Rabat – In a significant shift in reading preferences among Moroccans, books in the English language enjoyed widespread popularity and success at the 28th edition of the Rabat International Book Fair (SIEL 2023), which took place between June 1 and 11.
Visitors to the annual book fair flocked to the English book stands, which offered a wide range of American and British best sellers in various genres.
Morocco’s news agency (MAP) spoke to English book distributors and booksellers at the fair about the growing interest in English books. They attributed the trend to various cultural and social factors, including the fact that young Moroccan readers have become increasingly influenced by Anglophone culture.
The most successful genres among Moroccan readers are fiction, personal development, psychology, and economics, among others, according to English book distributors. The books’ affordability has further encouraged this trend.
“Morocco is changing, and society in this country, along with its readers, is changing,” Rachid Chafi El Alaoui, the Managing Director of Brookline, a leading English book-distributing company in Morocco, told Morocco World News.
He largely attributes the rise in the popularity of the English language to the internet.
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A staggering 80% of online content and research material is in English, and “consequently, it has become necessary to have proficiency in the language,” El Alaoui said.
Bookline’s managing director also attributed this growing trend to Moroccans’ “shift in sentiment towards French,” the language of Morocco’s previous colonizer.
“While we were colonized by the French, we are now striving to break away from that cultural heritage. Young readers, in particular, have opened their eyes to the wider world through the internet and discovered alternative cultural perspectives beyond the French language,” El Alaoui explained.
In turn, the Moroccan government has ramped up efforts in recent years to reinforce the English language in various domains, including strengthening English language learning in Moroccan education. Through these measures, the country aims to strengthen its international competitiveness, appeal to foreign investors, and achieve greater global connectivity.
The Rabat book fair attracted a total of 240,000 visitors, who enjoyed a selection of more than 120,000 titles provided by 700 exhibitors from 51 countries.
