French is an administrative language and commonly used, though not on an official basis, in the Maghreb states of Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The language was introduced to the region during French colonial rule in the 19th and 20th centuries. The majority of the population in the Maghreb speak either a Semitic Arabic vernacular (see; Maghrebi Arabic, Darija, Algerian Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Tunisian Arabic) or a Berber language na...
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French is an administrative language and commonly used, though not on an official basis, in the Maghreb states of Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The language was introduced to the region during French colonial rule in the 19th and 20th centuries. The majority of the population in the Maghreb speak either a Semitic Arabic vernacular (see; Maghrebi Arabic, Darija, Algerian Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Tunisian Arabic) or a Berber language natively. Classical Arabic, spoken natively by no one, is the official language of all the Maghreb states.
Algeria was a part of the French colonial empire for 130 years, see; French rule in Algeria. Algeria was the home to about one million pieds-noirs which later were relocated in France. French is still the most studied foreign language, and is widely spoken. Since independence, the government has pursued a policy of linguistic Arabisation of education and bureaucracy, with some success, although many university courses continue to be taught...
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