qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwerty

The Use of dialectal

uiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasd
Arabic in visual
fghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx
media
Dubbed series as a case study
cvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
Agadir Kingdome of morocco

wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui
End of study project submitted in partial fulfillment of a BA
degree in English studies.

opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg
Supervised by:
DR S, JAOUHARI

hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcv
Prepared by :

bnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqw
KOUIHI SOUKAINA

ertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuio
2014/2015

pasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfgh
jklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvb
nmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwe
rtyuiopasdfghjklnmqwertyuiopasdfg
hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjkl
 Dedication

To our beloved
mothers and
fathers…

To our brothers
and sisters…

To our friends
and
colleagues…

To our teachers
and
professors…

We dedicate this work

 Acknowledgement

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge

everyone who contributes to the success of the
project .We are immensely grateful to ALLAH for all sorts
of favors granted. We are deeply grateful to our
supervisor Dr. JAOUHARI for her guidance and
support .

We would like also to express our sincere thanks to all

members of our families who have supported and
encouraged us
A special thank to all the teachers and people who give their
worthy time to fill in the questionnaires and answer our
questions. We are also extremely grateful to our friends,
colleagues, classmates and everyone who helped us to
do this study in one way or another

3
 Abstract

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the formal

language in Morocco and most Arabic countries. Dialectal
Arabic (DA) is a spoken variety of Modern standard Arabic
and the daily language of several of the majority of
Moroccans, its use differs from MSA especially in social
media communication. However, visual media texts have
mixed forms and many variations especially between MSA
and AD end up by creating a new variety. This paper aims
to bridge the gap between MSA and DA through focusing on
dubbed series as case study, In this respect, the aim of the
current study is to investigate the exceptionality of this new
variety and discover the main reasons behind this shift from
MSA to DA and finally the attitudes of viewers towards this
change. The results obtained from both the qualitative and
quantitative data analysis of the interviews, recorded
episodes and the questionnaires distributed among 62
participants both males and females from different areas of
Agadir city and generations, The result, showed that 53% of
uneducated spectators were for the change while 58% of
educated spectators were opposed to and 10% were
neutral toward the shift from MSA to DA in visual media.

Key words: dubbed series, Visual media, MSA, DA

,educated-uneducated viewers , language change .

I. Background of the study

INTRODUCTION
Dialectal Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic
share a considerable number of semantic, syntactic,
morphological and lexical features. However, these features
have many differences .Dialectal Arabic is still considered as an
inferior variety that cannot be promoted to all domains in
comparison to MSA, while French is still considered as the
prestigious one. However, in the past few years, the functional
expansion of Dialectal Arabic in the Media has been particularly
perceptible in domains like advertising, radio and TV
broadcasting, Internet and sms writings, and start to enter other
written domains such as some Arabic newspapers . this
expansion of dialectal Arabic in the media may be considered in
one hand as an indication of change in terms of national
identification, a step away from the strict adherence to MSA
that dominated in the 1970-1980,on the other hand it may be
seen as a tool of the French-speaking groups in order to
marginalize the place of (MSA).this sudden shift may lead to a
language change phenomenon and dubbed series are a great
5
example in this case; During fall 2008, the new Director of
TV2M, Salim Cheikh announced his intention to broadcast
foreign series in DA, something which never occurred before in
the Moroccan TV. As soon as the dubbed series were
broadcasted on 2M, it raised numerous critics and comments
reported in the press and in the web. The crucial point of
discussion concerned the language (use of DA) rather than the
content of the series. At the very same time, the national
channel, al-oula, was broadcasting another Mexican series
translated into MSA, which, to did not raise any comments.
Since many years, Moroccan spectators are used to watch
Moroccan series in Moroccan Arabic, Egyptian series in Egyptian
Arabic, Turkish Series in MSA or Syrian Arabic as well as
numerous Foreign series in either MSA or French. It seems
normal that Turks speak Syrian but apparently many Moroccans
had difficulties to conceive that non-Moroccans could speak
Moroccan Dialectal Arabic which not even close or
representative of the different varieties spoken in the country,
The dubbing of TV novellas opens the paths for many
sociolinguistic issues regarding language changes in Morocco.
Our study focuses on the expansion of Moroccan Dialectal
Arabic, particularly in Visual Media (dubbed series as a case
study) the study’s main aims are to discover the nature of this
DA and the possible effect it may have on social aspect of
viewers and viewers attitude toward this shift

1.Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the current study are to :

- Investigate the uniqueness of the variety used by Moroccan Media

- Examine whether or not media tend to change language
 - Identify the most linguistic aspects affected by the change
- Examine whether or not dubbed series represent a different variety
- Highlight the causes of change
- Determine the objectives behind this change
- Detect to what extent people are affected by this variety

2.Questions of the study

This study seeks to answer the following questions:

- Do Media change Moroccan dialect if yes then how ?

- What are the main reaasons that may lead to this change ?
- Can we consider dubbed series as a factor in language change ?
- To what extent people are affected by Media content ?
- Is there any acceptance of this channge among Moroccan viewers ?
- Who are most likely to be affected by media variety ?

3.Procedures of the study

To conduct this study, we have followed the following procedures:

- Reviewing literature that is related to sociolinguistic of Morocco and

media in general and writing the theoretical framework.
- Reviewing a group of previous studies to get the benefit of other
researchers' findings,
7
 - Recording the selected episodes from the targeted series.
- designing the tool of the study, i.e. questionnaires that are
dessiminated to ……..the attitudes viewers.
- Collecting the data and analyzing the results of the study .
- Discussing and interpreting results.

4. Hypotheses of the Study

This is what we expect from our study :

- Finding a huge difference between Morrocan Arabic and the variety

used by Media
- People are affected by this variety and it may be used widely among
non-educated women
- Viewers are not aware of how media use language
- Media have an economic reason behind the adoption of MA
 II. Theoretical part
1.Introduction

9
To better understand the nature of using dialectal Arabic in Moroccan
visual media, one has to look at the study problem from two different
perspectives. The first section in the theoretical field sheds light on the
Moroccan language profile and mixture of varieties while the second one
focuses mainly on some theories concerning visual media, language
change, and social effect.

Dialctal arabic is not the only language that is used in Morocco.

Moroccan society in general is known by its linguistic and cultural
diversity, those features have been characterised by the significant use of
classical Arabic, Standard Arabic as well as the presence of Berber a,
french and some other foreign languages . Each language has iits own
historical background, use, function and prestige. Since those languages
are all used wyhin the same context, the notion of mixture of varieties
comes into sight in the Moroccan linguistic field , and consequently give
raise to many sociolinguistic processes such as codeswitching and
diglossia. Therefore ,many social domains are affected by a specific style
of language including visual media domain. The second part deals with
this domain in the light of some theories.Media in general use a certain
style of languguage to affect their viewers. Through using careful
structured contents. In this context, theories are provided to explain
language change in media and the effect created by the style of language
adopted.
 2. Language status in Morocco

2-1 Moroccan language profile

Arabic in Morocco is a cover term of many varieties that are used

within the same context. As Jamay (2008) states in his study "Arabic is an
umbrella term used to refer to a variety of languages and dialects. These
languages and dialects have their roots in classical Arabic from which they
evolved’’ (p.15) .those varieties are classified in this section as follows:

2.1.1. Arabic varieties

A-1 Classical/standard Arabic

Classical Arabic is the official language of many Arab countries and

Morocco as well. It is agreed among many researchers that this variety of Arabic
ows its prestige to its religious background. In these lines, Ennaji (2005) argues
that classical Arabic is considered in Morocco as a crucial factor for national unity
and solidarity because it is the language of Islam (p.52) . The unity and solidarity
that Ennaji refers to in this context are related to the independence of Morocco.
¨Immediately after the independence 1956, classical Arabic was reinstated as
Morocco’s official language to reverse the French colonial influence and to stop
the proliferation and dominance of its code ¨(Chakrani, 2011 :168).Both
Classical Arabic and Standard Arabic are not considered as a native
language of any speech community ¨While Arabic dialects have their own
respective native speakers, Arabic languages, i.e., Classical Arabic and
Modern Standard Arabic, have none ¨(Jamai,2008 :18) . Bentahila
(1983 :165) argues that the presence of classical Arabic is driven by
integrative motivation, as it represents’’Arabic culture and Identity’’. While
Ennaji views that standard Arabic has ‘’emerged to serve as the

11
intermediate language between CA and MA , it is used essentially in
education , administration and the mass media .

A-2 Moroccan Arabic

Moroccan Arabic is known in Morocco as darija or El Amia

.According to Gravel (1979:92) Moroccan Arabic was ‘’brought to Morocco
during the nomadic invasions of the Beni Hilal Arabs. It is ¨ doubtlessly the
most widely spread language in Morocco,spoken also by most of non-
native speakers, especially the Berbers¨ (Tomastik,2010 :05) .The
classification of dialectal Arabic verities is based on regions and the ethnic
origins of its speakers. In this context Boukous (1979) distinguishes three
types of Moroccan Arabic: city Arabic, mountain Arabic, and Bedouin
Arabic. In other words, it has many variants that are mainly conditioned
upon social and geographic factors. Concerning its status, Dialectal Arabic
is viewed as a low variety that can be used in informal domains as
Chakrani (2011:168) explains’’ Moroccan Arabic (MA) , the low ‘’(L) variant
of SA , constitutes Morcco’s primary communicative code and is used by
almost all Moroccans in Low functional domains(…) it does not perform
exclusively in high domains due to negative attitudes toward it as a
language that is not equipped with enough linguistics robustness to tackle
formal topics’’. The use, prestige and function of Moroccan Arabic will be
discussed later on within the process of diglossia .

2.1.2.Berber

Berber language is a member of the Hamitic family of

languages ,whereas Arabic is Semitic language (Wagner 1993 :16).it is
considered the ¨indigenous language spoken by the inhabitants of
Morocco because its arrival predates all other known languages spoken in
Morocco¨(Zouhir,2013 :271). Like Moroccan Arabic, Berber is also
classified into three main varieties . As Marley claims (2003 :26) ‘’Berber
speakers in Morocco belong mainly to three distinct group: Tashlhit,
Tamazight and Tarifit’’. Concerning the status of Berber in Moroccan
society, Ennaji(2005), argues that it is a basic component of Moroccan
culture which provides an element of enrichment to Moroccan
multilingualism and multiculturalism, it is a vital language for it’s spoken
as a mother tongue by approximately half of the population, and that is
used for everydaycommunication’’(p .74).Nearly , the same idea is given
by Boukous(1995 a ;11) ‘’Tamazight remains a language with symbolic
values which shapes the mental world of Berber speakers and defines their
collective cultural identity’’ .

2.1.3.Foreign languages

A-1 French

The existence of French language in Morocco is, according to many

researchers, one of the historical outcomes of French colonialism.
Wagner(1993) states that ‘’Although the French governed Morocco for less
than 50 years, they left a lasting impact on many aspects of society
including language and literacy(p.22). Since Independence, a far greater
percentage of the population has learnt French, with the democratisation
of education, and despite its lack of official status it continues to be
important in a number of domains, such as commerce and finance, science
and technology, and the media(Marley,2004:1488). French enjoys overt
prestige in Morocco as many scholars claim. French is ‘’undeniably the
language of social promotion, as it provides access to job security and to a
high social status’’ (Wagner 1993 :22). It is still seen as the language of
social and professional success, and maintains a privileged position within
state education and even more so in the private sector.
(Marley,2004:1488).

C-2 Spanish and English

13
 Spanish, like French, is associated with the protectorate past of
Morocco, and stems its power from the geographical proximity to it.¨
Spanish draws much of its importance from the geographical proximity of
Spain to Morocco and is spoken mainly in the areas occupied by
Spain¨(Zouhir,2013 :274) .That is to say,the influence of this foreign
language can be felt in the northern variety of Moroccan speakers.
However, many scholars agree that Spanish did not have a strong
linguistic impact on Morocco and does not enjoy an official status and
prestige as French. Spanish has lost its official status and prestige since
Morocco’s independence and has gradually replaced by French.(see
Ennaji,2005 ). Concerning English it is expected, from many point of
views, to become more important and to dominate more domains. Sadiqi
(1991) arguest hat English hadbegun to catch up to French in terms of its
prestige, claiming that “English has certainly started to compete with
French in Morocco (… )given that French is offered from the primary school
onward, in addition to its predominant use both in and outside school; it
would thus be expected to be chosen by more students” (p. 111).These
are the effects of globalization, which lead Bendaoud (2000) to state that
English’s “prestige is very high, especially among youngsters who like it
for its music, songs and films” (p. 14).

2-2 Mixture of Varieties

2.2.1 .Diglossia

The relationship between classical, standard and Moroccan Arabic is a

symbiotic one, as they complement each other to fulfil the needs of the
Morroccan speech community (Jamai . 2008 : 20) . Ferguson (1959 in
1996) categorizes Arabic and its varieties within the set of ‘’defining
languages’’. In other words, Arabic was viewed according to him as a
model that could be said to fulfill the criteria of Diglossia. In the same
framework,he defines diglossia (1959 : 336) as follows :
 Diglossia is a relatively stable language situation as which in addition to
the primary dialects of the language, which may include a standard or
regional standards, there is a very divergent. Highly codified, of the
grammatically more complex, superposed variety, the vehicle of a large
and respected body of written literate either of an earlier another speech
community, which is learned largely by formal education.. »

In his article, Ferguson classifies Arabic varieties into high and low ; a
‘’high ‘’ variety that is prestigious (classical Arabic) and a low variety with
no official status (Dialectal Arabic). He distinguishes between the two
registers in terms of Acquisition, standardization, stability, Grammar,
lexicon and phonology. However, Ennaji (2005 :48) considered that
Ferguson’s classification of Arabic does not correspond to the linguistic
situation in Morocco and Maghreb at large, for we have three Arabic
varieties which are in triglossic relation : classical Arabic(CA),Standard
Arabic(SA) and Moroccan Arabic(MA). He claims that each variety is used
in different domains. CA is used in the religion aspects and literary
domains. SA is employed in political or scientific discourse and in the
mediaand administration. MA is used in informal settings (P 48). Apart
from the three varieties, Ennaji has added another one are called
« Educated spoken Arabic » P 49. By adding this variety, he has called for
the existence of Quadriglossia in Morocco and Arab World.

2.2.2 Code-switching and code-mixing :

‘’ Code switching or code-mixing is a linguistic feature whereby the

user switches or mixes linguistic codes in such a way to fulfill a
communicative purpose in a conversation ‘’Wardhaug, 1986:100).
According to Hudson (1980:56) code switching is a strategy that occurs
when a speaker ‘’uses different varieties at different times’’. Morocco, as
we have seen with its language profile, is multilingual and Moroccan
speakers in general code switch and code-mix varieties . Thus
codeswitching ‘’ has a strong presence on the Moroccan multilingual arena

15
as a form of linguistic behaviour and a strategy ‘’(Jamai ,2008 :93). This
linguistic behaviour has certainly some reasons that often push the
speaker to perform it as Trudgill (2000:81) said : “The same speaker uses
different linguistic varieties in different situations and for different
purposes”. The reasons and purposes may differ, That is exactly what
Chakrani (2011) explains when he discusses Moroccan Arabic as a
language that is not equipped enough with linguistic robustness to tackle
formal topic, and he claims that ‘’this is the reason why Moroccan often
switch to SA or French ‘’ (P.169).

3. Language change and media

3.1 Language change

“If language is defined merely as a system of communication, then

language is not unique to humans. There are however certain
characteristics of human language not found in the communication
systems of any other species. "(Fromkin et. al , 1998: 29 ). In other words,
human language is characterized by specific features. In this context, we
can consider the process of changing as one of those features. If we are
truly interested in investigating the nature of a language then we must
note that ¨whatever else languages may be, they are objects whose
primary mode of existence is in time ¨. (Lass 1987:156 -7 ) . In other words
one feature of language is that it changes .

This linguistic change is mostly done unconsciously as some scholars

claim.Shigemoto (1996 :1) states : ¨We are so intimately connected to our
language that we may fail to see its changes¨. Nearly ,The same idea is
pointed out by Fromkin when she claims that "No one knows exactly how
or why languages change¨(Fromkin et. al , 1998: 554 ).
In his study, Hickey points out that the mechanisms of language change,
were only partially considered. Meaning that Only internal change in sound
systems and grammar were investigated, and the large area of externally
motivated change, determined by currents in society, was never given its
due recognition. Accordinng to him, , the process of language change
became the subject of close scrutiny with the advent of sociolinguistics.
(Hickey, 2010 ;1997 :8-9). His study finds out that ¨ Socially driven
language change can be observed by minute investigation of variation.
Such change can be triggered by the imitation of prestige groups and their
forms of language¨(Hickey, 2010 ;1997 :37).

In particular William Labov concerned himself with the process and

stages of language change. Here he recognised three phases which can be
summarised as follows

Labov’s three stages of language change

1) origin A period in which alternative variants for

estaliblished
variants begin to appear.
2)
propagation The stage at which the new variants establish
themselves to the detriment of the older ones
which are sidelined.

3) conclusion
The stages at which the remaining variants
are (i)
replaced completely by new variants or (ii)
remain as a
residue after the change has terminated.

17
3.2 Language change in Media

Language use in media, as the primary mean of communication,

is the central medium used in the understanding, interpretation and
construction of reality. Language plays key role in how media reflect
reality, this explains how language style shifts from one channel to another
and from one program to another depending on its audience .in this
context Fairclough (1991) said that language is tailored with a particular
audience in mind ,in other words language may be adjusted to gratify the
need of their audience. Since 1958 a lot of data was gathered which points
to the fact that the change of the language of media is dependent on the
language change of a society. To put in another way, the manner people
speak a fact which is clearly in relation with the circulation of different
generations of the society. In light of this, "The Accommodation theory "
and “the Audience design” are surly needed to explain the way the
process of language change occur and the reasons behind it.

3.2.1. Accommodation theory

Elisheva and yonatan (2003:33) define accomodation as an unconsious

process whereby the speakers automatically adjust their own speech to
be more like that of their interlocutor .The original theory of
accommodation relates to interpersonal encounters, but can also be
applied to the mass media (Bell, 1984).this theory states that speakers
change their linguistic style in order to appeal to their audience. “The
accommodative act provides the sender (speaker) with rewards referred to
in general terms as the receiver’s (hearer’s) approval” (Giles and
Powesland, 1975, pp. 232-233). In other words, Accommodating is that
the speaker can gain the reward of the hearer’s approval.
 The theory relies on the notion that viewers are attracted to those
with whom they are similar with, ‘similarity-attraction’; that is to say, to
attract the audience interest they certainly need to use the type of
language which is similar to the one they already use . “the
accommodative act provides the sender(speaker) with the rewards
referred to in general terms as the receiver’s (hearer’s) approval”
(MacMillan press,1975,pp.233-233)

3.2.2 the Audience Design

In this framework ,Elisheva and yonatan (2003:33) explain

audience design as using a different style consciously and state that ¨a
speaker who can control more than one variety chooses a level of speech
according to the audience he or she is addressing. We might consciously
choose an informal style when speaking to strangers in order to seem
friendly¨. Media use language and¨How they say something and to whom
They say it, affects what they have to say¨(Willie,1979 :59).

The theory of audience design is a sociolinguistic theory that

was proposed by Bell (1984) which has grown up out of the
accommodation model mentioned earlier. Bell (1984) proposes that the
kind of style that a speaker uses is primarily dependent on the audience
with whom they are speaking to, as opposed to other factors such as
amount of attention paid to speech. Therefore, “Speakers design their
style primarily for and in response to their audience” (Bell, 1997, p. 14).
Thus , “Speakers respond primarily to their audience in designing their
talk” (Bell, 1991, p. 15). And the reward of the broadcaster in this case is
that they gain an audience who watch their program which ultimately
leads to large viewing figures. In other words, the broadcaster needs the
audience. In order to achieve this goal they must accommodate to their
audience by becoming similar to them.

19
 4. Visual Media and social effect

As a communication technology, television and visual media have

become an essential aspect of our lives , due to the fact that they have a
great acceptance and they are being used extensively world wide
.television provides a variety of local and foreign channels and helps
people selecting programs according to their taste and choice . in this
case, new theories that explain uses of visual media to affect their
audience are highly recommended to discuss the nature of this effect
such as ,the cultivation theory in terms of effect which can be small,
gradual, indirect through exposure depending upon the heavy and light
viewership of cable television ,and finally the learning theory which
explains the way the viewer learns from other powerful famous people on
TV .all these theories will be discussed bellow according to different
theorists in the field of media and social effect .

4.1. The Cultivation theory

The theory states that heavy exposure to mass media namely

television creates and cultivates attitudes more consistent with a media
conjured version of reality than with what actual reality is. The Cultivation
Theory asserts that heavy viewers' attitudes are cultivated primarily by
what they watch on television. Gerbner views this television world as "not
a window on or reflection of the world, but a world in itself" (McQuail,
1993,p: 100). Cultivation Theory, in its most basic form, shows that
television is responsible for shaping or ‘cultivating’ viewers’ conceptions of
social reality.

The combined effect of massive television exposure by viewers

over time cleverly shapes the vision of social reality for individuals and,
ultimately, for our culture as a whole. Thus, cultivation research is in the
effects tradition.
 Cultivation theorists argue that television has long-term effects
which are small, gradual, indirect but significant. They emphasize the
effects of television viewing on attitude rather than the behavior of
viewers. Heavy watching of television is seen as ‘cultivating’ attitudes
which are more consistent with the world of television programmes than
with the everyday world.

Gerbner stands as the pioneer of the Cultivation Theory. He begins

developing cultivation as a structural piece for the long term examination
of public messages in media influence and understanding. Gerbner
clarifies that his objectives are not with “information, education,
persuasion, and the like, or with any kind of direct communication effect.
More accurately, his concern remains with “the collective context within
which, and in response to which, different individuals and group selections
and interpretations of messages take place”. Nonetheless, Gerber’s work
presents a Social Psychology Theory on communication effect on
persuasion as related mass media. He argues that the mass media
cultivate attitudes and values which are already present in culture. Media
maintains and propagates these values amongst members of a culture,
thus binding it together. The Cultivation Theory got its start with the
cultivation hypothesis, created by George Gerbner, which attempts to
understand howheavy exposure to cultural imagery will shape a viewer's
concept of reality (Pierce, 2007).

4.2. Social Learning theory

The principal understanding of Social Learning Theory is tied to
the social context of learning. Bandura (1977 ) has emphasized the fact
that people who observe responses of individuals tend to exhibit the same
when placed in similar settings. According to Bandura, behaviors and
responses that are repeated, perceived as real, distinct, functional and
salient are more likely to be attended to,

21
thus more likely to be learned. When observing an event, which receives
some kind of reward like social approval, pleasant experience and when
the observer feels confident to perform, its symbolic imitation is
facilitated.

The social cognitive principle is widely employed to explain the

television effects on a variety of social issues such as aggression, ethnic
stereotypes, alcohol attitudes and behavior. It also stresses the importance
of viewer’s cognitive activities when consuming television messages.
(Bandura, 1977) any person’s socialization process is influenced by
innumerable factors such as family, school, environmental factors etc.
Direct experience and participation are important parameters which shape
the youth’s impressions of the perceived structure of their environment.
However, these forms of experience are usually limited to the immediate
environment.

The Social Learning Theory explains how environment influences

the behavior of an individual. DeFleur and Sandra (1989) state that
despite general in nature, Social Learning Theory is particularly relevant
to study the impact of mass communication because the description and
portrayal of social life is a frequent subject in media contents. The most
common examples of social learning situations are television commercials.
Commercials suggest that drinking a certain beverage or using a particular
shampoo will make the viewer feel popular and win the admiration of
attractive people. Depending upon the component processes involved
(such as attention or motivation), users may model the behavior shown in
the commercial and buy the product being advertised.

5.Related works
In the process of reviewing previous studies, we have selected some of
them according to their relevance to the core of study problem.

In a part of her study, Nicole Baumgarten(2005) investigated the

nature of language variation and change by addressing the role of the
English language as a global lingua franca in translation processes. The
analytical approach chosen for the investigation was corpus-based . The
model was an attempt at a comprehensive representation of the
communicative situation in film for the purposes of linguistic analysis. This
thesis presented, first, a theory-based attempt to develop a model for the
analysis of language use in visual media in order to make film texts
accessible to linguistic analysis, and secondly, a corpus-based
investigation into language variation through processes of translation
carried out on a diachronic corpus of English film texts and their German-
dubbed versions.The qualitative analyses revealed that English film texts
and their German translations consistently differ in the linguistic
expression of modality, cohesion and explicitness .For the case of the
linguistic expression of visual and verbal cohesion, it was also found out
that while the older translations explicit verbal cohesive links with
accompanying visual information, the more recent translations display less
explicit reference to co-occurring visual information.

Qudah and Tahat (2013) conducted a study “entitled Dubbed series

and their possible effect on adolescents” . Their study aims were to reveal
the extent of exposure of Jordanian adolescents to television transmission,
and to detect the effects produced by this exposure. The researchers
adopted the field survey methodology as a pattern of descriptive analysis.
The sample of the study consisted of 910 respondents of Jordanian
adolescents. a questionnaire was used to gather primary data among the
informants. The key results revealed that there is an increase in the ratio
of Jordanian viewers who rely on satellite television to obtain information
and follow news, and a decrease in the ratio among the ratio of them who
rely on books. The study also found an increase in the ratio of viewing
dubbed series by adolescents and classify entertainment in the first grade
among the driving motives that were provided in the sample questions.

In their study, Timmins and Gunter(2013) consider two instances

of rapidly accelerating linguistic change in Glaswegian vernacular,that are
typically associated with the Cockney dialect of London. They consider a
range of factors that are contributing to the rapid proliferation of these
forms in the speech of inner-city Glaswegian adolescents. Their
multivariate analysis showed very strong effects for linguistic factors, as
well as strong positive correlations with social practices relating to local
Glaswegian street style. Their results suggest that the changes are being
propelled by several processes: ongoing transmission and at the same
time continuing diffusion .through dialect contact.
23
 Marzà, Chaume, Torralba, and Alemany (N.D) conducted a study that
aimed at the description of the linguistic model used in audiovisual texts
dubbed into Western Catalan (Valencian). They adopted a descriptive
study through which they intended to outline the hidden cultural norms
which implicitly make the audiovisual text appropriate. They followed the
theories of product analysis. Amongst all audiovisual texts, they decided to
choose cartoons as a case study.they found out that that the Western
Catalan linguistic model used in dubbed programmes on Valencian public
television does share some generic features with other Catalan models,
but it was apparent that a highly dialectally marked language was being
advocated by political powers. The crucial fact that researchers pointed
out in this study was that a poor language on the screen will lead in a few
years to a poor language on the streets

Conclusion

All things considered, the linguistic diversity that characterizes the

Moroccan society is an essential feature which is reflected in many
domains, we have seen that the languages mentioned above vary in term
of use, prestige status and function. Each one is used according to some
cultural or linguistic criteria, that is to say the variety or language use
depends basically on the area that it’s used in. Another fact to mention is
that the notion of mixing varieties lead Moroccan society to another
linguistic dimension , getting out from one single use of language to multi-
use .Many social spheres are affected by this multiuse of languages
Including Media .
25
 III. Practical part

1. Methodology of the study

Introduction
The key purposes of the current study are to describe the
nature of the dialectal Arabic used in the dubbed series broadcasted in the
Moroccan national television, the reason behind shifting from MSA to DA
and the viewers attitudes toward this change. The data collected for this
study are both qualitative and quantitative . The researchers used three
main techniques during the data collection process, first through
Recording dubbed versions series aired on national television 2M , followed
by structured questionnaires and finally semi structured interviews. This
section provides a full Description of the following: 1) Type of the study, 2)
techniques of the study 3) sample and sampling 4) validity and
generalizability 5) problems 6) Conclusion

1. Type of the study

This study is considered descriptive and seeks to arrive
at scientific findings, and aims to analyze and assess the characteristics of
a particular group or a particular position. It is worth mentioning that Al-
Agha (1997, p. 41) points out that the descriptive method outlines
current events and phenomena as they are. That is, researchers study a
current phenomenon, event, or issue without interfering with it (Al -Agha
and Al-Ustath, 2009, p. 83).
 2. Techniques of the study

The data collection procedures were collected through different

instruments:

a) Note taking and recording

in attempts to study the nature of the variety used in the
process of dubbing series, five episodes were selected randomly and
recorded from four different series aired currently in the national television
2M, both Turkish and Mexican in order to be analyzed later on the basis of
the phonological, morphological, syntactical, lexical and finally the
semantic level .

b) Questionnaires

A set of structured questionnaires were designed and

disseminated in order to identify viewer’s attitude toward this shift in
language and the focus on the dialectal Arabic instead of MST . 60
questionnaires were distributed in areas of Agadir city namely (Dakhla,
ELssalam, Talborjet and Elhouda ) . the questionnaire contains of 16
questions two of which are close-ended questions and the rest are open-
ended questions , the arrangement of the questions was graduated from
general to specific .

c) Interviews

semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to discover the

possible reasons behind this shift from standard Arabic to dialectal
Arabic , informants point of views were various and different from one
to another ,the interviews consisted of 6 questions all open ones , other
questions were asked according to the nature of the answers and the
flow of the interview . some of the obtained information were recorded
and some were note taken depending of the informant’s attitude and
the setting of the interview .
27
 3. Sample and sampling

a) sample of the study

The main sample of the study has been randomly selected of

both male and female according to their level of education and
age. The participants were 70 in number ranging from 16-45
years of age, both males and females who were provided with
questionnaires. And a group of 10 participants were randomly
chosen among them to be interviewed. All the participants were
Moroccan citizen living in Agadir city,

b) Sampling method

The method used in selecting the sample is the

stratified sampling method also called quota random sampling
which involved the division of the population into two subgroups
Females (educated-uneducated) and males (educated-
uneducated).the selection was based on age and education and
gender.

4. Validity Generalizability of the study

The data collected for the study were (82), that is a ratio of 90.8%
of the total distributed, (20) of which were excluded because of
invalidity for statistical analysis, that is 5% of the unaccepted
questionnaires. Thus, the number of questionnaires valid and
suitable for statistical analysis is (62). Results obtained from the
collected data cannot be generalized and applied to all context
since the sample chosen in the process of sampling is not
representative of the whole population , as it only represents
uneducated and educated females and males from Agadir city
only which means that the study is not applicable to other regions
.

5. Data collection difficulties

During the process of data collection researchers faced several

problems

1) Natural obstacles; the days of questionnaires dissemination

were extremely hot . The heat in Agadir city reached at that
week 46°, most of participants were difficulty found , and
researchers were extremely exhausted and thirsty of the heat
which made the process difficult to accomplish .

2) Technical problems; while designing questionnaires the

translation of the questions into Arabic was mistakenly
forgotten , which made it more difficult to do in addition to the
heat the researchers had to translate each paper for each
participant since half of the participates were uneducated or
not able to understand most of what is written in English .

6. Participants attitudes; during interviews half of the

participants refused to be recorded. While filling
questionnaires many questions were left without being
answered, some participants (uneducated men) refused to
answer or fill the questionnaires; there were some cases
when we distribute 10 paper and only get four back, some
participants fill in the questionnaires in the same way so we
had to eliminate it.

4) Note taking and recording; while recording some of the

participants the audio recorder stopped and the interview had
to be eliminated, while taking notes sometimes we forgot some
of what the informants has literally said so we had to abandon
it .

29
7. the inability to make contact with specialist in the field of
media, as we reached 2m Station building it seems
impossible to get inside in order to make an interview with
specialist in the field most of them tried to avoid answering
our questions and claimed they have nothing to do with the
process of dubbing or the use of DA .

Conclusion
The data collection is physically and mentally a
demanding process on which the second part of any research is
based, the collected data of this study varied from
questionnaires, recording documents, interviews and note
taking in order to be provided with rich data that will be
analyzed later, sample of this study were randomly selected
according to gender age and level of education . a number of
difficulties were presented during the process of gathering
information from participants .
2. Data analysis

1.Recording and note taking

We have adopted a random selection of episodes , and only the

Arabic versions of the series are used as a material. Thus the aim is not to
compare the dubbed version and the original one, but rather to describe
how Moroccan Arabic is presented in the materiel . the selected episodes
are listed in the following table

Season Title of the channel

Episode serie

02 01 Samhini 2M

613 02 Samhini 2M

02 01 Lara 2M

99 01 Taman lhob 2M

32 01 Loabat lhob 2M

Table 2 : the selected episodes.

31
The data collected for the purpose of this study were recorded for further
analysi

1-1 corpus

With respect to corpus selection, amongst all audiovisual texts

we decide to choose dubbed series as a case study for many reasons. On
the one hand, Tv series are increasingly popular all around the world and
attract a considerable audience and also play an important social and
economic role. On the other hand, we take into consideration how
language of dubbing has recently changed from adopting standard Arabic
to Moroccan Arabic. The following corpus is taken from five episod

1-2 Results

From the corpus presented, we notice that the language used

is quite different from Moroccan Arabic in many aspects. What is clearly
noticeable is the use of diglossia. Dubbers or tanslators opt mainly for
some expressions from Standard Arabic like in these following examples

Or they sometimes include some standard words but with an insertion of

some affixes from MA
-

The third case is the deletion of some vowels or consonants of standard

words to make use of them in conversations like

What is also noticeable is the absence of codeswitching and borrowing.

Dubbers rarely or never use foreign languages as Moroccans in fact do.
The only case in which we found a foreign word is

33
 - Madame

Another fact to mention, is that translators never use slang or taboo

words. Even the choice of offensive words was done relying on the
vocabulary of SA not MA.

The language used in dubbing cannot be considered as a variety of any

specific region. Thus, one may argue for the existence of a new form of
Arabic used in dubbing, as it is neither SA nor MA but in between

Modern Standard
Variety of dubbing Dialectal Arabic
Arabic
The above figure revealed that language of dubbing is a new form that
stems from both MA and SA However it is in fact more near to MA.

1-3 Levels of analysis

The specific features characterising the language of dubbed series

have been divided into three main levels –phonological, morphological-
syntactic and lexical-semantic. Inside each level, what in fact is “usually
avoided” and “usually promoted” by translators and dubbers has been
listed under the headings “avoidance of” and “promotion of”, as an
assessment of data collected. The following is what we have actually
found:

1. Phonological Level

1.a. Exclusion of

• A specific pronunciation related to a specific variety

• Some vowels and consonants related to SA vocabulary

1. b. Inclusion of

• Using MA affixes to pronounce SA words

• Clear pronunciation

2.Morphological-Syntactic level

35
 2. a. Exclusion of:

• Ambiguities in word order

• Deviations from grammatical constraints
• Ungrammatical sentences

2.b. Inclusion of:

• Inserting affixes of Moroccan Arabic into words of Standard Arabic

• Active sentences, active voice

3. Lexical-Semantic

2.a. Exclusion of :

• Borrowing
• Codeswitching or codemixing
• Swearing
• Slang or taboo words
• Offensive or rude words from vernacular Arab

2.b. Inclusion of:

• Diglossia
• A new form of Arabic
· Titles in standard Arabic

Discussion of results
The results obtained from this study make one fact apparent that media
prefabricate the language; they avoid adopting a specific variety in order
to remain neutral they try to find an adequate level of language to satisfy
the needs of all Moroccans. This functional expansion widens the
opportunity of styles/code mixing. Exclusive use of MSA as well as
exclusive use of French appears to become more and more restricted at
some levels even in formal contexts

2. Questionnaires analysis

Sixty questionnaires were designed and disseminated in

different areas of Agadir city. The questionnaire contains of 16 questions .
the arrangement of the questions was graduated from general to specific ;

Ø questions of the questionnaire

ü general questions

1-do you watch Moroccan television ?

2-as a viewer are you more interested in image, content or

language ?

3-in which language you prefer watching television programs ?

ü specific questions

37
1- how often do you watch dubbed series broadcasted in 2m
channel ?

2-in which language you prefer watching dubbed series?

3-how do you find the idea of replacing MSA with DA?

4-how do you see non-Moroccans speak DA?

5-how did you find the variety used in the dubbing process?

6-do you think the DA used in dubbed series reflects any of

Moroccan areas?

ü closed-ended questions

1-do you think the selection of varieties used in media are that
important?

2-do you see the expansion of DA in media positive or a negative

aspect?

3-do you express yourself comfortably in DA or another language?

4-would you like to hear DA in daily news?

5-would you accept DA as a standard language and official

language of the country?

ü Open-ended questions

1-does the use of dialectal Arabic in visual media effect Moroccan

viewers ?

2-how do you explain the shift from using MSA to DA

2.1 Specific questions analysis

v Table number 1) the distribution of respondents according to

gender.
 Variable
gender
% Number
51.61 32 Females

48.38 30 males

The results show as is evidenced in table number (1) that the

males (30) represent (48.38 %) and the females 32 represents
(51.61%) .

v Table number 2) the distribution of respondents according to

age.

Variable
age
% Number
61.29 38 15-35

38 ,70 24 35-45

The results show, as is clear from table number (2) that the age
group (15-35) represents 38(61.29%), while the age group (35-45)
represents 24 (38.70%).

v Table number 3) the Extent to which Moroccan viewers watch

dubbed series according to gender and level of education.

Males Females

Educated educated Percentage of

uneducate uneducate watching
d d
39
% numb % numb % numb % numb
er er er er
41. 15 31.0 14 36. 13 31. 14 ALWAYS
6 0 12 18
30. 11 40.0 18 33. 12 45. 20 SOMETIMES
5 9 33 45
27. 10 27.2 12 30. 11 22. 10 NEVER
7 7 55 72
Results show, as is clear from table number (3) that (20) educated
female, that is 45.45% sometimes watch dubbed series, while 13
of the uneducated females (36.12%) always watch it while 18
educated males (40%)watch sometimes DS and 15 uneducated
males 41% watch DS all the time. This is attributable to the fact
that a high ratio of Moroccan television views is dedicated to
uneducated females and males.

v Table number 4) which language viewers like to be used in

dubbed series ?

Males Females

Educated educated Preferable

uneducate uneducate language
d d
% numb % numb % numb % numb
er er er er
31. 12 38.6 17 30. 12 33. 15 MSA
57 3 76 33
39. 15 31.8 14 41. 16 28. 13 DA
47 1 02 88
28. 11 29.5 13 28. 11 37. 17 OTHERS
94 4 20 77

The results show, as is clear from table number (4) that a ratio of
37 % of educated females tends to watch DS in other languages
while 41% OF UNEDUCATED females prefer to watch it in the
Dialectal Arabic on the other hand the opposite sex 38% of
educated males prefer to watch DS in Modern standard Arabic
while uneducated males prefer to watch it in Dialectal Arabic.

v Table number 5) the extent to which viewers accepted this

shift from MSA to DA
 Males Females

Educated educated From MSA to

uneducate uneducate DA
d d
% numb % numb % numb % numb
er er er er
55. 15 40.6 13 53. 15 45. 16 GOOD IDEA
55 2 57 71
44. 12 59.3 19 46. 13 54. 19 BAD IDEA
44 7 42 28

The results show as is evidenced in table number (5) The

percentage of 54.28% of educated females and 59.37% of
educated males find the change a bad idea while 53% of
uneducated females and 55.55 find that it is a very good idea.

v Table number 6) how do you find the variety used in the

dubbing process ?

Males Females

Educated educated NATURE of DA

uneducate uneducate In dubbed
d d series
% numb % numb % numb % numb
er er er er
55. 16 39.3 13 57. 16 37. 13 FAMILIAR
17 9 14 14
44. 13 60.6 2O 42. 12 62. 22 UNFAMILIAR
82 0 28 85

Result show as is clear from table 6 that 62% educated females

and 60% of educated males find the DA used in dubbed series
unfamiliar while uneducated females57% and uneducated
males55% find it familiar and can’t even tell the difference .

41
 v Table number 7) does the variety used in dubbed series
reflects a certain area in the society ?

Males Females

Educated educated Preferable

uneducate uneducate language
d d
% numb % numb % numb % numb
er er er er
32. 13 30.9 13 32. 12 22. 10 Casawi variety
05 5 43 72
40 16 33.3 14 37. 14 34. 15 High class
3 83 09 variety
27. 11 35.7 15 29. 11 43. 19 new variety
5 1 72 18

The results as is shown in table number 7 indicated the ratio of

43% of educated females who thinks that DS represents a new
variety while 37% of uneducated females find it close to high class
variety. The opposite sex ratio of 40% of uneducated males find is
close to high class variety while 45% of educated males think it
creates a new variety .

2-2 General questions analysis

v The extent to which viewers watch national TV

 Females Males

Always29%
sometimes50 Always23%
% Sometimes3
Never20% 2%
Never25%

The result of the circle above as is clear describes how often

viewers watch national TV

v In which language viewers prefer to watch their national TV ?

Males Females

MSA 39.21% MSA 33%

DA 35% DA 37%
Others 25.49 Others 28%
4e trim.

The result obtained shows that female viewers prefer to watch TV

in DA while males prefer MSA .

v Which of the following image content and language attracts

the viewer the most ?
43
 image 35%
Language 20%
Content 43%

The result obtained shows that viewers are more interested in

image more then language and content

v The way viewers find non-Moroccans speaking in DA .

Males females

Normal 20%
Normal 31%
Not bad 26%
not bad25%
Ridiculous
ridiculous42%
39%

The results obtained shows that the most of the viewers find it
ridiculous.
2-3 Results and discussion
Ø Results

The phenomenon of foreign series dubbed in DA seems to be

well accepted as testified by a wide audience most of them were
uneducated (41%) and more concerned by the images than by the words
(45%) while a range of participants were against this idea, most of them
are educated and young and more concerned with the language than by
image. The results obtained from the collected data, lead us to this
conclusion, that viewers attitude toward the use of dialectal Arabic in
dubbed series varies from a group to another ,on one hand uneducated
spectators were happy about this change and very positive about the shift
from MSA to dialectal Arabic that 55% of uneducated females and males
thought that it was a good idea, since it has become much easier for them
to understand what the series are about in a language which is familiar
and daily practiced , on the other hand educator’s attitudes were not that
positive , that 59% of both females and males thought that the use of DA
as an alternative for MSA was not a good choice . A frequent case was that
the translation sounds hilarious or ridiculous for educated ears whereas
the uneducated found it normal and familiar, concerning the nature of DA
that dubbed series uses, a number of spectators found that it reflects high
class variety while another wave thought it was not too close from
Classical Arabic, not too familiar and that they had to create a new
language, a new variety not too much close to that of Casa, Fes or the
North.

Ø Discussion
According to the information obtained from the analyzed
data, the majority of the spectators (educated) did not accept the use of
dialectal Arabic in the dubbed series that they quite found it much
ridiculous and non-representative of the geographic and social diversity of
Moroccan Arabic. According to this wave it is impossible to imagine
Moroccans engaged in such type of love interactions, the vocabulary was
inadequate and it sounded like advertising. Stylistic choices were not
pertinent with the characters, the variety used in the dubbing process was
too awkward and not that convincing for the educators . In the last five
years, the expansion of Moroccan Arabic in the Media has been particularly
perceptible in domains like advertising, radio and TV broadcasting,

45
Internet and sms writings, and start to enter other written domains.
nowadays it had become more popular and well accepted by a wide
audience which is the main target of media producers .unlike educated
viewers, most the uneducated seems to be satisfied with national TV
programs broadcasted in DA , a group of viewers tends to watch foreign
series dubbed in DA more than they used to, since it has become less
complicated and much easier to grasp , unlike past years when they had
to watch it in MSA which few of them can understand and follow. This lead
us to think about the main reasons behind this shift, the sudden focus on
DA instead of MSA, the expansion of dialectal Arabic and weather Media
influence or try to influence people’s attitudes. The question remains
whether media are indeed key actors of language changes.

3) Interviews analysis

The researchers have adopted a semi-structured interview in which four

various questions are given, the selected interviewees were BA and
master students and professors from Ibn Zohr University they were
required to answer the following questions:

1- What is the aim of media behind using DA to dub foreign series?

2-What is the most affected in society?

3- How could you explain the shift from using MSA to DA?

4-Could we consider this shift a sign that would call for the possibility of
standardizing DA?

A student from Arabic department:

The aim of Dubbing to DA is to affect a targeted group in the society.

Personally it does not attract me and I find it so funny. It is a wasting of
time and I think that women are more affected than men according to
what I have noticed in my surroundings. For example, in my family, my
aunt becomes widely influenced by some terms in dubbed series like:
DA is not suitable for being represented in formal domains like media and
for that reason I could not agree with its standardization.

Another student from geography department:

From my point of view, I prefer watching the original version of series as I

could enhance my knowledge in that way. Watching dubbed series in MA
does not fit my level as a university student. It is done only to be
understood and followed by uneducated people and their children. Media
change language to serve their own purposes. MSA is a difficult language
in comparison to MA that could be understood by any Moroccan either
educated or not.

The head of sociology department :

Media have no other choice better than using DA. Not all Moroccan viewers
speak or understand MSA uneducated people are more affected more than
young ones by this. I think that dubbed series do not even represent MA in
its original status. Some words are added and they are not included in
DA vocabulary. This language change could unfortunately affect many
aspects in a negative way either cultural religional… I do not agree with
standardizing DA, as they are some vulgar words that do not have their
relevant alternatives in the lexis of MSA .

A Student from the French department:

I think that language change in media is a positive issue in the way that it
allows people to discover other cultures and represent their norms in
Moroccan context. In fact, DA used in dubbed series is very different from
our own DA in terms of vocabulary and the one can see that adolescents
are the most affected group. This could be a sign for the possibility of
standardizing DA and I’m totally satisfied with this idea. All nations are
proud of their native language, so why Moroccans can’t

47
A Cultural studies professor from the English department:

The shift from SA to DA can be explained from the capitalist economic and
the materialistic perspectives, the production of such series and the use of
dialectal Arabic are just a tool to get loyalty of viewers hence raise the
number of viewers for materialistic reasons .Their first aim is to stupidify
people since most of viewers are either less educated , belongs to the low
class or still didn’t reach the age of puberty to be able to think and
criticize what they are receiving passively . Media’s first concern is gains.
That’s why they thought about marginalizing standard Arabic and replace
it with a language which is more connected emotionally with the majority
of the citizen in daily speech. The language used in advertisements and
dubbed series as well seems to be a refined variety it’s not vulgar between
classical Arabic and the real dialectal Arabic however it still not that
adequate. Such use may directly affect our norms and values in different
ways ; children start unconsciously to imitate and repeat certain terms
which are unfamiliar to our daily speech . it also lead to the normalization
of certain values and norms which are not invaded in our culture, Mexican
cultural norms for example when they are given to us in our mother
tongue we engage ourselves in a sort of a process of generalization of
those norms that’s is to say we take them as being normal, this may shake
our cultural norms and identity as a conservative society.

The head of the department of the English Department.

In my point of view I think that the main reason behind this shift
is due to business and materialistic reasons, industry ,money,
views rate are all they think about changing a language is just a
tool to achieve these goals ,the targeted category is definitely
the less educated viewers and women for sure , I personally never
watched these kind of series because they are ridiculous, this
shift may certainly affect our language habits especially kids and
the uneducated that may imitate and repeat those words
unconsciously ,media may create this new variety to unify a one
spoken variety due to the fact that morocco has different
varieties.. The possibility of the standardization of DA is not up to
us if it was meant to happen it will definitely be achieved since it
was adopted in media it has means something, a new trend that
will be largely accepted and transformed from one generation to
another .

A master student from the Islamic department

The shift from MSA to DA can be seen as a planed policy to

eliminate modern standard Arabic and make it disappear , the
idea of using DA because it’s the variety spoken in daily life is
just a cover of their first concern which is socio-politically
oriented, this use is affecting our cultural norms and making MSA
which the language of Islam lags behind DA expansion, this can
be explained as deal between the francophone groups French
colonies to exclude MSA. The idea of a standardized DA is
definitely not a good idea because DA is not seen as high and
prestigious to be used in all domains , in contrast we should dig
deep in our inherited language the language of the holy book.

3-1 Results and discussion

Ø Results
The results obtained from the collected data, lead us to this
conclusion ; the main reasons behind this shift may be seen from
different perspectives ; in one hand due to materialistic reasons which
is the producers first concerns as they see language only as tool and
they are only concerned with what they serve them best, just to attract
a number of blind passive consumers that will make them make money
later .on the other hand its considered as a sociopolitical issue , that is

49
 to say there is a political agenda behind the adoption of DA and the
graduate marginalizing of modern standard Arabic . in which the
francophone and French-speaking class are involved in, as they
promote for DA instead of MSA considered to be an essential part of the
Moroccan identity thus ends up by creating a gab between DA and
MSA .

media’s first target are the less educated viewers especially women
and children who watch soap operas mostly and can easily be affected
in a way or another . According to the data provided this shift affected a
certain category of viewers in terms of the process of normalization
foreign norms and values and adopting expressions and terms which
does not belong to our conservative society in first place .the thing that
may lead to a language change issue in the future .the idea of the
standardization of DA A was highly refused and not warmly welcomed
by particular group which defends MSA in front of DA that is seen as
low variety that must be used only in daily life speech and in our
houses .while another wave supported the idea of standardizing DA
and thought it would be a good idea of promoting our dialect outside of
the country that Moroccans should be proud of instead of being
ashamed of their mother tongue language .

Ø Discussion

Since many years, Moroccan spectators are used to watch Moroccan

series in Moroccan
Arabic, Egyptian series in Egyptian Arabic, Turkish Series in MSA or Syrian
Arabic as well
as numerous Foreign series in either MSA or French. It seems normal that
Turks speak Syrian
but apparently many Moroccans had difficulties to conceive that non-
Moroccans could speak
Dialectal Arabic. That 67% of viewers found it ridiculous to use a refined
DA instead of MSA which is not even close to our daily life talk , media
producers are more concerned by the mercantile aspect (rewarding
financial market) than by the ideological aspect (promotion of DA).
Producers do not want to spend too much money, because they already
know that most of the spectators were little educated and more
concerned by the images than by the words! As the questionnaires results
indicates ,dubbing of cheap foreign series is far less costly than producing
original series and is an intelligent way to answer the public demand for
Moroccan series and to raise the share of audience.one can devide viewers
attitude into two waves;
 a) A “conservative” wing criticizing westernization, consumerism, low
moral
Value of these dubbed series and considering that the use of DA was the
tool of the
French-speaking groups in order to marginalize the place of MSA. This wing
clusters people close to the Islamist trend, the main problem was the low
moral values of these series and the fact that the TV drops all its cultural
and societal programs to resorts to cheap series in order to attract
advertisers which raises the problem of foreign love fictions because
those fictions are not compatible with the moral values of the Moroccan
society. The level of DA used in the translation of the Mexican TV novellas
was considered a very low and vulgar,viewers of theses novelas were seen
as passive critical thinkers that can be easily manipulated and absorb
whatever they may be given . This wave was against standardizing DA .

b) Against this conservative wing, one find a number of Moroccans that

wish to establish and promote DA not only vis à vis MSA and French but
also vis à vis other.Arabic dialects,
This movement considers that DA is a language that Moroccan people
should be
proud of instead of being ashamed of, and supports any initiative coming
from the
Media (Newspaper, radio, net) or from the artistic scene (cinema, music,
theatre)
The adoption of DA in media is just the beginning of something that going
to make a radical change in the future , this change will be accepted by a
large number of citizen because media has a power effect on us whether
we want or not .

Speaking of effect one may argue that media may have other intentions
apart of financial ones behind using dialectal Arabic; their goal is to
stupidity and manipulate the uneducated to watch and consume their
production , and influence their social aspects “the more familiar language
you us the wider influence you get” dubbed series uses DA because they
know that 62% of viewers are blindly illiterate and are easy to affect ,
those series invaded certain norms and values that we don’t have in the
Moroccan society, one aspect to be added which is the normalization
process in which viewer are involved in a way or another that they
normalize unfamiliar behaviors which are not part of our society .

General conclusion
51
 The current study has attempted to analyze the use of Dialectal Arabic in
Moroccan visual media from a sociolinguistic perspective with an attempt to
involve people attitudes as they are an integrated part in the process language
change. from all the procedures followed, we could finally come to conclude the
study by arguing that visual media in general can be a factor in language change.

From the analysis of the case study(dubbed series), we have seen how
media change some aspects of language to reach an adequate level. This level is
supposed to be acceptable and satisfy the needs of a maximum number of
viewers. However, not all of them have positive attitudes. The opinions differ
from one personal perspective to another and the results revealed how variables
like education and age could determine how an individual think and believe and
how they construct their own understanding of their surroundings, following this
pattern leads us to another dimension( the effect of
 Bibliography

Bell, A. (1991). Audience Accommodation in the Mass Media. In Giles, H,

Coupland.

Bell, A. (1991). The Language of the News Media: Blackwell.

Bell, A. (1997). Language Style as Audience Design. In Coupland, N. and

Jarworski, A Sociolinguistics a reader and course-book. MacMillan Press, ch.19;
pp.

Bentahila, A. 1983. “Language Attitudes Among Arabic-French Bilinguals in

Morocco.” Multilingual Matters, Ltd. Exeter, England: Short Run Press, Ltd.

Boukous,(1995). Societe, langue et culture au Maroc. Rabat, Morocco:

Publications de la Faculte des Letters.

Boukous, A (1997). Situation Sociolinguistique de l'Amazighe. In International

Journal ofthe Sociology ofLanguage 123: 41 :60. New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Brahim,C.( 2011). Covert Language Attitudes: A New Outlook on the

Sociolinguistic Space of Morocco

Ennaji, M. (2005). Multilingualism, cultural identity, and education in Morocco.

New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

Ferguson, C. A. (1959). Diglossia. Word, 15, 325-340.

Ferguson, C. A. (1991). Diglossia revisited. Southwest Journal of Linguistics,

SpecialIssue, Studies in Diglossia, 10, 214-34.

Giles, H. & Powesland, P. (1975). Accommodation Theory. In Coupland, N. &

Jarworski, A (1997): "Sociolinguistics a Reader and Course-book".

Gravel, L.A. (1979). A sociolinguistic Investigation of Multilingualism in Morocco.

Unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, Columbia University

Hilali-Bendaoud, F.Z. (2000). Cohesion and coherence in EFL writing: The case of
Moroccan university students. Unpublished Disseration. Mohammed V University,
Department of English.

53
Hudson, R.A. (1980) Sociolinguistics. Cambridge University Press.

Jamai , A.(2008) language use and maintenance amongthe Moroccan minority in

Britain.

Kamaruzaman, J. & Sahimi Nurul N., (2009) .Television and Media Literacy in
Young Children: Issues and Effects in Early Childhood. The Journal of International
Education Studies.

Marley, D. (2004). Language attitudes in Morocco following recent changes in

language policy. Language Policy, 3(1), 25–46

Robertson, M.A. (2005). How the Language of Television News Broadcasting Is

Shaped By Audience Design.

Sadiqi, F. (1991). The spread of English in Morocco. International Journal of the

Sociology of Language, 87(1), 99–114.

Shigemoto, J. (1996). Language Change and Language Planning and Policy.Pacific

Resources for Education and Learning.

Tomastik, K.( 2010). Language Policy in the Kingdom of Morocco: Arabic,

Tamazight and French in Interaction. The Annual of Language & Politics and
Politics of Identity.

Trudgill, P. (2000). Sociolinguistics : An Introduction to Language and

Society.Penguin Books.

Wagner, D. (1993). Literacy, culture, & development: Becoming literate in

Morocco. England: Cambridge University P ress.

Wardhaugh, R. (1987) “Competition from Arabic and Swahili”. In Language in

Competition. Blackwell

Willie, M. (1979). The Mass Media and Language Development. Australian Journal
of Teacher Education.

Zouhir ,A.(2013). Language Situation and Conflict in Morocco.

 Appendices

Viewer’s attitudes towards the use of dialectal Arabic in

visual media

(Dubbed series)
This questionnaire is designed as a data collection tool for
academic research purposes. It is intended to be applied to help the
researcher analyze viewers attitudes toward language change in media,
your participation is highly appreciated.

Gender:

Male

Female

Age:

15-35

35-45

1) Do you watch Moroccan TV ?

Always

Sometimes

Never

2) As a viewer are you more concerned with ?

Image

Content

Language
55
3) To what extant you watch dubbed series ?

Always

Sometimes

Never

4) In which language you prefer watching them ?

MSA

DA

Others

5) How do you see non-Moroccans speak DA ?

Normal

Not bad

Ridiculous

6)How did u find the variety used in the dubbing process?

Familiar

Unfamiliar

7) Which variety you think these series reflects ?

Casawi variety

High class variety

A new variety

8) To what extant the selection of language is important ?

Very much

Not that much

9) How do you see the expansion of DA in media?

Positive

Negative

10) Do you thin that dialectal Arabic should be standardized ?

Yes

57