Globalization

Because of its position at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, and the Arab influence in North Africa, Morocco has a ton of different cultural layers.

The indiginous Amazigh people have had all kinds of people come settle in with them. 

The Arabs came over and are now close to half of the population here. The French came down for a shot at colonialization and now French is the main language for business and commerce. They also have a Mediterranean influence with definite cultural similarities to countries like Spain, Greece, and Italy. African migrants are coming to and through Morocco all the time looking for a shot at a better life and are a regular fixture in the big cities.

And of course, as for most of us, globalized media brings in lots of other influences from afar. Moroccan friends here have talked especially about how much they love Turkish and Mexican soap operas and Bollywood films.

Languages
These influences play out in languages too. Even though most (many?) people here speak more than one language, there are all sorts of languages to choose from. 

First the 3 indigenous languages: Tashelheet, Tamazight, and Tarifeet. 

Then the Arabics: Moroccan Arabic (Darija) and Classical/Modern Arabic (mostly used for writing). 

Then the European languages: French (spoken in the central and southern big cities and important for conducting high-level business), Spanish (spoken in the northern cities close to Spain), and English (becoming more important).

So as hard as it is for a foreigner like me to come in and learn a language, you have to make sure you pick the right one(s)!

Here are the Arab and Amazigh (called here Berber) dialects/languages mapped out

And even some Moroccans don't share languages in common. Moha might live in Casablanca and speak Darija and French. Khalid might live up north and speak Tarifeet and Spanish. Both Moroccans, both speak multiple languages. But they cannot understand each other at all.

SO INTERESTING!