Maghrebi Arabic, or
Darija, is the
varieties of Arabic spoken in the
Maghreb, including
Morocco,
Algeria,
Tunisia and
Libya. The
Western Arabic known also as
Maghrebi Arabic (as opposed to the
Eastern Arabic known as
Mashriqi Arabic) that includes
Moroccan Arabic,
Algerian Arabic,
Tunisian Arabic along with
Libyan Arabic. Some
linguists like
Charles A. Ferguson,
William Marçais and Abdouis Elimam, mutually consider the Maghribi as an independent language.
In Algeria, Maghrebi Arabic as a colloquial language was taught as a separate subject under French colonization, and some textbooks exist. Speakers of Maghrebi call their language Derja, Derija or Darija, which means "dialect" in Modern Standard Arabic. It is used as a spoken language and for written communication . Maghrebi Arabic is used for almost all spoken communication, as well as in TV dramas and on advertising boards in Morocco and Tunisia, but Modern Standard Arabic ( (al-)fuṣ-ḥā) is also used for written communication. Maghrebi is established on a Berber and possibly a Punic substratum, influenced by the languages of the people that lived or administered the countries of the region, during the course of history, such as Latin, Arabic, Turkish, Italian, Spanish, and French.
