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Multilingualism in an online US Moroccan support group during the Covid-19 pandemic

  • Samira Hassa EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: April 18, 2025

Abstract

This study examines the functions of four languages – Darija (Moroccan Arabic), Standard Arabic, French, and English – in a Facebook group for Moroccan immigrants in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 500 posts related to the pandemic were collected between March 2020 and July 2023 and analyzed. The results reveal that Moroccan immigrants used languages in a Facebook group for different communicative purposes related to social, economic, and political aspects of the pandemic. The study also showed that the Facebook group is an important information hub and source of practical and emotional support for Moroccan immigrants in the US and that Darija, Standard Arabic, French, and English served different purposes in different pandemic contexts, such as getting and giving medical information, announcing deaths and funerals, and discussing politics and job losses.


Corresponding author: Samira Hassa, 285 Fort Washington Avenue, New York, USA, E-mail:
Article note: The author would like to thank the members of the US Moroccan immigrants Facebook group for allowing her to conduct this study. The study is dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Received: 2023-09-04
Accepted: 2024-06-27
Published Online: 2025-04-18
Published in Print: 2025-05-26

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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