About MLA

The Moroccan Language Association is a scholarly organization for professionals interested in any discipline related to the study of Moroccan Darija, linguistic, cultural or sociological. The Association intends to spearhead the national promotion and the institutionalization of the Moroccan language. While Arabic remains the official language of Morocco, Darija, which is spoken by Moroccans in the street and at home is still stigmatized as a vulgar vernacular.

By raising the status of Darija to that of a national and thus written language, children will be able to pick up a book and read at an age 2 to 6) when reading habits are acquired. Right now, reading is contingent on learning the basics of Classical Arabic language, fundamentals taught at the first or second grade level. This late start � and most importantly, the fact that education requires the knowledge of a non-native language � explains the current alarming rates of illiteracy which plague Morocco.

The history of Darija could be no different than that of French or Italian, which were once hampered by the sacrosanct authority of Latin and considered vulgar vernaculars before Du Bellay�s D�fense et illustration de la langue fran�aise or Dante�s De vulgari eloquentia.