DarijaWhat language do people speak in Morocco?
Darija on the street, Tamazight at home for millions, Modern Standard Arabic in writing and French at the counter. Here is who speaks what, and which one you need.
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Darija you can use, and how learning it actually works.
Darija
Teach Darija and keep what you earn
'kilma' takes 3 € per lesson. As an amount, never a percentage, in every price tier. Here is what that means for your hourly rate, your hours and your preparation.
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The best pocket in Moroccan fashion
The qobb, the pointed hood of the djellaba, keeps the wind off your neck and carries the morning bread home. Here is the wardrobe vocabulary that goes with it.
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The fine art of the hammam scrub
Autumn fills the neighbourhood hammam with steam, a coarse kessa glove and a very thorough kassal. Bring the Darija words for skin and shoulders.
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The sweet arithmetic of Erfoud
October in Erfoud is a counting exercise with dates on tin scales. Numbers, dirhams, rials and a meeting time that drifts by forty minutes.
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September at the Moroccan maktaba
Every September, Moroccan stationery shops fill with notebooks, coloured film and determined parents. Take the words for pencil, desk and boss with you.
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When Moroccan palms drop their gold
Late September in the oases around Erfoud: barefoot climbers, amber Majhoul dates and cool mornings. Harvest a few Darija words while you are at it.
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Dressing for romance in the Atlas
At the Imilchil festival, a fringed wool handira and a heavy silver brooch do the talking. Moroccan clothing vocabulary carries the same weight.
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What the hammam asks of your Darija
An hour in the hammam: black soap, a coarse mitt and a very thorough stranger. Bring the words for shoulders and elbows and the hour belongs to you.
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The real living room is upstairs
When the afternoon heat breaks, Moroccan families carry chairs, teapots and conversation up to the roof. Your Darija practice is welcome up there too.
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The endurance sport of Moroccan greetings
A Moroccan hello asks after your health, your parents and your peace of mind, all before the tea arrives. Learn the sequence and you are a welcome guest on any pavement.
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The art of the Moroccan taxi hail
A petit taxi in Casablanca picks you up at speed, with two strangers already on the back seat. Here are the words that get you in, and out again at the right corner.
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