PhD defence
Language Policy and Planning of Amazigh Languages in Morocco
- K. Bao
- Date
- Tuesday 6 January 2026
- Time
- Address
-
Academy Building
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden
Supervisor(s)
Summary
This research examines how Amazigh (Berber) languages are planned in Morocco—the country with the largest Amazigh-speaking population—and investigates the considerations behind these measures through the ideologies of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM). It traces the historical development of the Amazigh cultural movement from its Kabylian origins in the colonial period to its Moroccan expression, showing how language planning—through the creation of the Neo-Tifinagh script and the introduction of neologisms—became central to Amazigh nationalism.
The study highlights the role of Mohamed Chafik, IRCAM’s founding rector, whose ideology redefined Amazighness as part of a unified Moroccan national identity. Through an analysis of IRCAM’s early initiatives—the adoption of the Neo-Tifinagh-IRCAM script and the Tifawin a Tamazight textbooks—it shows how the pursuit of a homogeneous standard Moroccan Amazigh stands at odds with the linguistic practices of the three main varieties in Morocco: Tarifiyt, Central Moroccan Amazigh, and Tashelhiyt.
The thesis further examines how IRCAM rector Ahmed Boukous’s ideology of “revitalization” and “attrition” serves to legitimize this standardization, and how IRCAM’s selective application of the “polynomic approach” mediates between language ideology and linguistic practice. It concludes by situating IRCAM’s language planning within Kathryn A. Woolard’s discussion of sociolinguistic naturalism, arguing that IRCAM’s ideology forms a politically driven post-naturalist “project authenticity.”
PhD dissertations
Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.
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