This document outlines the emergence and definitions of language rights, as well as approaches, principles, and functionality of language rights. It discusses language rights in various countries and regions, particularly focusing on Amazigh languages in North Africa. The document examines international conventions on linguistic rights in Morocco and Algeria, as well as the official language policies and status of languages in Morocco. It covers Amazigh movements' claims, integration of Amazigh in education and media, realizations and challenges, and concludes by noting the dominance of some languages over others despite language policies.

1. LANGUAGE RIGHTS AND
LEGAL STATUS
Prepared and delivered by:
Soukaina Kouihi
Jaafer Rouane
Hicham Elaatillah

2. THE OUTLINE:
I. Emergence of language rights
II. Definitions
III. Functionality
IV. Approaches and Principles
V. Why bother implementing language rights?
VI. Language rights in different countries
VII. Regional platform of language rights in Africa (Morocco in particular)
VIII. Linguistic situation of Africa
IX. Amazigh languages in North Africa
X. The UN conventions for the protection of linguistic rights in Morocco
and Algeria
XI. Mother tongues and languages of Morocco
XII. The official language policy in Morocco
XIII. Amazigh movement’s claims
XIV. Integration of Amazigh language in educational system and media
XV. Realizations and challenges
XVI. Conclusion

3. EMERGENCE OF LANGUAGE RIGHTS
Linguistic rights became more and more prominent
throughout the course of history as language came to be
increasingly seen as a part of nationhood. Although
policies and legislation involving language have been in
effect in early European history, these were often cases
where a language was being imposed upon people while
other languages or dialects were neglected. Most of the
initial literature on linguistic rights came from countries
where linguistic and/or national divisions grounded in
linguistic diversity have resulted in linguistic rights
playing a vital role in maintaining stability. However, it
was not until the 1900s that linguistic rights gained
official status in politics and international accords.

4. DEFINITIONS
What are language rights ?
Language rights are concerned with rules that public or private
institutions adopt with respect to language use in a variety of
different domains, in which language policy choices get made;
internal use (public services, court and legislations education)
private language use ( immigration, naturalization, enlargement and
official declarations).
Linguistics rights?
Linguistic human rights can be described as a series of obligations
on state authorities to either use certain languages in a number of
contexts, not interfere with the linguistic choices and expressions of
private parties, and may extend to an obligation to recognise or
support the use of languages of minorities or indigenous peoples.
Kimilicka, language rights(16-25)

5. Language rights a part of human rights?
Language rights and linguistic human rights are human rights
which have an incidence on language preferences of or use by
state authorities, individuals and other entities. Human rights
involving language area combination of legal requirements
based on human rights treaties and guidelines to state
authorities on how to address languages or minority issues,
and potential impacts associated with linguistic diversity
within a state. Language rights are to be found in various
human rights and freedoms provisions, such as the
prohibition of discrimination, freedom of expression, the
right to private life, the right to education, and the right of
linguistic minorities to use their own language with others in
their group.

6. Minority languages ?
Minority languages are occasionally marginalized within nations for a
number of reasons. These include the small number of speakers, the
decline in the number of speakers, and their occasional consideration as
uncultured, primitive, or simple dialects when compared to the dominant
language. Support for minority languages is sometimes viewed as
supporting separatism, for example the ongoing revival of the Celtic
languages (Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Cornish and Breton).
Immigrant minority languages are often also seen as a threat and as
indicative of the non-integration of these communities. Both of these
perceived threats are based on the notion of the exclusion of the majority
language speakers. Often this is added to by political systems by not
providing support (such as education and policing) in these languages.

7. FUNCTIONALITY
 Language rights function in some specific ways in relation to
the status of the individual as well as to the exercise of state
powers. The theory of fundamental rights distinguishes three
basic functions in the relation between the individual and the
state: status negativus, status positivus and status activus.
 The status negativus concerns freedom from interference
from the state.
 The status positivus refers to the circumstances in which the
individual cannot enjoy freedom without the active
intervention of the status it is also concerned with judicial
protection, but it also extends nowadays to many forms of
social protection and social services (schooling, housing,
health care and so on).
 The status activus refers to the exercise of the individual‘s
freedom within and for the state

8. LANGUAGE RIGHTS APPROACHES
human rights approach to language rights
A human rights approach to language can be framed as a ‘recognise-implement-
improve’ method of ensuring state authorities effectively comply with their
obligations:laws, policies and processes must recognise language rights within a human
rights framework; authorities must integrate these in their conduct and activities; and
mechanisms must be in place to effectively address failures and improve compliance
Tolerance oriented
Tolerance rights are concerned with protecting individuals against the state’s
interference with their private language choices , these rights permit the minority
speakers to use their language or whatever lang.
promotion oriented
As you can tell from the title it is concerned with promoting a language , it involves the
use of a particular language by public and private institutions in order to promote that
language , they are rights that an individual might have to the public use of a particular
language ( court, public school system, the delivery of public services uage they like in
associations and institutions of The civil society .

9. Assimilation-oriented rights
Assimilation-oriented rights are types of language rights refer to the aim of
the law to assimilate all citizens within the country, and range from
prohibition to toleration. An example of prohibition type laws is the
treatment of Kurds in Turkey as well as Turks in Iran, where they are
forbidden to use the Kurdish and Turkish languages.
Maintenance-oriented rights
Maintenance-oriented rights refer to laws aiming to enable the
maintenance of all languages within a country, and range from permission to
promotion. An example of laws that promote language rights is the Basque
Normalization Law, where the Basque language is promoted. The neutral
point between assimilation-orientation and maintenance-orientation is non-
discrimination prescription, which forbids discrimination based on language

10. PRINCIPLES
Personality principles
These rights are implying that all citizens have the same set of
official language rights no matter where they are in the
county.
Territoriality principles
The principle of territoriality refers to language rights that are
being focused solely within a territory . Language rights
should vary from a region to another according to local
conditions, An example of the application of territoriality is
the case of Switzerland, where linguistic rights are defined
within clearly divided language-based cantons.

11. WHY BOTHER IMPLEMENTING LANGUAGE RIGHTS?
 It improves access to and quality of education of
minority languages
 It promotes equality and empowerment of minority
women
 It enhances better use of resources
 It improves communication and public services
 It contributes to stability and conflict-prevention
 It promotes diversity

12. LANGUAGE RIGHTS AND THE LEGAL STATUS IN DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES
 Canada
 Austria
 New Zealand
 India

13. REGIONAL PLATFORM (AFRICA)
 The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) (1963)
 The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (1986)
 the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) (2001)
 The African Court of Justice and Human Rights (2004)
(Bouali, 2012)

14. LINGUISTIC SITUATION OF AFRICA
 Linguistic history of Africa
In Zeleza’s words:
“Colonialism not only brought European languages to
Africa, it also sought to invent indigenous languages,
and to establish hierarchies between them, in which
the European languages were hegemonic, as part of
the process of constructing colonial states, spaces, and
societies.”
 Language policy and practice in Africa
(Innocent Maja, 2008)

15. AMAZIGH LANGUAGES IN NORTH AFRICA
 33 centuries of existence and history
 Assimilating policy 1956-61
 Exclusion of Amazigh languages
 Emergency of Amazigh movement 1967-80
 Reorganization of cultural resistance (ago)
 National, regional and international Amazigh network
1980-1991-1993
(Belkassm, 2008)

16. THE UN CONVENTIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF LINGUISTIC
RIGHTS IN MOROCCO & ALGERIA
 the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to
National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities,
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights.
(United Nations 1976, 1992, 2007)

17. MOTHER TONGUES & LANGUAGES OF MOROCCO
 Modern Standard Arabic: literacy, education,
administration, media, religion
 The «darija» or Moroccan Arabic : informal
communication, some media; unwritten
 Tamazight: informal communication, some media;
despite recently developed orthography, literacy is rare
 Hassanya: Also known as Moor. Over 40 000 in
Southern Morocco people speak this form of Arabic
 French: education, business, administration, media
(Arsalane 2015)

18. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE POLICY IN MOROCCO
 The Arabization policy

19. AMAZIGH MOVEMENT’S CLAIMS
 AGADIR Charter Claims (1991) and Amazigh Manifest
(2000)
 Legal and constitutional recognition
 Democratization of linguistic policy
 Linguistic and cultural rights
 Integration of Amazigh languages in the educational
system
 Integration of Amazigh language in the media
 Establishment of institute for Amazigh language
(Belkassm, 2008)

20. NEGOTIATIONS AND RECOGNITION
Legal and constitutional recognition:
 Establishment of High Commissariat for Tamazight
(1993) and legal and constitutional recognition in
Algeria (1996).
 Legal and collective recognition 2001(July) and the
establishment of Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture in
Morocco (October 2001)
 Partnership convention for Integration of Amazigh
languages in education system 2003-2004
 Partnership convention for Integration of Amazigh
language in the media
 Partnership conventions with other institutions

21. INTEGRATION OF AMAZIGH LANGUAGE IN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND
MEDIA
 New Linguistic policy for Amazigh language in
Morocco and Algeria
 Adoption of TIFINNAGH (Amazigh writing) and
standardization in Latin and Arabic in Algeria
 Amazigh language for all Moroccan children and for all
levels progressively since 2003-2004/in some regions in
Algeria
 Didactics materials in Amazigh language
 Training programs for teachers
 New dynamic with mother language in schools

22. REALIZATIONS AND CHALLENGES
 Educational System
 Ancestral writing system TIFINNAGH has become the official
Graphic System ; recognized by the ISO-Unicode on June 2004
 Progressive standardization of Amazigh language
 Didactic materials elaborated for five levels of the primary
 Elaboration of conceptions and programs of training
 Sessions of training for teachers every year since 2003
 Absence of Constitutional recognition
 Human resources insufficient
 Education budget is not enough
 Absence of the professional training for teachers
 Assimilating policy resistance
(Belkassm, 2008)

23. CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, what we are to bear in mind about everything we have
highlighted about language rights and their legal status is that there are
always languages that are dominant, but at the expense of others no
matter what language planning and policies implemented to create a
somewhat equal grounding for all languages. That is what we have covered
in this work by providing different examples from the international and
national context and that is what language rights are all about. They try to
shed light on that injustice standing among languages and what language
policies are implemented to enforce the dominant languages over minority
ones.

25. REFERENCES
BALKASSM, H. (2008). “Legal and constitutional status of Amazigh
language in Morocco & North Africa.” New York: United Nations.
Maja, I. (2008). “Towards the Human Rights Protection of Minority
Languages in Africa.” New York: University School of Law.
(2016). “Africa.” University of Montréal: National Observatory on Language
Rights. Retrieved from http://odl.openum.ca/en/international/cas-de-
figure/afrique/
Arsalane, Z. (2015). “Translanguaging in the Moroccan education system.”
Sweden: Dalarna University.
Bouali, F. (2012). “The Language Debate and the Constitution Amendment
in Morocco.” Doha: Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.