In his essay, The Curse of The Moroccan Writer, Fouad Larouis

description of the problems faced by Moroccan writers in terms of the

choice of their language and idiom has analogies with the situation of
languages in Pakistan and the conscious and unconscious choices made
by our creative writers. Laroui deals with a host of other related issues
including style, imitation, codes, register, diglossia and syntax, but the
final question he attempts to address is that of national literature.
In Morocco, Spanish is spoken and understood across the Strait of
Gibraltar and northern parts of the country. English is becoming popular
with the younger generation. But it is French that remains the main
European language, having a status similar to that of English in our case.
Although Arabic (since 1956) and Berber (since 2011) are the two
declared official languages, French is the language of class, diplomacy,
social standing and quality education. A hierarchy of four languages and
dialects exists in Morocco, making it complicated for writers to choose.
This choice has a direct bearing on the nature and composition of their
audience and readership. The four languages are French, classical Arabic,
Darija (local dialect of Arabic spoken in Morocco and North Africa but
quite distinct from classical Arabic) and Berber (including its forms and
dialects) in that pecking order. In our case, the four hierarchical levels
for languages would be English at the top level, Urdu at the second,
languages spoken widely in different regions such as Sindhi, Punjabi,
Pashto, Balochi, Seraiki, etc at the third level and the languages of
smaller populations within our provinces and regions such as Brahvi,
Hindko, Dhatki, Burushaski, Shina, Wakhi, Kohistani, Torwali, Gujrati, etc
at the bottom.
If one reads Laroui carefully, it becomes obvious that he is finally making
a case for Francophone Moroccan literature to be seen as what he calls
the national literature of post-colonial Morocco without actually
committing himself to this assertion in so many words. This is what you
find in common in the local elite or the educated diaspora of post-
colonial countries that have a facility with their former colonial language.
They strive for that language to be accepted as the representative
language of intellectual and literary expression of their country.
Laroui accentuates the differences between classical Arabic and Darija,
and between them and Berber. He also quotes Berber writers who claim
that Arabic is as foreign to them as French. While reading his
commentary on Morocco, I could recall similar arguments made by some
philologist friends, such as Arif Waqar, on Pakistans linguistic landscape.
They place the standardised register of Urdu on the same position that
Laroui places classical Arabic. Likewise, Darija is comparable to the
various forms of colloquial Urdu developed in different parts of Pakistan.
And like a Berber writer quoted by Laroui, you would find some of our
writers claiming that Urdu is as alien to them as English. One is not sure
if Berber writers who find French as close or distant to them as Arabic
are making a political statement to emphasise their separate identity or
whether it is historically and linguistically correct. Likewise, saying that
Urdu is as alien as English in our case is a very problematic proposition.
Finally, coming to Larouis question of national literature and the
complexities that it involves, one would ask: what is national literature?
We have heard this term reverberate in Pakistan as well since the times
of Muhammad Hasan Askari who coined the term Pakistani adab. This
was followed by Qudratullah Shahabs brand of pseudo-spiritual
literature. But irrespective of language and theme, why cant every
worthwhile piece of literature be considered equally important and
judged for its literary merit? The term national literature reeks of
authority rather than art.
The writer is a poet and essayist based in Islamabad. His collection of
essays Crimson Papers: Reflections on Struggle, Suffering, and Creativity
in Pakistan was recently published by Oxford University Press
Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, May 14th, 2017