Melilla y la Carta europea de las lenguas regionales o minoritarias: el amazige (bereber), lengua de Europa

Abstract

Due to its geographical location, Melilla (and Ceuta) have been a border area par excellence for centuries. Culturally and linguistically, the two cities form zones of encounter, misunderstanding and confrontation, constituting the “eastern front” for Europeans and the “Western front” for Morocco. Melilla, the subject of this contribution, forms part of the the Berber-speaking (Riffian) areas in a Muslim North African environment. Its motto, “City of Four Cultures”, refers to its four cultural and linguistic communities: Hispanic-Christian, Bereber-Muslim, Jewish-Hebrew and Hindi-Hinduism. These identities are based on two pillars, one ethnic and the other religious. This situation is also reflected in the linguistic sphere. The official and everyday language of the population of European origin in the city of Melilla is Spanish, while the population of “Muslim” origin also speaks their mother tongue: the Riffian language. However, Spain remained silent about the situation of this language until 2010, when the third report on Spain’s compliance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages for the period 2006-2009 was published. This contribution will address the difficult question of how an African language fits into a European framework.