Understanding the role of language policy in the construction and maintenance of inequalities in Tunisia and Morocco

This thesis analyses how language-in-education policy (LIEP) shapes the socioeconomic status (SES) of university students in Tunisia and Morocco. I investigate how different types of language policy (LP) influence the language attitudes and language practices of university students and thereby contribute to the construction of their SES. This thesis is the result of ethnographic research in which a mixed-methods approach was employed. This mixed-methods approach involved surveys and interviews that investigate the link between the socioeconomic status of university students and the multi-layered language policy (Hornberger & Johnson 2007) employed by several linguistic “influencers” (Badwan 2021) in the university context. The findings of this research show that in both Tunisia and Morocco there is a substantial difference between the de facto LP and the de jure LP at the school level and that participants from similar social classes share patterns of language practices, language ideologies, and language planning. As demonstrated in this thesis, the three interrelated but independent components of language practices, language ideologies, and language planning (Spolsky 2004) reflect socioeconomic hierarchies. Within these hierarchies, two patterns emerge. The lower class tends toward a less prestigious linguistic repertoire, an anti-colonial language ideology, and translanguaging practices. In contrast, the upper class tends to standardize language practices and ideologies toward French, influenced by language planning in private institutions. The research highlights how mother tongues and the growing presence of English impact sociolinguistic dynamics, fostering a more democratic postcolonial language policy. The thesis underscores the role of language policies in shaping students' future opportunities and perpetuating social hierarchies. Through a comparative analysis of Tunisia and Morocco, it identifies challenges faced by policymakers in developing sustainable language policy models. The analytical perspective presented can inform the examination of similar multilingual and postcolonial contexts characterized by socioeconomic inequalities.