ignore the influential role played by small religious teaching centres across the Maghreb. Not only did famous institutions like the madrasas of Kairouan and Fes contribute to the Arabization of N. Africa, but teaching centres owned by ṭarīqa-s in small towns attract scholars from the whole Maghreb and the Sahel. In Morocco, for example, until the middle of the 20th century a small rural teaching centre like the zāwya of Tamnūgalt (Draa Valley) was an important local madrasa which attracted pupils from all over S. Morocco and thus contributed to spreading knowledge of classical arabic in the region.
... /...
At first, the process of Arabization was probably favoured by the structural similarities between Berber, a Hamito-Semitic language, and Arabic. However, the Arabization process in N. Africa was never completed and in large areas,
particularly in Algeria and Morocco, the Berber language has successfully resisted Arabization until today. Some non-linguistic factors played a decisive role in this context, first and foremost topography: Arabization was more successful on the plains than in the isolated and inaccessible mountainous areas, which generally— even until the 20th century—escaped control and influence from central power.
Demography was another key influence. Berber-speaking regions with a high population density, and a sedentary and mainly agricultural lifestyle, were better equipped to resist linguistic assimilation: the contrary was the case in areas with nomadic or semi-nomadic inhabitants and with a thin population. Finally, social structures also played an important role. This influence worked in both directions, that is, for and against Arabization: Berbers (particularly in rural areas) as well as Arabs both belonged to segmentary societies based on lineage which are characterized by strong internal cohesion. In this respect, tribal alliances between Berber and Arab tribes made linguistic assimilation easier. Aother factor that might have contributed to the Arabization of N. Morocco was the participation of important contingents of Jbāla Berber tribes in the jihād against Christians in al-Andalus. On returning home they had been Arabicized through contact with Arabic-speaking Andalusians. [...]
The Arabization process, no doubt, was always favoured by the fact that Arabic is the language of the Qur'ān and hence enjoyed great prestige among the Muslim population. In this context, it would be a mistake to ignore the influential role played by small religious teaching centres across the Maghreb. Not only did famous institutions like the madrasas of Kairouan and Fes contribute to the Arabization of N. Africa, but teaching centres owned by ṭarīqa-s in small towns attract scholars from the whole Maghreb and the Sahel. In Morocco, for example, until the middle of the 20th century a small rural teaching centre like the zāwya of Tamnūgalt (Draa Valley) was an important local madrasa which attracted pupils from all over S. Morocco and thus contributed to spreading knowledge of classical arabic in the region.
... /...
Commentaire