Darija and Changing Writing Practices in Morocco

Social, political, and technological changes have forced changes in the contemporary Moroccan linguistic landscape. In print media, advertising, music, fictional writing, and translation, Moroccan Arabic (dārija) is being written in a variety of ways that point to a shift in perceptions and usage of dārija in daily Moroccan life. In this article, I provide a discussion of recent developments in the use of dārija in writing, and discuss how this evolving situation is articulated by intellectuals, journalists, publishers, fiction writers, and translators.