Communication in Morocco

Now I should tell you something out of the box...

We have had a wide variety of experiences in this beautiful country, because of course there are also Moroccans who speak English and/or French.

But from the beginning:

In Chefchaouen, very few Moroccans were familiar with French; Spanish is actually spoken more here. That surprised us a little at first, but well, then you just speak in your preferred language, because even with a language app I can't do anything with Arabic, and there's also a dialect that's common here, which is probably the same in terms of pronunciation must be completely different.

From where I know this? A Moroccan heard us talking in Meknes and then spoke to us in very good German. He really just wanted to test and use his language skills a little, because he had been learning German for about a year. I was impressed because he was really good at it.

In the market we shopped at a candy store, some of whose family lives in Dortmund; he spoke a few words of German.

The tour guides here usually speak several languages, they can be hired for city tours or at sites like Volubilis and have good knowledge that they are happy to pass on.

BUT many Moroccans only speak their Arabic dialect or a completely different language! But there is always a way, when you are out in the souk, it helps to interpret, or when you are shopping at the vegetable stand, you can simply hand your goods to the seller for weighing.

Today I was shopping alone, I drove to the next town and gave the greengrocer what I wanted to buy, he then showed me the total on the calculator.

With bread and water things went quite well with Germans, most of the men, yes, they were all just men, were a little overwhelmed, but somehow it worked out.

I should also mention that we are actually always waved through at police checkpoints. Today it was different, the policeman pointed to us, I stopped obediently, then he chatted with us for a few minutes in German and wished us a safe journey.

It'll be exciting in the next few days, because then we'll be heading into the wilderness! I also have no idea when the children will start learning French here. Every now and then we meet an older teenager who speaks a few words or quite good English, but that wasn't the case before.

I find it so warm here despite the small language barrier, because no one is skeptical when you point and at least say thank you in Arabic!