"Languages are means of expression -- they can have power if what you make of them achieves power," Sadiqi said.
Of the four main languages spoken in Morocco, Standard Arabic carries the most power and authority as a public language because it is the language of the Koran. In order to be respected there, one must know and speak this language, according to Sadiqi.
However, 60 percent of Moroccan women are illiterate, the majority of whom reside in rural areas. These women do not have access to Standard Arabic and most communicate through verbal Ber-ber, an indigenous language that has been spoken in Morocco for over 5,000 years.
Moroccan Arabic, another language spoken in this northern African region, is a version of Arabic that differs from the written standard form. French is also used as the colonial language of Morocco.
The two languages of institution are Standard Arabic and French, which have been constructed throughout history as urban and public languages. Moroccan Arabic and Ber-ber, the remaining two languages, are private and rural, even after colonization. Men are predominately associated with the public languages and women associated with the private, Sadiqi said.
"Standard Arabic is more accessible to men than women," Sadiqi said. "Even when women are proficient, they use it less than men."
French, the second declared language of Morocco, is used by men for business or military purposes and by women for social prestige in order to gain social power mainly through marriage.
Men tolerate women speaking the French language because they know the women will teach it to their children, who must know the language for employment purposes, she said.
"Even ultra-conservative people would insist their children learn French, because they know they need to know it to get a job," Sadiqi said.
However, the uniform recognition of Standard Arabic by all Moroccan peoples creates gender tension, Sadiqi added.
Anthropology professor John Wantanabe said that, as Americans, it may be hard for Dartmouth students to understand this issue.
"We speak the language of power [English] and it is hard to see it until you step outside of the bubble and look at it," Wantanabe said.
Sadiqi spoke at the Rockefeller Center as a part of the anthropology department's Colloquia series.
