Shenwa, also spelt Chenoua (native name: ''Haqbaylit̠''), is a Zenati

Berber language 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 commun ...

spoken on Mount Chenoua (Jebel Chenoua) in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, just west of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, and in the provinces of

Tipaza Tipaza (formerly ''Tefessedt'', Chenoua-Berber: Bazar, ⴱⴰⵣⴰⵔ, ar, تيپازة) is the capital of the Tipaza Province, Algeria. When it was part of the Roman Empire, it was called ''Tipasa''. The modern town was founded in 1857, and is ...

(including the town of

Cherchell Cherchell (Arabic: شرشال) is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the k ...

) and

Chlef Chlef ( ar, الشلف, Berber: Clef) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, i ...

. The speech of Jebel Chenoua proper is

mutually comprehensible In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as a ...

with that of the nearby Beni Menacer and Beni Haoua, and they are thus treated as a single language.Salem Chaker
LE 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 Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

), Shenwa has the following sounds, which are given below in the

International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic transcription, phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standa ...

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 pharyngealized .

Vowels

. Laoust's appears to variously indicate

labialization Labialization is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialized sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve ...

() or an allophone of /u/.

Grammar

Nouns

Masculine nouns start with ''a-, i-, u-'' (in the singular) – like all Berber languages – or more rarely with a consonant (often corresponding to ''a-'' in other languages.) Examples: ''ayḏi'' "dog"; ''fus'' "hand"; ''iri'' "neck"; ''urṯu'' "garden". Their plural is usually in ''i-...-en'' (e.g. ''ameţin'' "death" → ''imeţinen''), but a variety of other plural forms (e.g. ''i-...-an'', ''i-...-wen'', ''i-...awen'', ''i-...-en'', ''i-...-a-''), sometimes accompanied by internal

ablaut In linguistics, the Indo-European ablaut (, from German '' Ablaut'' ) is a system of apophony (regular vowel variations) in the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE). An example of ablaut in English is the strong verb ''sing, sang, sung'' and its ...

, are also found: e.g. ''ijiḏer'' "eagle" → ''ijuḏar'', ''iṯri'' "star" → ''iṯran'', ''afer'' "wing" → ''ifrawen'', ''icer'' "fingernail" → ''icaren''. Feminine nouns start with ''h-'' (originally ''t-''), and usually end with ''-t'' or ''-ṯ'': ''hagmarṯ'' "mare", ''hesa'' "liver". A few feminine nouns have lost the ''h-'': ''malla'' "turtledove". A masculine noun can be made

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

by adding the feminine affixes: ''afus'' "hand" → ''hafust'' "little hand". The plurals of feminine nouns fall into much the same types as masculine ones, but adding ''h-'' at the beginning and using ''-in'' rather than ''-en'': ''hakṯemţ'' "female" → ''hikṯemin'', ''harract'' "girl" → ''harracin'', ''huqiṯ'' "stone" → ''huqay'', ''hawleliṯ'' "spider" → ''hiwlela''. Genitive constructions – English "X of Y" or "Y's X" – are formed as "X Y", in which the prefix of Y changes to ''u-'' (masc.) or ''n ţe-'' (fem.). Thus, for instance: ''aman n ţala'' "the water of the fountain", ''aglim uγilas'' "the skin of the panther". ''n'' "of" is also used with foreign words: ''hagmarṯ n elqayd̠'' "the mare of the Caid".

Adjectives

Adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun, and are formed in the same way: e.g. ''amellal'' "white", ''azegrar'' "long", ''azaim'' "good". The particle ''d̠'' is used before adjectives in certain contexts (including as a copula), in the same way as in the

Kabyle language Kabyle () or Kabylian (; native name: ''Taqbaylit'' , ) is a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people in the north and northeast of Algeria. It is spoken primarily in Kabylia, east of the capital Algiers and in Algiers itself, but also by va ...

Numbers

As in Kabyle, only the first two numbers are Berber; for higher numbers, Arabic is used. They are ''iğ'' (f. ''ict'') "one", ''sen'' (f. ''senat̠'') "two". The noun being counted follows it in the genitive: ''senat̠ n ţuwura'' "two doors". "First" and "last" are respectively ''amezgaru'' and ''aneggaru'' (regular adjectives). Other ordinals are formed with the prefix ''wis'' (f. ''his''): ''wis sen'' "second (m.)", ''his t̠elat̠a'' "third (f.)", etc.

Pronouns

The basic personal pronouns of Shenwa are as follows. Gender is distinguished in all cases except the first person. The basic demonstrative adjectives are ''-a'' "this" (also ''-ay, -ad̠''; ''-ax'' for middle distance), ''-in'' "that", ''-enni'' "the aforementioned". The demonstrative pronouns include: *"this": ''wa'' m. sg., ''hax'' f. sg., ''yid̠a'' m. pl., ''hid̠a'' f. pl. *"this" (emphatic): ''wayek'', ''hayek'', ''id̠ad̠ik'', ''hid̠ad̠ik'' *"this" (in question): ''wenni'', ''henni'', ''id̠enni'', ''hid̠enni'' *"that": ''win'', ''hin'', ''yid̠in'', ''hid̠in'' The standalone

possessive pronouns A possessive or ktetic form (abbreviated or ; from la, possessivus; grc, κτητικός, translit=ktētikós) is a word or grammatical construction used to indicate a relationship of possession in a broad sense. This can include strict own ...

("mine", "yours", etc.) are formed by suffixing the possessive pronouns to "this" (except that ''ha-'' is used instead of ''hax''.) Similarly, the adjective "other" (invariable ''enniḍen'') combines with "this" to make forms meaning "the other": ''unniḍen'', ''henniḍen'', ''id̠enniḍen'', ''hid̠enniḍin''. The main interrogative pronouns are: ''maţa'' "what?", ''manţ'' "which", ''manay'' "who?", ''mi lan'' "whose?", ''miked̠'' "with whom?", ''mid̠eg'' "in what?", ''mizeg'' "with what?", ''mifeg'' "on what?", ''miγer'' "at/for whom?" The relative pronoun is ''i'' "which". Indefinite pronouns include ''yeğ'' (f. ''yectenţ'') "one, someone", ''cra'' "something". Negative forms are made using the Arabic loanword ''haţa'' (حتى); ''haţa d̠ yeğ'' "no one", ''haţa d̠ elḥabb'' "nothing".

Verbs

The

declarative mood A realis mood (abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood which is used principally to indicate that something is a statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker considers to be a known state of affairs, as in declarative sentences. Mos ...

is divided into two tenses:

preterite The preterite or preterit (; abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past; in some languages, such as Spanish, French, and English, it is equivalent to the simple pas ...

(past) and

aorist Aorist (; abbreviated ) verb forms usually express perfective aspect and refer to past events, similar to a preterite. Ancient Greek grammar had the aorist form, and the grammars of other Indo-European languages and languages influenced by the I ...

(non-past, formed by the addition of ''a-''.) There is also an imperative mood. The irregular imperative ''ia'' "come" is used with the aorist to form imperatives of the first person: ''iaw annaroḥet̠'' "let's go". The pronoun affixes for these are given under Pronouns. The declarative mood is also accompanied by ablaut: * Verbs whose imperative consists of two consonants or less (e.g. ''eğ'' "eat", ''eγr'' "read", ''ezr'' "see", ''enγ'' "kill") add ''-a'' to the stem in the 3rd person singulars and 1st person plural, and ''-i'' in all other forms: ''enγiγ'' "I killed", ''henγa'' "she killed". *Verbs whose imperative begins with ''a-'' (e.g. ''adef'' "come in", ''ad̠er'' "go down", ''azen'' "send") change it to ''u-'': thus ''ud̠efen'' "they came in", ''hud̠efed'' "you (sg.) came in. (Verbs such as ''af'' "find" belong to both this and the previous group.) ''awi'' "bring" and ''awd̠'' "arrive" are exceptions, changing ''a-'' to ''i-'': ''yiwi'' "he brought". * Verbs with ''-a-'' in the middle (e.g. ''laz'' "be hungry", ''nam'' "have the habit of", ''ğal'' "judge") change it to ''-u-'': ''elluzeγ'' "I was hungry". * Verbs with a final vowel usually behave like the two-consonant ones: ''arji'' "dream" → ''ourjiγ'' "I dreamt", ''yurja'' "he dreamt"; ''egmi'' "teach" → ''egmiγ'' "I taught", ''igma'' "he taught". But there are exceptions: ''erni'' "be born" → ''irni'' "he was born". The participle is formed by adding ''-n'' to the 3rd person m. sg., sometimes with

of final vowels: ''inziz'' "he sang" → ''inzizen''; ''ayenziz'' "he will sing" → ''ayenzizen'', ''yut̠a'' "he hit" → ''yut̠in''. The verb is negated by adding ''u... c'' around it: ''u ţinziz ec'' "don't sing", ''u huwired̠ ec'' "you didn't walk". "Not yet" is ''u rt̠uci εad̠'' or ''ur uci'', where ''rt̠uci'' and ''uci'' are verbs conjugated in the appropriate person: ''u rt̠uciγ εad̠ u d yuḍeγ ec'' "I haven't arrived yet", ''u hert̠ucid̠ εad̠ ...'' "you haven't yet..." Derived verb forms include: * a

causative In linguistics, a causative (abbreviated ) is a valency-increasing operationPayne, Thomas E. (1997). Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 173–186. that indicates that a subject either ...

in ''s-'': ''azeg'' "boil" → ''sizeg'' "make something boil". * a "reciprocal"

middle voice In grammar, the voice of a verb describes the relationship between the action (or state) that the verb expresses and the participants identified by its arguments (subject, object, etc.). When the subject is the agent or doer of the action, the ...

in ''m-'': ''zer'' "see" → ''mzer'' "be seen" * a

passive voice A passive voice construction is a grammatical voice construction that is found in many languages. In a clause with passive voice, the grammatical subject expresses the ''theme'' or ''patient'' of the main verb – that is, the person or thing t ...

in ''ţwa-'': ''abba'' "carry" → ''ţwabba'' "be carried". * Various habitual forms. Continuous forms can be formed with ''aql-'' "see X" in the present tense, ''ţuγa'' "was" in the past tense: ''aqlay ţeţeγ'' "I am eating", ''ţuγay ţeţeγ''"I was eating".

Prepositions

Prepositions Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in traditional grammar, simply prepositions), are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in'', ''under'', ''towards'', ''before'') or mark various ...

precede their objects: ''i medden'' "to the people", ''sgi Bazar'' "from Tipaza". Some of the main ones are: ''i'' "to" (

dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...

), ''n'' "of", ''d̠eg/d̠i/eg/i'' "in(to)", ''seg/zeg-/si'' "from", ''s'' "using" (

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

), ''f/fell-'' "on", ''γer/γ'' "towards", ''akid̠/d̠'', "with", ''jar'' "among", ''zat̠'' "in front of", ''awr'' "behind", ''i sawen/susawen'' "under", ''addu'' "over".

Conjunctions

Conjunction Conjunction may refer to: * Conjunction (grammar), a part of speech * Logical conjunction, a mathematical operator ** Conjunction introduction, a rule of inference of propositional logic * Conjunction (astronomy), in which two astronomical bodies ...

s precede the verb: ''ami yiwoḍ ''"when he arrived", ''qabel ma ţaγen'' "see if it's raining". Some important ones include: ''melmi'' "when?", ''ami'', ''γassa(l)'', ''assγa'', ''γir'' "when", ''ma'', ''kagella'', ''lukan'', ''willa'' "if", ''(an)neγ'' "or".

Sample text

''Qaren midden: Unni ayḥağen d̠ug ass, adeffeγen arraw ennes d̠iferd̠asen.'' They say: he that tells stories in the daytime, his children will turn bald. ''Ţḥağen γir d̠eg iḍ'' They only tell stories at night.

Uccen aked̠ waḥzaw/The jackal and the child

''Iğ wuccen iroḥ iggur lami g ufa iğ waḥzaw iţellem i hezra. Innas uccen i warrac enni: "Maţa hellid̠ hegared̠." Arrac enni innas: "Ţellemeγ d̠i hezra." Innas uccen: "Ad̠el ay hirkasin." Arrac enni iţxiyeḍ as iḍaren nes. Lami iqaḍa innas: "Roḥ, aεd̠el iḍaren ennek̠ γer fwit̠."'' ''Iroḥ uccen yaεd̠el iman es γer fwit̠ lami eqqoren iḍaren u iğim ec ayuwr.'' ''Ikk ed sin iğ wumcic; innas uccen: "Sellek ay u c eţţγec." Iks as umcic hazra seg ḍarennes. Iroḥ uccen iwalla γer waḥzaw ič as elkul iγeṭṭen.'' A jackal went and met a child plaiting a rope. The jackal asked the child: "What are you doing?" This child replied: "I'm plaiting a rope." The jackal said: "Make me some shoes." This child tied up his feet. When he was done he told him: "Go show your feet in the sun." The jackal went and showed his own feet in the sun, and his feet dried and he couldn't walk. A cat arrived and the jackal told it: "Help me, I won't eat you." The cat took the rope off his feet. The jackal went back to the child, and ate all his goats.

References

Bibliography

*, ''Etude sur le dialecte berbère du Chenoua'',

1912. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shenwa Language Zenati languages Berbers in Algeria Languages of Algeria