French has always been the dominant language of business, education, and politics in Tunisia, However, in the recent years, there has been a notable shift among young Tunisians away from French and towards English. Let me explain!
I know, you know, and we all know that English is the global language of business and technology. A lot of young Tunisians (and I’m talking specifically about the Gen Z) see English as the rescuer! A SUPER tool that might help them flee the country..
“French language is not cool anymore bro!”
shouted a friend in one of the discussions I was having around Rap music. To get a bit of context, I was having a quite nostalgic conversation with some old friends about the old good times and the old French Rap artists like Sniper, Rohff, Booba, NTM.. that we were listening to through cassettes and CDs.. “Ya hassra”!
But,
When I moved to Qatar seven years ago, I realized that the French language is not that helpful here. I mean, you can have it in your pocket and show off when you hear a french speaking group of people.. “Salut, ça va.. Bah ouais je parle français..comment puis-je vous aider?” and it may sound sexy but you can’t be understood.. And you don’t have any kind of privilege if you have a good French and your English accent is sh#t. When it comes to business and work, a very good level of English is a must to get a very good job opportunity in the Gulf region.
The rise of social platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok has exposed Generation Z to English-language content on a daily basis, and many are eager to engage with this content and communicate with people from all over the world. And thanks to the proliferation of streaming services like Netflix and Spotify.. Movies, TV shows, and podcasts are easily more accessible than ever before. As a result, many young Tunisians are more comfortable using English in their daily lives than French.
The decline of French in Tunisia can also be attributed to political and cultural factors. French colonialism had a significant impact on our society, and for many years, French was seen as a symbol of oppression and domination. While French is still widely spoken and taught in schools, its status as the dominant language has been challenged in recent years. In this context, English is often seen as a neutral language that does not carry the same historical baggage as French.
It is worth noting that the shift towards English is not unique to Tunisia but is part of a broader global trend. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has announced that Algeria would start teaching English in primary schools very soon. Morocco is officially moving towards adopting the English language in teaching scientific subjects at all primary and middle school levels instead of French.
English has become the lingua franca of the internet, and its dominance is unlikely to be challenged anytime soon. So what are you waiting for? An official statement from the Ministry of Education? No way.. Study your Damn English to get a decent job abroad!
Hi, im Amine a regular 20 years old Tunisian citizen,i always liked English more than French and wished French wasnt a musthave thing since its kinda useless. so when i dropped out of school i started learning English on my own playin video games, talking to people on the internet, watching movies and listening to music everyday for the past 3 years and at first it seemed to be just a way to escape our tunisian reality ( honestly disgusting) which i hate till this day still, anyway, now i think i made a big progress from knowing almost nothing about English to mastering it, and it got me to places in myself i thought never existed, helped me communicate with people around the world and now feels like its time to change my reality by learning more usefull skills and simply point them where i want using English (something in which French isnt as powerfull ), honestly i think French should v never been a second language in Tunisia, but i guess that doesnt matter since its in the past and i beleive English is way more reliable ( known fact ofc ), maybe now that everyone is so interested we could push the bounderies between us and the rest of the world and get our hands on the knoweledge that was taken away from us, learn more about how life actually works and what people on the other side go through everyday, not to compare but just to understand and open our minds to it instead of complaining all the time on how other countries are just better, cleaner etc…, just open ur mind and stop arguing about things that literally get u nowhere, try to understand and get better .
Big Love <3