Living in Morocco with English only (no French, no Arabic)

There are many foreigners who live in Morocco without speaking a word of Moroccan Arabic (Darija) nor French (nor Spanish in the north).

Languages spoken in Morocco

Morocco is a multilingual country. But not all Moroccans speak the same set of languages. Let’s forget about the “old” people, or the ones who did not attend school a very long time.

An educated Moroccan will speak :

• standard Arabic (fus’ha) and potentially classical Arabic
• Moroccan Arabic (darija), which can be different in several parts of the country
• French that he learned at school

In addition, depending of his origins, he might speak one of the Amazigh languages (Tarifit, Tashelhit or Tamazigh) or Hassanya, which is another version of Arabic, specific to the South of Morocco.

And then, depending of his profession or studies, he might speak English, Spanish or, in the tourism business, any of the languages spoken by tourists.

Quite a number of young people preferred to invest in English ; that means that you can meet educated Moroccans who don’t speak French.

Languages widely written in Morocco

Things start to get a little bit more difficult if we consider the languages written by Moroccans at a fluent level (let’s say C1 or C2).

Many upper-middle and upper class Moroccans studied in the French school system (English speaking international schools are more recent in Morocco, and not as numerous as the French “mission”) and their written Arabic sucks. Literally. Being born and growing up in Morocco, they have a good Darija, but are unable to write a professional document in Arabic (and, in some cases, even to read it).

That was the case of one of my boss, who had to pay a translator when the Moroccan administration required him to deliver Arabic documents.

Official and semi-official languages in Morocco

The official languages are Arabic and Amazigh. But the second one is not used at all in written communication (and Amazigh complain that the translations appearing on documents or building names are sometimes very strange).

Though not “official”, French does not need to be translated. There had been an attempt by a PJD Minister of Justice to ask for all documents to be translated in Arabic, unless the judge accepts to be presented French documents. Facing a risk of several years of delay due to the lack of translators, things quickly went back to normality : French documents are accepted by courts and administration unless a judge requires a translation in very specific cases.

Legal languages

Laws are written in Arabic or French, issued in both languages in separate editions of the “Bulletin Officiel”. Depending of the topic, some laws can not be translated because of lack of translators, but, generally speaking, all business and tax related laws are translated in French, and the main Codes (Family Code, Procedure Code).

But, for example, the law about the relationship between a landlord and his tenant has never been translated into French.

Very important laws, like the Commercial Code have no official translation, even no Moroccan “helpful” translation and you can find them on foreign websites but not on Moroccan ones. The best example being this page of the Moroccan Embassy in Saudi Arabia that lists all the main laws under the title “Moroccan laws and Regulations” … but links to the French text!

Administration

Many administrative documents are bilingual, French and Arabic. They are very seldom translated into English (apart from the residency application). Same for the administration websites like CNSS, Company registry and, in general all business related websites.

Some have English pages : for example, the Customs website have a beautiful English speaking flag, but most of the contents in the “English part” are still in French.

Arabic speaking domains

Everything which belongs to the “legal” domain is in Arabic. If you go to the police station to complain about something, the text that you should proof-read before signing it is in Arabic. The legal statements and judgements are in Arabic. The Ministry of Justice website is in Arabic only.

That’s the same for religion. There are a very few, if none, mosque where the imam preaches in English (as the texts are strongly controlled by the Ministry of Habous).

Working in English

Being employed by a Moroccan company

As I already explained here, finding a job when you have only English is difficult, mostly limited to teaching. Because when you work in a company, you need to interact with other people, HR, accounting, etc. and there might be few, very few English speaking staff there.

As much as an English speaking employee is an asset, an English-only speaking employee is a “burden” and if you’re not a high-level profile, they’ll hesitate to hire you.

Setting up your own company

Working as a freelancer or registering your Moroccan company will make it easier. But, as a vendor or sub-contractor, you’ll still have to issue invoices in French or Arabic, abide laws and regulations published in French… Nevertheless, for your customer, it’s not as problematic as having an employee without the local language.

Or you can support other expats who don’t speak French! (Coaching, for example)

Working remotely

Securing a contract with a company in your country that would be happy to remotely employ you, or having foreigner customers is also a solution.

Working remotely does not require any specific authorization, as long as you are on a foreign company’s payroll. If you have residency, you just have to pay your taxes and avoid double taxation.

The disadvantages of speaking only English

Don’t underestimate what it means to have no direct access to administration and legal information.

It means, at the best, that you’ll need regular translations, that you’ll sign contracts (employment, lease) in a language you do not understand or have them “officially translated” (200 – 300 MAD a page).

It means also that each time you’ll need a service (accountant, lawyer, etc) it will be more expensive than for me, because professionals are rare and you pay for their proficiency in your language.

And, finally, it means that you will be much more easily scammed. Because you can’t check quickly what’s told to you, because you “have to” trust people and not all Moroccans are trustable…

Daily life in Morocco: which language is the best?

Living in a country requires you speak the language

Somehow.

When I moved to Germany, already 24 years ago, I did not speak German. Let’s say my vocabulary was around 20 words, with useless sentences learned at school in the one month I was learning German (“Das Vogel fliegt“, “The bird flies” is not exactly what you say everyday).

And I was a very lucky and pampered expat, brought in Germany by my employer who took care of me, supported me with all “relocation services” you can imagine, I was working in an international department where every one was fluent in English.

In spite of all these advantages, it has been quite difficult. There had been a few expensive blunders, because I did not know a few specifics of German law. There had been funny moments, like me realising under the shower that I bought a shaving foam and not a shampoo, or trying desperately to explain to a vendor that I was looking for a “something sticks metal together heat” (welding).

There had been some loneliness at parties and events because people were joking and having fun, not always thinking about translating for me. There had been a very friendly diving teacher who accepted I misunderstood a question because I mixed “up” and “down”, not because I did not know the answer…

I learned German. I was B2. Able to communicate. Not able to get the unsaid meanings, hints, jokes, etc. It was so difficult with my partner, sometimes with my colleagues. German was just so easier to learn than Arabic (one of the four most difficult languages in the world).

It has prepared me to my move in Morocco. In many ways.

When you live in a country, if you don’t want to be apart, in a kind of isolated bubble, you need the language.

At least one of the languages….

Darija is much easier to learn than standard Arabic (itself easier than classical Arabic). With Darija, you’ll be able to discuss with people in the streets and shops, your inlaws if you have some and, once you’re really good at it, understand jokes. One familiar with the somehow puzzling transcription system, you’ll be also able to understand much more conversations on Facebook and social networks. And Moroccans will be very pleased you made this effort. But you won’t use it in a professional context.

For that, you’ll need either standard Arabic or French. It’s up to you to choose. Standard Arabic is much more difficult, but it opens you the realm of television, newspaper and other Arabic speaking countries. Darija and standard Arabic are cousin languages, like Spanish and Italian, or Dutch and German.

So French might be a trade-off. Easier to learn, giving you access to a lot of information and usable with most of the people in the large cities.

As said Fadoua Atif, a guide in Marrakech:

We speak a lot of languages. especially people working in the tourism field. They’re very gifted when it comes to this but not everyone does speak English. Instead, Arabic and French are spoken by almost everyone [in the tourist field]. Ask and if they speak English they’ll switch for you, most are much more comfortable in French, and nicer to you if you can speak it

And Amazigh? My inlaws being Berber from the South, I have as much Darija as Amazigh. It’s always amazing when a Moroccan in Casablanca discovers that when he is himself Berber. The language is definitely easier than Arabic, even – at least in my eyes ears – than Darija.

In the very private sphere

Wherever they come from, couples who do not share a common mother tongue or, at least a language where both of them are actually fluent have more difficulties to communicate.

This is even truer here, where the way of saying things is so different in Arabic. Arabic language is weaved with religious references, for example. Time expressions are different also. This is fascinating and brings at the same time richness and difficulty. One more reason not to stay in Morocco with English only.

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