# Languages, deafness, and evolving identities in Morocco.

Saïda Belkadi

► To cite this version:

Saïda Belkadi. Languages, deafness, and evolving identities in Morocco. Sign 10 Conference, Dec 2024, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. hal-05130071

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Submitted on 25 Jun 2025

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## Context

In 2013, the emergence of the Fédération Nationale des Sourds Marocains (FNSM) (National Federation of Moroccan Deaf People) brought to light a linguistic and cultural community that until then had not been very visible: the Moroccan deaf community. The culturalist interpretation of deafness defines sign language as the foundation of a deaf community that develops through associative, cultural and educational spaces (Padden, C., 1980). The existence of a deaf community raises many questions about the transmission of the dominant spoken language. The Kingdom of Morocco is a country at the crossroads of several languages and linguistic varieties. There are six main languages with very different roles and status: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Moroccan Arabic (Darija), Amazigh (Berber), French, English and Spanish. Modern Standard Arabic is the dominant institutional literary language whereas Moroccan Arabic is the daily vernacular language of the majority of the population, with no official status. Since the 1960s the Muslim religion has been enshrined in the constitution as the state religion, initially as a means of unifying an Arab-Muslim identity around an Arabic language sacred by its status as the 'language of the Koran'. Islam subsequently became a pillar of Moroccan internal politics. At present, deaf children have the same curriculum as hearing children, but they start their schooling with four main languages that they use in a bilingual bimodal mode of expression (Belkadi, S., 2023).

## Languages of instruction

Moroccan Arabic

French Sign Language
(FSL) or Morrocan Sign
Language (MSL)

## Taught languages

Modern Standard
Arabic (MSA)

French

The way of thinking about teaching deaf people has been built up through various exchanges over different periods of time between Morocco, France, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This gives rise to linguistic and ideological influences which are reflected in the linguistic representations of the languages taught and of teaching (Belkadi, S., 2023; Bedoin, D., 2018).

## Method

**Participants:** deaf students between 3 and 18 years and deaf and hearing teachers.

**Observation:** Participatory observation in a teaching situation of modern standard Arabic.

**Instruments:** Interactionist approach (Gumperz, 1982).

**Survey:** collection of life stories biographies and language models / Linguistic and pedagogical models.

# Languages, Deafness, and Evolving Identities in Morocco

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Saïda BELKADI, AIX-MARSEILLE UNIV., MESRI, IREMAM, AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France. Sous la direction de Catherine MILLER (CNRS-IREMAM) –De Leïla BOUTORA (CNRS-LPL)

## Institutions covered

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### Field survey conducted in 2019

The *al-Fath* Association was created in 1998 by Christine Wilkins, a French teacher (Primary school).

**Formal communication:** MSA / MSL / FSL. **Informal communication:** Moroccan Arabic / MSL with FSL/ASL / (arSL or Saud Sign Language) (video and social media Religious knowledge)

### Field survey conducted in 2022

Achourouk primary School, 1997, Ouarzazate.

Franciscan Sisters' initiative arrived in 1979. **Formal communication:** MSA / French / FSL/ MSA Signed.

**Informal communication:** Moroccan Arabic / Local SL developed in the boarding school with FSL / arSL or Saud Sign Language (video and social media, Religious knowledge, SL dictionary application).

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### Field survey conducted in 2023

Fondation Lalla Asmaa (primary and secondary school). **Formal communication:** French / MSA / FSL. **Informal communication:** Moroccan Arabic / MSL and FSL with some teenagers reject FSL and prefer to turn to ASL or arSL for lexical borrowing and for Religious knowledge.

## Digital and human influences through humanitarian, cultural, linguistic and educational actions.

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history of the deaf community linguistic reference and teaching model

* Qualified volunteers in the medical and educational fields

* Deaf culture and identity

* Linguistic and pedagogical model

* Spread of progressive cultural values related to lifestyle (abortion, female emancipation, ect.) through social networks

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Outlook for the future (Gallaudet University)

* Video Conference on Islam

* Religion Class (in ARSL or Saudi Sign Language).

* Development of mobile app for the deaf

* Arab-Muslim culture and identity

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* Creation of arSL dictionary (2011)

* Development of educational software and applications in SL

* Cultural and sporting activities (islamic background)

* Organisation of 'deaf arab week'

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**References:** Bédoin, D. (2018). *Sociologie du monde des sourds*. Paris: La Découverte. Belkadi, S. (2023). L'enseignement pour les sourds au Maroc: langue(s), surdité et représentation(s). *Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée*, 154, 205-228. Gumperz, J. (1982). *Discourse strategies, Studies in interactional sociolinguistics*. London, Longman. Qualitative and quantitative data from three 2-month field surveys conducted in 2019, 2022, and 2023.

## Value of languages among the Morrocans deafs

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## Representations of Languages Through Discourses

**MSA:** 'I didn't learn the real Arabic, the real language, the Arabic of the Koran' (Mohamed, aged 14 - *Al-Fath*)

**French:** 'You have to learn it if you want to go far, even further than Arabic' (Karim, aged 17- Fondation Lalla Asmaa)

**Morrocan Arabic:** 'It's not a real language'. (Meriem, aged 12- *Al Fath*)

**FSL:** 'these are the right signs because it's a real SL, there are grammar videos and a story'. (Ryan, aged 11 - *Al Fath*)

**ASL:** 'There are no taboos, I learn a lot about feminism and sexuality' (Sarah, aged 15- *Achourouk School*)

**arSL or Qatar Sign Language or Saudi Sign Language:**

'It's religious SL, the real SL of Arabs and Muslims' (Ayoub aged 13-for arSL- *Fondation Lalla Asmaa*)

**MSL:**

1) 'It's just signs to talk, it's not precise' (Imane Aged 12- *Al Fath*)

2) 'Why should we speak FSL when we have our own SL? (Amine, aged 18- *Fondation Lalla Asmaa*)

*The names of the participants have been anonymized*