language in algeria

140 Pages·2016·0.6 MB·English

LANGUAGE IN ALGERIA :
THE CONTINUING PROBLEM.
by
AHMED DJABRI.
This Dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of M.Ed. of the University
of Wales.
August, 1981.
LANGUAGE IN ALGERIA :
THE CONTINUING PROBLEM.
TO MY FATHER AND
MY DEAR MOTHER.
DECLARATION.
I hereby declare that this Dissertation is the result of my
independent investigation except where I have indicated indebtedness
to other sources.
I further declare that this work has not been submitted, in
substance for any other degree or qualification and is not submitted
concurrently for any other degree.
SUPERVISOR. CANDIDATE.
Dr. S. Delamont. Ahmed Djabri.
LANGUAGE IN ALGERIA:
THE CONTINUING PROBLEM.
LIST OF CONTENTS.
Page No.
I. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1.
II. ABSTRACT 4.
III. LIST OF TABLES 7.
IV. LIST OF FIGURES 8.
V. GLOSSARY 9.
CHAPTER ONE: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ALGERIAN SOCIETY. 14.
1.1 From Antiquity to the Seventh Century A.D. 15.
1.2 The Middle Ages from the Seventh to the
Fifteenth Century. 16.
1.3_ Algeria under the Turks, from the Sixteenth
to the Nineteenth Century. 17.
1.4 Social and Cultural Appraisal of Algeria
before 1830. 19.
1.5 The Algerian Education System before the
French Invasion of 1830. 24.
CHAPTER TWO: FRENCH CULTURAL-LANGUAGE POLICIES AND THE ALGERIAN
RESISTANCE. 30.
2.1 Challenges to the Islamic Culture and Arabic
as a means to impose French Culture and Language.32.
2.2 The Destruction of the Algerian Education
System and the Implementing of the French 38.
System.
2.
2.3 The French Differentiating Language
Policy towards Algerians. 50.
2.4 The Algerian Request for Education. 55.
2.5 The Algerian Cultural Resistance. 60.
CHAPTER THREE: ALGERIAN CULTURAL-LANGUAGE POLICIES AFTER 1962. 73.
3.1 The Algerian Cultural and Linguistic Problems
Inherited from the Colonial Period. 74.
3.2 Some Aspects of Cultural Conflicts. 83.
3.3 Language and Literacy Efforts in Algeria. 90.
3.4 Equality of Opportunities in Education. 101.
3.5 Arabisation. 109.
CONCLUSIONS. 124.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 127.
3.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Dr. Sara Delamont, who
guided this study with patience and understanding, and offered valuable
advice, criticism and encouragement throughout the writing of this
Dissertation.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the
Algerian Government whose encouragement and financial support have
sustained me during my course here in Britain.
•
Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to Mrs.
Lindsey Nicholas for her secretarial assistance in assembling
and typing this work.
4.
ABSTRACT.
5.
ABSTRACT.
It is customary to say that most nations are multilingual, and
the nation which can say, truly, that its citizens are united in
speaking only one language is unusual. The existence of more than one
language in a nation does not by itself impose a problem, but the
favouring of one language at the expense of another, especially if this
language is that of the colonial power / or of a small social group is a
major issue. On the other hand the official use of more than one
language is perceived as a handicap to the country's economic and social
progress. Obviously, government's decisions about language use is of
great importance to the country's future development and stability.
The language problems in developing nations differ largely in
degree rather than in kind from those developed nations. _This is
because the latter nations have,by and large,based their political
modernization and national development on fairly homogeneous language
communities. In the case of developing nations (Algeria is one), their
development is at an earlier stage. The problems and processes of
adopting one single language are more acute in such nations.
[In Algeria after almost two decades of national rule, the
repreplacement French by Arabic, in administration, economic activities
and as 4 medium of instruction in all levels of education, still remains
the central issue. of the Algerian Government. French still enjoys an
extremely high position, and it is essential to anyone wishing to win
the high social and economic occupations.
6.
The purpose of this Dissertation is to analyse some
colcoloniald post-colonial language policies which have guaranteed
the potion of French and have made language in Algeria a continuing
problem.
Chapter One outlines briefly the general historical background
of Algeria. It shows how the Algerians have adopted Arabic as a
national language, and describes the socio-linguistic and cultural
situation in 1830.
Chapter Two consists of two parts, the first discusses the French
efforts in making "French" the dominant language in the country. It
includes the destruction of the Algerian educational system, the removal
of "Arabic" from its legitimate position and its ultimate consideration
as a foreign language. The second part is concerned with the analysis of
the Algerian cultural and linguistic resistance and how the French
reacted to it.
The-last Chapter deals with the major cultural and linguistic
problems inherited from the French period. It discusses some of the
cultural conflicts among the Algerian elite during the French
occupation and the first few years of independence. The Chapter also
provides an examination for the three educational priorities (literacy,
expansion of education and Arabisation) with regards to their
limitations and deficiencies. Particular attention is paid to the
Arabisation policy efforts and their outcomes.
Finally, the findings of this study are stated in the conclusions.