“Purement Amazigh”: investigating embodied ideologies and linguistic practices in Morocco

Dris Soulaimani

doi:10.1515/multi-2022-0121

Article

“Purement Amazigh”: investigating embodied ideologies and linguistic practices in Morocco

Dris Soulaimani

Published/Copyright: June 6, 2023

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From the journal Multilingua Volume 42 Issue 5

Abstract

This research discusses language ideologies in Amazigh/Berber in Morocco. It analyzes Amazigh activists’ views on the process of Amazigh standardization, including dialect unification, script selection and reclaiming of Amazigh identity. Drawing on findings in the study of language ideologies and discourse analysis, this paper examines interviews with activists and demonstrates a connectedness between participants’ conceptions about language and their embodied actions. It also reveals ideological assemblages, in which conflicting language beliefs and practices are bound together. Through examination of the ideological divide on Amazigh language and script, the study shows how verbal and nonverbal actions iconically index aspects of Amazigh language ideologies, including linguistic purism, manifested through intricate forms of recontextualized lexical items, embodied gestures and voice features. The participants’ linguistic and non-linguistic practices provide insight into particular identity dimensions and complex social relations. The indexicalities of their utterances, which will be analyzed discursively, are better understood not only through consideration of the various semiotic resources such as embodiment, but also through discussion of specific histories of political and linguistic conflicts. The study as a whole relies on an interdisciplinary method to emphasize the political nature of language standardization and demonstrate the significant role of embodiment in language ideological research.

Keywords: Amazigh/Berber; Arabic; discourse analysis; language ideologies and embodiment; linguistic purism; Morocco

Corresponding author: Dris Soulaimani, Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages, College of Arts and Letters, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, Office: Storm Hall West 220, San Diego, CA 92182-7727, USA, E-mail: dsoulaimani@sdsu.edu

Appendix 1

Transcription conventions

The transcription is based on prior analysis developed by Sacks (1992). See also Schegloff (1997) and Jefferson (1978). A concise explanation of this system is provided by M. Goodwin (1990: 25–26). Additional symbols are added to represent specific Arabic sounds such as (‘) which stands for the pharyngeal fricative (ع)

. Falling intonation

, Continuing intonation

((words)) Non-verbal activity

(0.1)1. Silence in tenths of a second

[ Overlap

= Latched or contiguous utterances (no pause between the previous utterance and the next)

wo: Vowel lengthening

? Rising intonation

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Received: 2022-09-16

Accepted: 2023-04-14

Published Online: 2023-06-06

Published in Print: 2023-09-26

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2022-0121

Keywords for this article

Amazigh/Berber; Arabic; discourse analysis; language ideologies and embodiment; linguistic purism; Morocco