Moroccan Arabic (also known as
Darija) is the
variety of Arabic spoken in the
Arabic-speaking areas of
Morocco, as opposed to the official communications of government and other public bodies which use
Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries, while a mixture of
French and Moroccan Arabic is used in Business. It is within the
Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum.
Native speakers typically consider Moroccan Arabic a dialect because it is not a literary language and because it lacks prestige compared to Standard Arabic (fu??a). It differs from Standard Arabic in phonology, lexicon, and syntax, and has been influenced by Berber (mainly in its pronunciation, and grammar), French and Spanish. Like Arabic colloquials in general, its grammar is simpler than that of Standard Arabic.
Moroccan Arabic continues to evolve by integrating new French or English words, notably in technical fields, or by replacing old French and Spanish ones with Standard Arabic words within some circles.
It is worth mentioning that Darija (which means dialect) can be divided into two groups
