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Doha – According to Spanish news outlet El Debate, an international academic conference was held at the Hospital del Rey in Melilla on January 17, to promote the inclusion of Tamazight in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The event coincided with Yennayer, the Amazigh New Year celebrations.
The academic gathering brought together specialists from European universities, including institutions in Naples and Paris, to discuss the current status of Tamazight, challenges for its preservation, and future development prospects.
The initiative aims to recognize this Moroccan-origin dialect as a Spanish language within the European Charter, despite the fact that the majority of Melilla’s Spanish population does not speak it.
The Spanish outlet claimed that Tamazight is a variety of the “Berber” language from the Afroasiatic linguistic family, primarily spoken in Morocco’s Middle Atlas region by approximately 3.6 million speakers, with additional smaller communities in Algeria and France.
The Spanish association “Hablamos Español,” which advocates for the Spanish language, criticized the event on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “All languages except Spanish are promoted here,” it stated.
The organization, led by Gloria Lago, further commented that Tamazight is “a language spoken in Melilla that apparently needs protection because it is being consumed by Spanish, which as we all know is bad and imperialist.”
In Morocco, recent census data presented by High Commissioner for Planning Chakib Benmoussa revealed that only 25% of Moroccans speak Tamazight, while Darija (Moroccan Arabic) dominates with 92% of speakers.
These official figures contrast sharply with Amazigh associations’ claims that up to 85% of the country’s 37 million population are Tamazight speakers.
Read also: Report: Tamazight is Morocco’s Original, Predominant Language Before the Islamic Conquest
Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch recently reaffirmed the government’s commitment during Yennayer celebrations in Agadir, stating, “The government is committed to strengthening the implementation of the official character of the Amazigh language.”
The Ministry of Education has outlined ambitious expansion plans for Tamazight education. Currently, 1,860 specialized teachers instruct approximately 746,000 students across 16,529 classrooms, representing 19.5% of primary school students.
The ministry aims to achieve 50% coverage by 2025-2026 and expand from 1,803 primary schools to 12,000 institutions by 2030.
The language gained official status in Morocco’s 2011 Constitution, following King Mohammed VI’s historic 2001 Ajdir speech recognizing Amazigh as a fundamental element of Moroccan culture.
In 2023, Morocco officially recognized Yennayer as a national holiday, marking January 14 as a public celebration.
According to activists, while cultural celebrations are promoted, deeper issues such as economic inequality, environmental concerns, and political representation remain unaddressed.
They emphasize that access to information and public services in Tamazight continues to be inadequate, despite international human rights conventions supporting language rights.
The Melilla conference represents the latest development in ongoing efforts to secure greater recognition for minority languages in the region, following similar initiatives across Spain where various communities seek co-official status for their local languages.
