Algeria announced the launch of the "first audio-visual dictionary" project for the Arabic language, which will extend for three years, through a digital educational platform that uses visual and audio content that facilitates the search for terms and clarifies them.

This came during the conclusion of an agreement in Algiers between the Algerian Supreme Council of the Arabic Language (an advisory body at the Presidency of the Algerian Republic) and the mobile phone company Ooredoo to finance the project.

"We congratulate Algeria and the Arab nation, the Arab Visual Dictionary, which is the first audio-visual Arabic work to appear in the era of technology and digitization," said council president Saleh Belaid.

He added that "the Arabic language is the language of the universe and the language of the nations, and it is not only the language of the Arabs nor the language of Islam, but rather the language of human civilization that has given the world more than it took."

"Therefore, within the framework of the partnership with Ooredoo, which will finance the project, we aim, through this dictionary, to generalize the use of the Arabic language and its good mastery, and to include it in the field of technology and science," Belaid added.

He considered that "this Arabic lexicon will put the Arabic language in the place it lacks, which is the world of digitization and technology."

This project - whose cost has not been announced - will be completed gradually over a period of 3 years, according to a statement by Ooredoo.

The company explained that "the lexicon is a platform that primarily uses visual and audio content to clarify the meaning of words, facilitating the process of searching for terms."

She added that it "constitutes a modern and practical educational tool useful for linguists, academics and those interested in the Arabic language."

Arabic and the Ministry of Culture

Calls have recently been renewed to revive the "Law on Generalizing the Arabic Language", which has been frozen for nearly 30 years.

In January 1991, the Algerian authorities issued a law to generalize the use of Arabic in all transactions within government sectors, but its application remained suspended for reasons that opponents say are due to the influence of the so-called "lobby in support of France" in the country.

In early April, the Algerian Ministry of Culture announced, in a letter addressed to its departments and institutions, banning dealing with the French language in correspondence, transactions and official activities, and generalizing the use of the Arabic language.

The correspondence stated that "in application of the provisions of the constitution and the law on the generalization of the use of the Arabic language, you are required to adhere to the use of the Arabic language in all work of communication and administrative, financial and technical (technical) management."

According to the correspondence, the procedure also includes editing all documents, administrative correspondence, reports, minutes and agreements.

The correspondent added that all discussions and deliberations in official meetings, forums, symposia (conferences) and demonstrations must be in Arabic, with the exception of international ones where foreign languages ​​can be used in addition to Arabic.

The letter, signed by the Minister of Culture, Sourieh Muluji, concluded that she attaches the utmost importance to the implementation of the document's content.

And last fall, the ministries of vocational training, youth and sports banned the use of the French language in official correspondence, coinciding with the escalation of the crisis in Algeria and Paris against the background of statements by French President Emmanuel Macron that were described as offensive to Algeria.

With the exception of the Ministry of Defense, all ministries in Algeria use the French language in most of their internal correspondence and even in their official statements, despite the fact that the constitution stipulates that “Arabic is the first national and official language, and the Berber language is an official and second national language.”

Experts and historians say that the spread of French in Algeria is due to its imposition during the colonial era that lasted for 132 years (1830-1962) and the fight against the occupation of the Arabic language, as well as the delay in implementing laws to Arabize the administration and education after independence.