Mediterranean languages have been mixing for a very long time, what Louis-Jean Calvet calls "mixed languages", with examples from Antiquity to the present day.
What languages are spoken in Morocco? - Page 2
An official language recognised by the constitution, Amazigh is above all an oral language that has managed to survive through the centuries and assert its culture.
As in French, fireplace or foyer (almessi) defines the family. The oven (afarnou) gives its name to a much sought-after bread in Morocco, which every Berber housewife knows how to prepare!
Find out what words the Berbers use to describe a river or stream. Assif, Aqqa, Taqqat (the little valley, the little river), for example...
Tizi means mountain pass. A mountainous country, with its three Atlas mountains, Morocco offers visitors many vertiginous tizi, the best known of which are between Marrakesh and Ouarzazate, on the one hand, and Taroudant on the other.
There are many words for sheep in Berber, depending on their colour, behaviour and age. Anougoud refers to the young male sheep that will be killed at Eid time, and also to its meat.
The Berber house is most often built of earth and is square in shape, or fortified, like a kasbah. In some Berber towns, such as Azrou or Ifrane, there are "European" houses.
Three languages are officially spoken in Morocco: Arabic, French and Berber. There is also Darija. A few words to get you started...
Even Moroccans can't find all the Arabic words in this English text, which just goes to show how much vocabulary our two languages have exchanged.
Moroccan Arabic has given French many words, and received some as well. This exchange of vocabulary continues to this day. It exists also with English
