Here in Morocco, everyone speaks Arabic, but most people communicate in public in Darija (Moroccan Arabic), unless they live down in the area just below Marakech (seven hours south of here). At home, though, the majority of the population speaks one of the indigenous dialects: Tashilhit, Tarafit, Tamazirt or Riff.
Here's an example:
Salam = Hello (in Arabic & Darija)
Azul = Hello (in Tashilhit)
Thankfully, these indigenous languages are making a comeback. But, for many decades they were forbidden, and everyone was required to learn French in addition to standard Arabic, because Morocco was colonized by France. Today, though, Moroccans are interested in learning some English, too. Any ideas why? If you said, because it's the language of commerce (global business) and of computers, you were correct.
The money here is called Moroccan dirhams (MAD), but some people, like in my small little town of Ras ijeeri say "rials". It gets super confusing.
Example:
1,000 rials is actually just 50 dirhams.
Here's another example:
A small and very delicious latte here costs about ten dirhams - Ten dirhams is worth about $1.00!
How much do you think that cup of coffee would cost in New York?
