Multilingualism in Algeria: the case of appellation of Algerian TV channels

Abstract

Despite the official claims that Algeria is assembled around one language, sociolinguistic observations however substantiate the existence of multilingualism, the use of more than one language, in the country. Historically, different races co-inhabited with the Algerian indigenous Berbers. The phoneticians have marked their presence within the Algerian territories and been followed by the Europeans and the Arabs. Although it is only foreign today, French has exercised the most remarkable European impact on the Algerians. Classical Arabic, the language of Islam, has been elevated to the status of official and first national language. Dialectal Arabic is the native variety of the Algerian majority, simultaneously with the Berber minority language being also the second national language. Moreover, the global English language does not quit gaining ground in the country. The media is one politico-economic fountainhead of information and entertainment with a wide range of viewers worldwide. The Algerians are increasingly facing new media TV channels of which many are featured by multilingualism in their appellation. This paper focuses on this present sociolinguistic situation and attempts to describe the different manifestations of the phenomenon of multilingualism at this level.