1 CLASSIFICATION AND WHERE SPOKEN

This section on Berber is based largely on information prepared by Jeanette Harries
(personal communication, 1986). "The Berber branch of the Afro-Asiatic (Hamito-Semitic)
language family, usually considered as a single language with many dialects, is for purposes
of language learning (and by sociolinguistic criteria) more conveniently treated as a number
of distinct languages, each with mutually intelligible dialects. They are spoken by minority
groups in at least eleven countries of northern and western Africa, from the Mediterranean
to beyond the River Niger: in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania (and
perhaps still in Senegal), Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Chad.

"The three Berber languages researched for this project are: Kabyle (Taqbaylit), spoken in
northern Algeria; Tamazight (Berber), of central Morocco; and Tuareg, the indigenous name
of which varies according to the dialect (Prasse 1972): Tamahaq in southern Algeria, Tamashaq
in Mali, Tamajeq in Niger and in Libya (Ghat, where it may also be called Tamaziq). Tuareg
is also spoken by small groups in western Chad and in the north of Nigeria and Burkina
Faso. Other major languages include Tashelhit (Shilha) and Tarifit (Rif) of Morocco." The
languages of smaller groups are discussed in the Dialect Survey (4) of this section. "The
name Tamazight or some variant of it is occasionally used to designate Berber languages
in to (Chaker 1984, p. 283)."

2 NUMBER OF SPEAKERS

"Few census figures are available; all countries (Algeria and Morocco included) do not count
Berber languages. The 1972 Niger census reported Tuareg, with other languages, at 127,000
speakers. Population shifts in location and number, effects of urbanization and education in
other languages, etc., make estimates difficult. In 1952 A. Basset (LLB.4) estimated the
number of Berberophones at 5,500,000. Between 1968 and 1978 estimates ranged from eight
to thirteen million (as reported by Galand, LELB 56, pp. 107, 123-25); Voegelin and Voegelin
(1977, p. 297) call eight million a conservative estimate. In 1980, S. Chaker estimated that
the Berberophone populations of Kabylie and the three Moroccan groups numbered more
than one million each; and that in Algeria, 3,650,000, or one out of five Algerians, speak
a Berber language (Chaker 1984, pp. 8-9)." The following table, drawn from Grimes (1996),
summarizes figures for some of the Berber dialects:

3 DIALECT SURVEY

Beyond its traditional use in the home and the local ethnic group, the use of Berber varies
with each locality. Tuareg is officially recognized as a national language in both Niger and
Mali, which have established literacy programs following a UNESCO-sponsored conference
in 1966 at Bamako, Mali (Galand, LELB, pp. 29, 34, 41-42, 50, 60, 70, 83, 97, 142, 177).
Two radio stations in Niger and at least one in Mali broadcast in local dialects.

In Morocco, too, government radio regularly broadcasts in Tashelhit, Tamazight, and Tarifit,
but they are not otherwise used officially. In Algeria, radio broadcasts in Kabyle have
survived from colonial days, but otherwise officialdom treats Berber language and culture
as historic rather than present facts (Chaker 1984, pp. 9-12). However, both these countries
have recently seen lively efforts to include Berber languages and cultures in the sociocultural
and political life of the nation. This "prise de conscience" among Berbers has been noted by
Galand (AAN 17, p. 917), and discussed by Chaker (AAN 21, pp. 746-47, and 1984,
pp. 13-20, 35-37) and others reported there.

Some of the ways in which these efforts are manifested are contributing to language-learning
resources. Thirteen doctoral theses on Berber topics have been produced since 1973 by
Moroccan and Algerian scholars in France and the United States. In Morocco, a growing
number of memoires de license on Berber topics have been accepted in certain departments
of the universities; several faculty research groups have been formed, conferences held, and
some publications opened to articles on Berber topics (A. Akouaou, AAN 21, pp. 768-86).
Both in Rabat and in Paris, new little magazines have appeared, often political in content,
but promoting Berber language, literature, and literacy (see Orthography Status (5) in this
section).

There is less to report about smaller Berberophone populations. For Mauritania, see A. Miske
(1968) and C. Cheikh (1979), who mention the last generation of monolingual Berberophones
there. For Tunisia, T. Penchoen (1968) sketches the situation: Only six villages are entirely
Berberophone. L. Serra (1970) describes the current situation and especially the cultural and
moral attitude of Berberophones of Tripolitania, Libya.

4 USAGE

As yet no definitive classification of all Berber dialects exists. However, the main languages
and domains are identifiable from the many dialect studies and from the arrangement by
region of entries in the bibliographical resources used here: A. Basset, LLB, 1952, and the
chronicles entitled "Langue et litérature berbère" (LELB) by Basset and Chaker, in AAN.
The following list shows two kinds of dialect clusters, those which have been rather clearly
identified as languages and those whose affiliation is not so clear. They are arranged more
or less by country, from east to west across the northern tier, then back from west to east
for the southern groups.

Egypt:	Siwi language (Oasis of Siwa).
Libya:	Dialects of Aoudjila, Sokna, Zouara, Djebel Nefousa, and Ghadames regions.
Tunisia:	Dialects of Djerba Island, Sened, Tamezret, and Douiret regions.
Algeria: North	Kabyle language: Petite Kabylie dialects (east) Grande Kabylie dialects
Central & West	Chenoua, Beni Menacer, B. Rached, B. Ferah, Metmata du Djendel, Haroua, Achacha, B. Halima, Ouarsenis, Ouarsenis, B. Snous, and B. Bou Said
North	Dialects of Chaouia in the Aures region
East	"Sedentary populations of the Algerian Sahara" (Basset 1952, p.67)
South Constantine region:	Ouargla, Oued Righ
Mzab region:	Mozabite, Ghardaia, Melika, B. Izgen, Berrian South Oran region
South Touat region:	Tuareg language (see below)
Morocco: North	Tarifit (Rif) language, Dialects of Ghmara, Senhaja de Srair, Igeznayen, and B. Iznacen
Central Tamazight:	Northern Beraber (Laoust 1939) Southern Beraber (Willms 1972) Dialects of Demnat area, including Ntifa (Laoust 1918)
South Tashelhit language (Shilha):	High Atlas region; plain and valley of the River Sous anti-Atlas region
Mauritania:	Zenaga language (possibly still in Senegal also?) Sahara; Tuareg language (Prasse 1971, 1972)
Mali:	Dialect of Advav Dialect of Ioullemmeden of the west
Niger:	Dialect of Ioullemmeden of the east Dialects of the Air and Agades regions
Algeria:	Dialects of Ahaggar region Dialect of Ajjer region
Libya:	Dialect of Ghat
Chad:	Dialect(s)
Nigeria:	Dialect(s)
Burkina Faso:	Dialect(s)

5 ORTHOGRAPHIC STATUS

There is no standard orthography for Berber, and differences in phonological systems, especially
the vowels, as between Tuareg and northern Berber would probably preclude a uniform writing
system. Berber is written with several scripts: the Roman, adapted to French orthography or to
phonetic conventions; the Arabic, perhaps also modified; or the Berber alphabet, known as tifinag,
traditionally used by the Tuareg.

Since the 1966 Bamako conference (see 3 above), Niger and Mali have proceeded with literacy
programs using the Roman-based script developed for Tuareg: holding training sessions, evening
classes, and publishing readers and periodicals. In Niger some materials are published in both
tifinag and in the official script.

At the same time, some northern Berbers have begun to use tifinag to some extent, often along
side Roman script, in their mainly French language revues. (See, for example, Amazigh, Paris,
vol. 1, 1968). The Groupe d'études berbères de Paris-VIII/Vincennes published in 1976-1977,
a 58-page "manual of initiation," Lecture et écriture du berbère (actually on Kabyle).

The increasing use of Kabyle as a modern, written language (Garland, LELB, 1979, p. 182), has
increased the use of the adapted Roman script. In Morocco, however, Arabic notation predominates
in recent Berber literary production (Chaker, AAN 21, p. 748). This divergence in orthography could
seriously hinder development of a standard orthography for at least Kabyle and the Moroccan
Berber languages.

6 SETS OF LEARNING MATERIALS

Because of the very complex dialect/language situation, it is unclear how many sets of materials
are required. The materials chosen for review were placed in the categories of Kabyle, Tamazight,
and Tuareg..

7. Resources
Institutional Resources	Individual Resources
8. Bibliography
Kabyle Learning Materials	Kabyle Descriptions	Kabyle Dictionaries	Kabyle Readers	Kabyle Others
Tamazight Learning Materials	Tamazight Descriptions	Tamazight Dictionaries	Tamazight Readers	Tamazight Others
Tuareg Learning Materials	Tuareg Descriptions	Tuareg Dictionaries	Tuareg Readers	Tuareg Others

[Previous][Table of Contents] [African Studies Center][Next]

If you have any questions or comments about this site, contact the Terry McCaskey Website Developer
http://isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/