Outrage as competition calls for using Moroccan dialect instead of standard Arabic in texts

There has been outrage at attempts to use the Moroccan dialect instead of standard Arabic for Wikipedia entries, Rai Al-Youm newspaper reported yesterday.

Facebook page Wikimedia Morocco launched a competition calling for making Wikipedia entries using Moroccan dialect, calling on people to submit a rich array of content related to Morocco on the Wikipedia platform, offering prizes for winners.

“This competition is aimed at fighting standard Arabic… I do not think that the next generation will be able to understand the simple Arabic language,” one critic said online.

Another asked: “Is standard Arabic not part of our identity?”

“What is the benefit of not using standard Arabic?” one social media user added.

Najiyyah Al-Mukhtari, head of Reading Network in Morocco, said that the aim of this competition “is to encourage and develop writing entries with standard Arabic, Moroccan dialect and Amazigh language.”

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