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Algeria

In Algeria, Berbers Fight For Equal Amazigh-Arabic Language Status

Amazigh is spoken by around 10 million in Algeria. Despite its new official status, it is not mandatory in schools nor used in national government.

Going to school in Ghardaia, Algeria - Gigi Sorrentino
Going to school in Ghardaia, Algeria - Gigi Sorrentino

ALGIERS — Last year marked a milestone for the millions of Algerian speakers of Amazigh, the Berber language, when it was given official status equal to Arabic in the country's new constitution. The momentous decision came after years of activism by ethnic Berbers fighting for their native tongue's recognition. But according to Algiers-based daily El Watan, the new legal status has led to little change on the ground.

Amazigh is spoken by around a quarter of Algeria's 40 million people. Despite its new official status, it is not mandatory in public schools, nor is it used in national government. The Algerian Ministry of Education claims that Amazigh is taught in 23 of the country's 48 provinces, but El Watan reports that very few schools offer instruction in the language outside of the majority-Berber region of Kabylia. In higher education, universities await the establishment of dedicated Amazigh departments.

There are no national Berber-language newspapers, and few television channels air programming in Amazigh. Arabic retains its importance as the language of Islam, Algeria's primary religion, and several imams in Berber-majority regions have reportedly preached that the spread of Amazigh is forbidden.

The state seeks to reduce the risk that young Berbers will radicalize around the question of Amazigh.

"There needs to be a political decision to enforce the teaching of Amazigh," says Si El Hachemi Assad, head of the High Commission on Amazigh, the official state-recognized institution that promotes the language.

Berber activists see the hand of Algeria's authoritarian state, known locally as le pouvoir ("the power"), behind the lackluster implementation of Amazigh's official status. "The officialization of Amazigh is nothing but a method to divert and neutralize Berber elites," says journalist and linguist Yacine Temlali. "The state seeks to reduce the risk that young Berbers will radicalize around the question of Amazigh."

A major issue facing the widespread adoption of Amazigh is the debate over the correct script to write it in. Though traditionally written in the Berber Tifinagh script, most Algerians instead use the Arabic or Latin alphabets — Kabyles almost exclusively use Latin, but Arabic is popular elsewhere. In a country where speakers can't even agree on the correct alphabet to use, giving Amazigh its proper place is a story that is still to be written.

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The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

The U.S. legal system cannot simply run its course in a vacuum. Presidential politics, and democracy itself, are at stake in the coming weeks and months.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

File photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Clyde, Ohio, in 2020.

Emma Shortis*

-Analysis-

Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the beginning of his career in New York real estate.

But until now, the potential consequences of such a cataclysmic development in American politics have been purely theoretical.

Today, after much build-up in the media, The New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Trump and the Manhattan district attorney will now likely attempt to negotiate Trump’s surrender.

The indictment stems from a criminal investigation by the district attorney’s office into “hush money” payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels (through Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen), and whether they contravened electoral laws.

Trump also faces a swathe of other criminal investigations and civil suits, some of which may also result in state or federal charges. As he pursues another run for the presidency, Trump could simultaneously be dealing with multiple criminal cases and all the court appearances and frenzied media attention that will come with that.

These investigations and possible charges won’t prevent Trump from running or even serving as president again (though, as with everything in the U.S. legal system, it’s complicated).

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