New linguistic Practices of the February 20 Movement in Morocco: Toward a New Model of Language Policy

Abstract

In Morocco, the "Arab Spring" raises questions about the importance of new linguistic and discursive practices of the social movements as a new form of communication. This paper therefore will focus on the February 20 Movement in Morocco. Its main objective is to analyze the relationships between the occurrence of these linguistic and discursive practices of the M20F, which are considered a trend toward a new model of language politics due to the emergence of new revolutionary scenes and spaces of interaction. The analysis will focus i) on the choice, the use-distribution, and the function of mother tongues, namely Moroccan Arabic and Amazigh as local language resources, ii) on the role played by local languages in constructing a new model of language policy in Morocco, iii) on the roles played by other languages (Standard Arabic, French and English) in the communication strategies of the February 20 Movement and also in the internalization of the protests.