If you are planning on visiting Algeria you will need to know about the language of Algeria. There are four major languages spoken through Algeria. These languages include Arabic, Berber, English and French. Here is a look at the statistics of the languages and how widely spoken these languages are throughout the country of Algeria.
Arabic. Arabic was the official national language of Algeria. Throughout the country of Algeria everything is spoken in standard Arabic. Over 83% of the population speaks some form of Arabic. It is believed that 78% of those that speak Arabic speak the Algerian Arabic and 5% speak Hassaniya. Even those that speak other languages speak Arabic as a second language.
Berber. Berber was made a co-national language of Algeria in 2002. About 40% of the population speaks Berber. However, Berber is most popularly used in the Aures, Kabylia and Sahara. Berber is still commonly used in the Algerian capital city. It is assumed that historically Berber was the main language of Algeria and was replaced over the years with Arabic which is why Berber was added as a national language in 2002.
French. French is the most popular foreign language of choice by those in Algeria. It is taught in every Algerian school. Even those that do not know how to speak French fluently understand the language and can speak a little bit of it. In recent years French has started to make its way into the early classroom curriculum. Occasionally French will be used by the major national media outlets and found in the newspapers and news programs.
English. English has started to make its way into the Algerian language. In the 1990s it was decided to start teaching English to those in middle school to allow them to become accustomed to the language. However, English is not widely spoken in the country of Algeria.
