LANGUAGE, EDUCATION AND MODERNISATION IN THE MAGHREB : a Comparative Study SASSIA HAOUAM Thesis Submitted to the University of London For the Degree of Ph. D. 1990 UNIVERSITY OF LONDON INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION Department of International and Comparative Education Language, Education and Modernisation in the Maghreb: a Comparative Study. ABSTRACT The central argument of this thesis is that the contradictions between modernisation and restoring a national identity, drawn from the Arab-Islamic culture, have generated tensions in the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia). The thesis concentrates on the particular problems posed 4y language and language policies in these contemporary circumstances. Chapter One provides an overview of the major concerns of the thesis, with a special stress on cultural and language questions. The main argument of Chapter Two is that Western theories of development are based on the assumption of the universality of the Western model, and undervalue the social and cultural elements of developing nations, including the Maghreb. Chapter Three extends the analysis to the role of language and nationalism in the process of nation building and analyses, with special reference to Algeria, the contradictions between development policies drawn from the West, and language policies stressing an Arab-Islamic identity. This chapter deals particularly with the problems of having Arabic as the national language and French as the operational language. - i - Chapter Four examines comparatively the interrelationship between language policies and the social and educational contexts of the Maghreb. The arguments of the chapter are: that language policies have been influenced more by ideological than practical considerations; that contradictions at the political level are reflected in the social and educational contexts; that these contradictions are affecting the educational system adversely. Chapter Five draws the themes of the thesis together, and reassesses contemporary difficulties over language policies in the context of modernisation problems. The chapter makes proposals for new language policies in a complex linguistic, cultural and economic, situation, with some concluding comments on the specific case of Algeria. TO MY FATHER GOD BLESS HIS SOUL TO MY MOTHER MAY SHE LIVE LONG TO MY PEOPLE, TO MY COUNTRY Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor: Dr.R.Cowen whose constant help and academic guidance made this work possible. I am most grateful to my husband without whose help, valuable ideas and encouragement this thesis would have never been completed. My thanks are also due to all those who directly or indirectly contributed to the completion of this research. My appreciation and thanks to Miss Z.Hadjeb and Miss M.Hadjout for their help and guidance in Word processing this work. Table of Contents Page Abstract i Chapter I: General Introduction 1 Chapter II: Development and Modernisation 17 Section I. Assessment of Western theories of development 20 A. The Evolutionary Approaches 26 B. The Neo-evolutionist Approaches 31 C. The Neo-Marxist approaches 39 Section II Illustrating cases: The Chinese and Japanese experiences of modernisation 46 A. China: a Case of Delinking 47 a. The historical setting 47 b. The Industrial Revolution and the Birth of a Popular Republic 52 c. The Cultural Revolution 57 B. Japan: a Case of Convergence 68 a. The historical setting 68 b. Japan and the outside world 73 c. Japan's contact with the West 75 d. The Process of Modernisation 79 Conclusion 91 - v - Notes and References 97 Chapter III: Modernisation and National Identity: Language Policies and Modernisation in the Maghreb 112 Section I Nationalism and Language 119 Section II The Process of Nation Building 125 A. Morocco: 126 a. The historical setting 126 b. The political context 131 c. The language policies 138 d. The economic context 150 B.Tunisia: 160 a. The historical setting 160 b. The political context 165 c. The language policies 174 d. The economic context 183 C. Algeria: 193 a. The historical setting 193 b. The political context 204 c. The language policies 212 d. The economic context 218 Conclusion 228 Notes and References 235 - vi - Chapter IV: Language, Society and Education in the Maghreb 259 A. Morocco: 265 a. The social context 265 b. The educational context 273 B. Tunisia: 287 a. The social context 287 b. The educational context 296 C. Algeria: 307 a. The social context 307 b. The educational context 321 Conclusion 331 Notes and References 336 Chapter V: General Conclusion: Proposed Alternative Approaches to Language in the Maghreb 346 Section I. An Integrated Process of Modernisation 349 Section II. Contemporary language situation in the Maghreb 369 Section III. Language planning : 379 A.The Standardization of the spoken varieties. 381 B.The Modernisation of the Arabic language 393 C. Arabic-French bilingualism. Notes and References 42i Bibliography 432 Chapter I GENERAL INTRODUCTION. This general introduction sets out the main purpose and argument of the thesis. It sketches some relevant features of the Maghrebian socio-cultural and economic context in terms of language policies. The introduction also outlines the overall organisation of the thesis. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse comparatively language policies in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria; and to underline the contradictions generated by these policies in a process of nation building which has emphasized economic modernisation. These contradictions are located against the existing social, educational and economic background of the Maghreb(1). In the light of this analysis, alternative approches to language policies in the Maghreb, with special reference to Algeria, will be proposed. The general argument of this thesis is pursued through the testing of two propositions. The first proposition is that most theoretical work - and many policy makers in the developing world - have understood modernisation within a model which stresses -1- industrialisation and economic growth. This emphasis on economic development has undervalued the socio-cultural context and the specific problems of developing nations. The second proposition is that the adoption of a Western model of development(2) has had disruptive effects on the societies of the emerging nations, affecting their cultural identity and reinforcing their dependence on the West. The dilemma faced by these countries is exemplified in the three countries of the Maghreb, where a more delicate balance between their search for national identies and economic modernisation is still sought. Specifically, in the case of the countries of the Maghreb, it is argued that there is a strong contradiction in practice between the emphasis on national identity drawn from Arab-Islamic culture and the process of modernisation which has been based on the experiences of the West. It is argued that the Western model of development, in its conception and practice, ought to be applied with care in countries such as those of the Maghreb with their specific political, social, economic, and educational contexts. It is argued that the problems and constraints generated by the adoption of the policies of development in the Maghreb indicate the inadequacy of prevailing theories of development. It is suggested that this inadequacy is mainly due to the lack of altertness in such theories to the specific contexts and needs of these countries. -2-- However, the argument put forward in this thesis does not imply that the Western model of development should be rejected. The Western model remains at the present time a major source for reference in terms of modernisation. Western literature and experiences, knowledge and achievements, are of some relevance to developing nations such as those of the Maghreb, in their current stage of development. However, the assumptions in the Western literature need careful examination in the light of contemporary problems of development. Secondly, the unsophisticated application of Western theories to problems of development (especially in the Maghreb) needs very careful review and critique. This thesis examines the first proposition in Chapter Two. The remainder of the thesis concentrates on the second proposition by a review of development in the Maghreb, with a special emphasis on the cultural dimension of Maghrebian development and the particular problem of language policy. The language policy in the three countries is centered on the concept of "Arabisation". The term Arabisation means, linguistically, the adoption, translation, and/or conversion of foreign words into the Arabic language. This is part of the process of development and modernisation of the language(3). However in the Maghrebian context, Arabisation refers basically to the reestablishment of the national culture through the Arabic -3- language. That is, the replacement of the French language, especially in education, by the national language: Classical Arabic. In this context, the language policies are determined essentially by political considerations rather than a desire to modernise the Arabic language and adapt it to the requirements of modernisation. The political position (and the nature and characteristics) of the Arabic language on the one hand, and the economic policies, based on the Western model on the other hand, have led to the failure of the Arabisation issue in the Maghreb, especially in Algeria. In this sense cultural identity, in the three countries, and especially