A Bourdieusian analysis of the linguistic repertoires of Algerian secondary school teachers in the Berber regions of Chaoui and Kabyle

This study analyses the linguistic repertoires of Algerian secondary school teachers in the twoBerber regions of Chaoui and Kabyle, which to date has been an understudied area in thediscourse. It demonstrates the multifaceted dimensions of language dynamic, languageattitudes, language practice, language policy especially within the field of education and theperceived language dynamics among Berber teachers in Chaoui and Kabyle regions, includingan understanding of how they acquired and learned languages in their repertoires. Thisqualitative study adopted a case study research method given the particularity of studyingthe less known (but nevertheless important) linguistic repertoires of Algerian teachers in thetwo Berber regions in question. The study drew on the teachers’ subjective constructions oftheir experience in the acquisition of their linguistic repertoires and from the researchers’interpretivist standpoint in the analysis of the findings. Data was collected through in-depthinterviews (n21) and focus group discussions (n2). Utilising Bourdieu’s concepts of ‘Habitus,field and capital’ as a theoretical lens, the study revealed the involvement of different formsof capital that helped acquiring and learning the languages included in participants’ linguisticrepertoires. Berber teachers’ attitudes toward the languages in their repertoires in this studywere influenced by the historical, socio-economic and political factors, which were ingrainedin their societal habitus. Additionally, the language perceived value in this study was indicatedto be dependent on the field in which languages are exercised, as well as the extent to whichlanguages dominate in fields of power. The study found that language practice amongparticipants in this study is related to the interlocutor, to the context and the topic beingaddressed. Language was seen as a form of currency that buy speakers’ privileges and benefitsin a marketplace. The study argues there is ambiguity in the process of issuing the languagepolicy in Algeria by highlighting contradictions within Algerian language policies that result inthe lack of alignment between policy and implementation. The study provides a foundationfor developing inclusive language policies that recognize the linguistic diversity in Algeria. Itthus contributes to the broader discourse on multiple language learning, providing a platformfor voices often marginalized in the discourse on language policies and educational practices.