Moroccan language policy and its effect on sociolinguistics: attitudes of students and professors toward sociolinguistic research

Given its location, Morocco is influenced by multiple linguistic factors. As a result, Sociolinguistics became a crucial linguistic field in the country. It witnessed significant development since the 1970s since a considerable amount of research was conducted to cope with the constant changes in language policy. While research grew in quantity, there were no significant attempts to closely analyze its contributions and determine its efficiency. To this end, the study at hand provided a general background of the status of sociolinguistic in Morocco. It also reflected on the attitudes of students and professors involved in the field on the status of the latter. Similarly, it investigated the extent to which the Moroccan language policy has impacted research produced in sociolinguistics. Therefore, the results presented the attitudes toward the development and the involvement of sociolinguistic research. It mainly reflected the region of Rabat-Sale and to a lesser extent Casablanca, Fes, and Marrakech. The study concluded that sociolinguistic research in Morocco focuses on some languages/varieties more than others. As a consequence, despite the immense growth of the field in recent years, it still does not meet the expectations of the population of the study.