LA COEXISTENCE DU FRANÇAIS ET DE L'ARABE COMME LANGUES D'ENSEIGNEMENT AU MALI : ENTRE COMPLEMENTARITE AFFICHEE ET CONCURRENCE LATENTE

Mali is a sociolinguistic region with an educational situation where French (the working language) and Arabic (the language used to teach subjects in Arabic) coexist. This article analyzes the dynamics between these two languages in the Malian education system. This article uses a descriptive qualitative methodology combining documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (inspectors, school principals, and teachers). The results reveal a complementarity in which the languages are officially divided according to distinct functional roles, masking latent competition for resources, legitimacy, and the symbolic value of diplomas. The discussion highlights the challenges of an inclusive language policy and suggests ways to transform this coexistence into a strategic bilingualism, transcending power relations in favor of educational and identity enrichment. Keywords: Language policy, French, Arabic, language of instruction, madrasah, multilingualism, linguistic competition.