Hello Language Lovers and welcome back to a new episode of Speaking Tongues. This week we are speaking about Tamazight and Moroccan Darija with Itto Outini. Itto is a journalist, Fulbright Scholar, Steinbeck Fellow, MacDowell Fellow, public speaker, and author of the forthcoming memoir, “Blindness is the Light of My Life”. She holds an MA in journalism and strategic media from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and a BA in applied linguistics from Mohamed V University in Rabat, Morocco. Itto has published with US-based and international outlets including The Relatable Voice Magazine, The Fulbright Chronicle, and The Chicago Tribune. Organizations for which she has spoken include The United Nations, Cal Tech University, Verizon Wireless, and The International Trade Centre. In addition to writing and speaking, she offers a diverse suite of services tailored to writers, young professionals, and entrepreneurs.

In this episode we talk about: 

🇲🇦 Itto’s first language, Tamazight, and her journey learning multiple languages including Moroccan Darija, French, Standard Arabic, and English.

🇲🇦 The challenges and triumphs of growing up in an isolated community in Morocco with no access to education.

🇲🇦 How Itto overcame immense personal struggles, including homelessness and blindness, to achieve academic and professional success.

🇲🇦 The structure and usage of Tamazight as spoken in Morocco, and its recent standardization including the introduction of the Tifinagh alphabet.

🇲🇦 The cultural and linguistic diversity within Morocco, including the various dialects of Arabic and Tamazight spoken across different regions.

🇲🇦 The importance of oral storytelling in Tamazight culture and how it influenced Itto’s love for language and journalism.

🇲🇦 Itto’s experiences as a multilingual individual navigating different cultural and linguistic identities.

🇲🇦 The creation and growth of Itto’s international media platform, The Date Keepers, which publishes work by journalists and non-fiction writers from around the world.

Huge thank you to Itto for sharing your remarkable story, your languages, your culture and your work with all of us. If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

“Speaking Tongues  is not an official site of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of Speaking Tongues and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.”

To Find Itto: 

The DateKeepers Website: https://www.thedatekeepers.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ittooutini/

Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/itto-outinis-newsletter-7150166078709567488/

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