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Berber Languages
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber communities, who are indigenous to North Africa.Hayward, Richard J., chapter ''Afroasiatic'' in Heine, Bernd & Nurse, Derek, editors, ''African Languages: An Introduction'' Cambridge 2000. . The languages were traditionally written with the ancient Libyco-Berber script, which now exists in the form of Tifinagh. Today, they may also be written in the Berber Latin alphabet or the Arabic script, with Latin being the most pervasive. Berber languages are spoken by large populations of Morocco, Algeria and Libya, by smaller populations of Tunisia, northern Mali, western and northern Niger, northern Burkina Faso and Mauritania and in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt. Large Berber-speaking migrant communities, today numbering about 4 million, have been livin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berbers
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 = 9 million to ~13 million , region3 = Mauritania , pop3 = 2.9 million , region4 = Niger , pop4 = 2.6 million, Niger: 11% of 23.6 million , region5 = France , pop5 = 2 million , region6 = Mali , pop6 = 850,000 , region7 = Libya , pop7 = 600,000 , region8 = Belgium , pop8 = 500,000 (including descendants) , region9 = Netherlands , pop9 = 467,455 (including descendants) , region10 = Burkina Faso , pop10 = 406,271, Burkina Faso: 1.9% of 21.4 million , region11 = Egypt , pop11 = 23,000 or 1,826,580 , region12 = Tunisia , pop12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Berber Languages
The Eastern Berber languages are a group of Berber languages spoken in Libya and Egypt. They include Awjila, Sokna and Fezzan (El-Fogaha), Siwi and Ghadamès, though it is not clear that they form a valid genealogical group. Eastern Berber is generally considered as part of the Zenatic Berber supergroup of Northern Berber. Classification Kossmann (1999:29, 33) divides them into two groups: * one consisting of Ghadamès and Awjila. These two languages are the only Berber languages to preserve proto-Berber *β as β;Kossmann 1999:61. elsewhere in Berber it becomes ''h'' or disappears. * the other consisting of Nafusi (excluding Zuwara and southern Tunisia), Sokna (El-Foqaha) and Siwi. This shares some innovations with Zenati, and others (e.g. the change of *ă to ə and the loss of *β) with Northern Berber in general. Blench (ms, 2006) lists the following as separate languages, with dialects in parentheses; like ''Ethnologue'', he classifies Nafusi as Eastern Zenati. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mzab–Wargla Languages
The Mzab–Wargla languages or Northern Saharan oasis dialects are a dialect cluster of the Zenati languages, within the Northern Berber subbranch. They are spoken in scattered oases of Algeria and Morocco. Subclassification ;Kossmann (2013) Maarten Kossmann (2013) listed six "Northern Saharan oasis" dialects: * South Oranie and Figuig * Gurara * Tuwat- Tidikelt * Mzab *Wargla * Wad Righ (Tugurt) ;Ethnologue (2009) In ''Ethnologue'' XVI (2009), the "Mzab–Wargla" languages are listed as: * Tagargrent (Wargli) * Temacine Tamazight (Tugurt) * Taznatit ("Zenati": Gurara, Tuwat and South Oran) *Tumzabt ( Mozabite) Unlike Kossmann, ''Ethnologue'' considers the Berber dialect spoken in Tidikelt as a separate branch of the Zenati group, distinct from Tuwat. ;Blench Roger Blench (2006) listed eight varieties:Blench, Roger M. (2006"The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List" Cambridge: Mallam Dendo. * Gurara * Mzab, Ghardaia (Mozabite) *Wargla * Tugurt * Seghr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shawiya Language
Shawiya, or Shawiya Berber, also spelt Chaouïa (native form: ''Tacawit'' ), is a Zenati Berber language spoken in Algeria by the Shawiya people. The language's primary speech area is the Awras Mountains in Eastern Algeria and the surrounding areas, including parts of Western Tunisia, including Batna, Khenchela, Sétif, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa and the northern part of Biskra. It is closely related to the Shenwa language of Central Algeria. Language The Shawiya people call their language ''Tacawit'' (''Thashawith'') ( or ). Estimates of number of speakers range from 1.4 to 3 million speakers. The French spelling of ''Chaouïa'' is commonly seen, due to the influence of French conventions on Algeria. Other spellings are "Chaoui", "Shawia", "Tachawit", "Thachawith", "Tachaouith" and "Thchèwith". In Shawiya, the leading – pronounced in that phonetic environment – is often reduced to an , so the native name is often heard as ''Hašawiθ''. Shawiya Berber was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shenwa Language
Shenwa, also spelt Chenoua (native name: ''Haqbaylit̠''), is a Zenati Berber language spoken on Mount Chenoua (Jebel Chenoua) in Algeria, just west of Algiers, and in the provinces of Tipaza (including the town of Cherchell) and Chlef. The speech of Jebel Chenoua proper is mutually comprehensible with that of the nearby Beni Menacer and Beni Haoua, and they are thus treated as a single language.Salem ChakerLE DIALECTE BERBERE DU CHENOUA (Algérie) ''Encyclopédie Berbère'', vol. XII, 1993 : p. 1902-1904. There are some 76,000 speakers. Phonology Judging by Laoust (whose work on the language predates systematic phonology), Shenwa has the following sounds, which are given below in the International Phonetic Alphabet along with differing representations in the Algerian standard Latin orthography for Berber languages in angle brackets : Consonants Comparison with other Berber languages suggests that Laoust's transcription may have failed to distinguish certain sounds, notably ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Middle Atlas Berber
Eastern Middle Atlas Berber is a cluster of Berber dialects spoken in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the Middle Atlas, in Morocco. These dialects are those of the tribes of Aït Seghrushen, Aït Waraïn, Marmusha, Aït Alaham, Aït Yub and Aït Morghi.J. Bourrilly, Éléments d'éthnographie marocaine, p.42 (Larose, 1932) Despite the fact that they are mutually intelligible with neighbouring Central Atlas Tamazight dialects and are generally classified among them, these dialects actually belong to the Zenati languages and are intermediate dialects between the Riffian and Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ... languages. Kossmann, The Arabic Influence on Northern Berber, pp.20-22 (Brill, 2013)M. KossmannBerber subclassification (preliminary version, unpu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ait Seghrouchen Berber
Ait Seghrouchen Berber, or Seghroucheni (Seghrusheni), is a Zenati Berber language of the Eastern Middle Atlas Berber cluster. It is spoken by the Ait Seghrouchen tribe inhabiting east-central Morocco. Classification Ait Seghrouchen Berber is commonly classed as Central Atlas Tamazight. It is reported to be mutually intelligible with the neighbouring Berber dialect of Ait Ayache. Genetically, however, it belongs to the Zenati subgroup of Northern Berber, rather than to the Atlas subgroup to which the rest of Central Atlas Tamazight belongs, and are therefore excluded by some sources from Central Atlas Tamazight. Ait Seghrouchen is part of the Eastern Middle Atlas Berber cluster of Zenati dialects, which is spoken in the eastern Middle Atlas. Phonology Consonants Ayt Seghrouchen is notable for having the lateral fricative as an allophone of the sequence . /k, g/ are pronounced as stops, unlike the closely related Ayt Ayache dialect in which they are fricatives. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riffian Language
Tmazight or Tarifit Berber, also known as Riffian ( rif, Tmaziɣt , ) is a Zenati Berber language spoken in the Rif region in northern Morocco. It is spoken natively by some 1,271,000 Rifians primarily in the Rif provinces of Al Hoceima, Nador and Driouch. Tarifit is strongly influenced by the Arabic language, and borrowed foreign loanwords represent 51.7% of the total Tarifit vocabulary (56.1% of nouns and 44.1% of verbs). Name In the Rif, the native name of this language is 'Tmaziɣt' (pronounced Tmazixt in most dialects). Speakers may specify by calling it 'Tarifiyt' (pronounced Tarifect in central dialects). Classification Riffian is a Zenati Berber language which consists of various sub-dialects specific to each clan and of which a majority are spoken in the Rif region, a large mountainous area of Northern Morocco, and a minority spoken in the western part of neighbouring Algeria. Geographic distribution ] Riffian is spoken mainly in the Moroccan Rif on the Mediterra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghomara Language
The Ghomara language is a Northern Berber language spoken in Morocco. It is the mother tongue of the Ghomara Berbers, who total around 10,000 people. Ghomara Berber is spoken on the western edge of the Rif, among the Beni Bu Zra and Beni Mansur tribes of the Ghomara confederacy. Despite being listed as endangered, it is still being passed on to children in these areas. Ghomara Berber is relatively similar to Senhadja de Srair Berber spoken around Ketama. However, it is difficult to understand for a speaker of Rifian. Some typical features that distinguish the Ghomara variety of Berber from Rifian Berber are the use of the preposition ''dar'' instead of the Rifian ''ghar'', the feminine plural ending ''-an'' instead of ''-in'', and the absence of spirantisation in word-initial position. Current status Although elderly Ghomara teach children how to speak Ghomara Berber at home, the language is still considered threatened, with only 10,000 known speakers. A major reason can be at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanhaja De Srair Language
Senhaja de Srair ("Senhaja of Srair") is a Northern Berber language. It is spoken by the Sanhaja Berbers inhabiting the southern part of the Moroccan Rif. It is spoken in the Ketama area west of Tarifit in the Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate region. Despite its speech area, the Sanhaja language belongs to the Atlas branch of Berber. It has also been influenced by the neighbouring Riffian language Tmazight or Tarifit Berber, also known as Riffian ( rif, Tmaziɣt , ) is a Zenati Berber language spoken in the Rif region in northern Morocco. It is spoken natively by some 1,271,000 Rifians primarily in the Rif provinces of Al Hoceima, Nador .... Dialects Dialects of Senhaja Berber are Beni Ahmed, Beni Bechir, Beni Buensar, Beni Jennus, Beni Mesdui, Beni Seddat, Quetama (Ketama), Sarcat, and Tagsut References Bibliography * Peter Behnstedt, "La frontera entre el bereber y el árabe en el Rif", ''Estudios de dialectología norteafricana y andalusí'' vol. 6, 2002. * Esteban Ibañe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shilha Language
, now more usually known as Tashelhit , is a Berber language spoken in southwestern Morocco. The endonym is , and in recent English publications the name of the language is often rendered ''Tashelhit'', ''Tashelhiyt'' or ''Tashlhiyt''. In Moroccan Arabic the language is called , from which the English name ''Shilha'' is derived. When referring to the language, anthropologists and historians prefer the name "Shilha", which is in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Linguists writing in English prefer "Tashelhit" (or a variant spelling). In French sources the language is called , or . Shilha is spoken in an area covering c. 100,000 square kilometres, making the language area approximately the size of Iceland, or the US state of Kentucky. The area comprises the western part of the High Atlas mountains and the regions to the south up to the Draa River, including the Anti-Atlas and the alluvial basin of the Souss River. The largest urban centres in the area are the coastal city of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Atlas Tamazight
Central Atlas Tamazight or Atlasic (also known as Central Morocco Tamazight, variant of tashelhit, Middle Atlas Tamazight, Tamazight, Central Shilha and, rarely, Beraber or Braber; native name: ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ ''Tamazight'' , ) is a Berber languageCentral Atlas Tamazight may be referred to as either a Berber language or a Berber dialect. As Berber languages have some degree of mutual intelligibility, there is little consensus on what is considered a "language" and what a "dialect". Additionally, Berber activists like to consider all Berber dialects to be a language to emphasize unity, though this is not entirely linguistically sound (e.g. geographically non-proximate "dialects" may be mutually unintelligible), see of the Afroasiatic language family spoken by 2.3 million in the Atlas Mountains of Central Morocco as well as by smaller emigrant communities in France and elsewhere. Central Atlas Tamazight is one of the most-spoken Berber languages, along with Tachelhit, K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
