Zawaya

If languages are not golden, then they are made out of silver

By: Driss Kassouri

Regardless of the fact that the value of a language is determined by several factors, such as the demographic size of its speakers, its content, and the conditions of its use, the above wise saying shows the fundamental importance of mastering languages. The importance of languages comes from an actual need for them, and from the confrontation of supply and demand for useful foreign languages in the international market. Languages expand the field of human action, and are a tool for success in all spheres of life. Mastering languages is a primordial ingredient to win the bet of life.

It’s an investment currency and a fund to develop actions and improve the services of individuals, institutions and communities, since it creates more and better opportunities.

Teaching and learning foreign languages that are popular in the international market of languages is vital, and has guaranteed benefits and various advantages for the workforce in particular, because languages allow the establishment of relations and interactions that are economically useful.

The functional requirements and differentiation of modern communication in technology, management and trade require various linguistic capabilities in order to meet many needs, and improve the quality of performance and operations. The linguistic problem should not hamper the continuous improvement of work, especially when it comes to useful languages that have the exchange and economic value associated with the strength of their respective countries. Linguistic skills raise the worthiness of performances, increase competitiveness, and strengthen control over enough linguistic tools of a variety of languages, with a guaranteed benefit for the workforce in the information age.

In general, it is necessary to bear in mind that economic efficiency is associated with communication efficiency, which is also linked to language proficiency, especially outside the borders of the mother tongue, where language is considered a preferential aspect and not a normal one.

These economic and linguistic challenges do not conflict with the wording of a cultural, preventive and developmental rational policy that will help maintain the social and human culture in general and the Maghreb culture in particular, since there are many common factors that unify the Maghreb countries.

The preservation of cultural uniqueness lies in preserving religion, heritage, literature and arts, be it in written or oral forms, as original components that are inherent in oneself and conscience, and not as a supplementary or secondary luxury. This requires making mother tongues, dialects, various expression means, and different literature and creative genres carry on their communicative, artistic, aesthetic and virtual functions, as well as maintaining them as high types and patterns that are rooted in the heart and soul of peoples, with a strong and diverse presence in genuine customs and traditions which refine taste, raise awareness and perception, and transcend the soul and behavior towards the common emotional, historical and cultural conscience.

However, the mission of the Maghreb countries is not as burdensome compared to other countries which are ethnically divergent and geographically dispersed, since it’s easier for the Maghreb to maintain local languages and preserve the national values of expression as cultural symbols, tools, and forms that are indispensable to all citizens. It is also necessary to reduce differential discrimination between economic languages and mother tongues, and to work on deepening the sense of national belonging instead of encouraging alienation and westernization. Local languages have a special humanitarian and cultural nature that stimulates empathy that gives those languages their real nature while waiting for them to prove their economic power that is associated with the strength of their countries. Therefore, there should be a focus on the internal social context of these countries, and an attempt to rehabilitate it by developing and enriching the common elements between citizens in the face of the hurricane of the dry and raw utilitarian discourse.

Inspiring memorial components in various forms, activities and spaces of education and culture, with all their breadth, vitality and simplicity, and without exaggerating in rational and rigorous scientific thinking, or mere commercial employment; will perhaps establish a solid bulwark in the face of any stripping fear or incoming hubristic invasion.