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(This article originally appeared in French, in El Watan,
on November 12, written by Djamila Kourta. The "**"
below has been added by WAAC's editor.)
Linguists
and historians convened for four days under the auspices of HCA
(Haut Commissariat à L’Amazighité) at Sidi
Fredj. The theme of the day's study focused on teaching Amazigh
(berber) language and history. **The issue raised was to decide
which of the Tamazight languages should be taught. Tamazight encompasses
many local dialects and variants that constitute a language themselves,
such as that of the Chaoui, the Kabyle, the Mozabite, etc.**
The commission finally settled on the Latin characters as
a representative support. The president of the HCA, Mohamed Idir
Aït, officially announced the decision during the closure
of the seminar. Seminarists advocated five points that would constitute
the basic recommendations needed to give Tamazight its legitimate
dimension.
First, it is necessary for the language to obtain national
and official status. The state must find ways and means to tailor
a language policy in tune with the institutional and constitutional
texts. Moreover, teaching the language must be mandatory, as required
by society.
The second important point is the internal set up of the
language. A linguistic set up center, monitoring and defending
the efforts made to assimilate the language, should be created.
The third recommendation concerns teaching the language.
The education ministry is vested with the task of administering
historical reparation of a language that has been marginalized
for so long.
In addition, specialists opted for historical revisionism
in order to reestablish historical truth, which has been ignored
for years. Researchers and historians must revise the content
of the school manuals so they will be more appealing and conform
to historical reality. Furthermore, the teaching of certain disciplines
in Tamazight will help the language integrate into the linguistic
culture.
The fifth point is devoted to the diffusion of the language
through socialization. The teaching of Tamazight has meaning only
if it is utilized as an instrument for social, cultural and economic
interaction.
**It should be noted that members of the World Amazigh Congress
has worked on and developed a standardized written Tamazight that
incorporated the various regionalisms. For details on the reconstruction,
grammar, sound, and writing of the language, see the last three
issues of The Amazigh Voice (Bedminster, NJ: Amazigh Cultural
Association in America), Spring/Summer 1999, Fall/Winter 2000,
and Spring/Summer 2000. For information on how to order The
Amazigh Voice, visit: http://www.tamazgha.org.
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