Int. J. Middle East Stud. 45 (2013), 715–730 doi:10.1017/S0020743813000871 Alexander E. Elinson D ¯ ARIJA AND CHANGING WRITING PRACTICES IN MOROCCO Abstract Social, political, and technological changes have forced changes in the contemporary Moroccan linguistic landscape. In print media, advertising, music, fictional writing, and translation, Moroc- can Arabic (d¯ arija) is being written in a variety of ways that point to a shift in perceptions and usage of d¯ arija in daily Moroccan life. In this article, I provide a discussion of recent developments in the use of d¯ arija in writing, and discuss how this evolving situation is articulated by intellectuals, journalists, publishers, fiction writers, and translators. In recent years, there has been a marked shift in the way many Moroccans use and talk about language, specifically with regard to writing. There are those who strongly advocate the recognition of Moroccan Arabic (d¯ arija) as an official language that would fulfill all linguistic functions, whereas others view d¯ arija solely as a spoken variety (some say corruption) of literary or Standard Arabic that has no place as an official language, much less a written one. This latter position stresses a certain view of Standard Arabic’s central role in transmitting and preserving the Islamic religious and cultural heritage, as well as its unifying role in the Arab world more generally. 1 Between these two poles lies a much more complicated reality, involving changes in the use of language in Morocco that are difficult to ignore. In print media, advertising, music, fictional writing, and literary translation, d¯ arija is increasingly written in a variety of ways that point to a shift in perceptions of d¯ arija and in its linguistic role and potential uses in daily Moroccan life. This shift, occurring within Morocco’s already complex linguistic landscape, has important social, political, and cultural implications. The position and role of the French language in the Maghrib has been the topic of much research across numerous academic fields, including sociolinguistics, literary and cultural studies, and education. Taking into consideration the role of the French language in the colonization of the Maghrib, and its continued importance in the post- colonial period, many of these studies treat complex issues of cultural definition, the Maghrib’s place in relation to Europe and the Arab world, and the appropriate ways to express that relation. 2 In Morocco, as in other parts of the Maghrib, French remains important (and English is becoming increasingly so) in many sectors of society, despite Alexander E. Elinson is an Associate Professor of Arabic in the Department of Classical and Oriental Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, N.Y.; e-mail: aelinson@hunter.cuny.edu © Cambridge University Press 2013 0020-7438/13 $15.00