Impact of Orientalism of Algeria which was dominated by France

In 1830, France began colonizing Algeria with the intention of eradicating the country’s culture rather than only for economic gain or political dominance. For 132 years, the French ruled over the government, the economy, and the majority of intellectual life. The severe acculturation program that France’s colonial government imposed made French the primary language throughout its colonies, overshadowing the native Arabic and Berber tongues (Bhabha & Homi 89). Algeria, which had been severely de-structured by colonial settlement, had to deal with a number of cultural issues related to its sense of national identity. A society that its original identity had been revoked for a hundred and thirty years found it difficult to begin reconstructing itself without restoring the bedrock of that identity, the Arabic language. However, over forty-five years after the departure of the French colonialists, the country is still finding it difficult to reclaim the various aspects of its identity and personality as well. From the challenging encounter with the Western European hegemonic “Other” comes the necessity to bring forth such a discourse (Ngugi Wa Thiong’o 128). History outlines the status of the French language in Algeria and calls for a comparison between colonized Algeria and independent Algeria to see the impact of the vehicular language of this country.

According to Mitchell (n.p), living, studying and working in a different culture for so long a period is like looking through the looking glass where there is no return because it changes someone so much that going back to one’s original language makes it quite difficult. The colonial heritage has left an even deeper wound on Algeria. French culture provoked a sort of paralysis in Algeria. It has so blanked out the natives’ lives that to this day, despite massive and intensive efforts at Arabizing, the Algerian population continues to be affected by the French linguistic impact. This influence has continued after independence may explain the complex nature of the changes and readjustments that Algeria has been undergoing.

Reference

Bhabha, Homi K. (1996). The Location of Culture: Discussing Post-Colonial Culture. London: Routledge.

Ngugi, Wa Thiongo (1989). Decolonising the Mind: the Politics of Language. London: James Currey.

Mitchell. T., (2015), The Battle of Algiers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2nd Revised edition.