Lingua araba in vecchi e nuovi media. Riflessioni sull’intrusione dell’arabo dialettale come lingua scritta in epoca contemporanea

Since the first years of the 21st century, the presence of the dialect varieties of Arabic (the so-called ʿāmmiyya or dāriǧa) outside the purely literary production increased a lot, and these informal varieties are nowadays frequently used in press, mass media, and obviously social networks. This article intends to offer a general overview on the modalities by which, at the beginnings of this (relatively) new phenomenon, the Arabic dialects penetrated in both the old and new media. After a focus on the graphic problems issued during the first attempts of written registration of the Arabic dialects (like in 3arabizi and e-darija), it deals also with the initiatives encouraged by some Moroccan magazines and newspapers (such as Ḫbār blādna, al-Amal, TelQuel and Nichane) that developed a highly controversial debate on the future of the linguistic policies in the country.