L'impact du darija sur la prononciation des voyelles du français chez les apprenants du primaire au Maroc: Analyse phonétique et perspectives didactiques The Impact of Darija on the Pronunciation of French Vowels Among Elementary School Learners in Morocco: A Phonetic Analysis and Pedagogical Implications

Abstract

This article examines the difficulties in pronouncing French vowels among Moroccan primary school learners, analyzing how the articulatory and phonological specificities of Darija affect vowel production in French as a foreign language. The study adopts a comparative phonological approach to identify structural divergences between the two vocalic systems and explain the origin of the observed interferences. Sixty fourth-grade learners from Moroccan public elementary schools participated in an action research combining a pretest diagnosing pronunciation errors and a posttest evaluating the effectiveness of a phonetic correction intervention. Results reveal that pronunciation errors reflect systemic difficulties primarily attributable to vocalic differences between Darija (a three-vowel system) and French (a sixteen-vowel system). The didactic intervention, combining articulatory, verbo-tonal, and comparative approaches, led to a significant reduction in errors, particularly for rounded and nasal vowels. The study proposes concrete didactic perspectives for integrating systematic corrective phonetics into French teaching at the primary level.