The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight, 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. 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.
The Sahrawi, or Saharawi people, are an ethnic group and nation native to the western part of the Sahara desert, which includes the Western Sahara, southern Morocco, much of Mauritania, and along the southwestern border of Algeria. They are of mixed Berber, Arab and Black African descent.
The official languages of Algeria are Arabic and Tamazight (Berber), as specified in its constitution since 1963 for the former and since 2016 for the latter. Berber has been recognized as a "national language" by constitutional amendment since 8 May 2002. In February, 2016, a constitutional resolution was passed making Berber an official language alongside Arabic. Algerian Arabic and Berber are the native languages of over 99% of Algerians, with Algerian Arabic spoken by about 90% and Berber by 10%. French, though it has no official status, is still used in media and education, due to Algeria's colonial history. Kabyle, the most spoken Berber language in the country, is taught and partially co-official in parts of Kabylie.
The Zenati languages are a branch of the Northern Berber language family of North Africa. They were named after the medieval Zenata Berber tribal confederation. They were first proposed in the works of French linguist Edmond Destaing (1915) (1920–23). Zenata dialects are distributed across the central Berber world (Maghreb), from northeastern Morocco to just west of Algiers, and the northern Sahara, from southwestern Algeria around Bechar to Zuwara in Libya. The most widely spoken Zenati languages are Tmazight of the Rif in northern Morocco and Tashawit Berber in northeastern Algeria, each of which have over 3 million speakers.
Senhaja de 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.
Tmazight or Tarifit Berber, also known as Riffian 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.
The Sanhaja were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Many tribes in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia and Western Sahara bore and still carry this ethnonym, especially in its Berber form. Other names for the population include Zenaga, Znaga, Sanhája, Sanhâdja and Senhaja.
Berkane is a city in northeastern Morocco, in the tribal area of Aït Iznasen, limited by the Mediterranean to the north, the Kis river and Oujda Province in the east, Nador Province to the west, and Taourirt Province in the south. It is the capital of Berkane Province.
Mzab is a tribal confederation south of Casablanca in Morocco, part of the Chaouia. Part of the Mzab are Arabized Berber tribes, while the rest are Arab tribes of Banu Hilal. The Moroccan Mzab are not to be confused with the Algerian Berber tribe that has the same name. Mzab is Arabic for the Mozabite people.
Riffians or Rifians are a Berber ethnic group originally from the Rif region of northeastern Morocco. Communities of Riffian immigrants are also found in southern Spain, Netherlands and Belgium as well as elsewhere in Western Europe. They are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims, but retain their pre-Islamic traditions such as high status for Riffian women.
There are a number of languages of Morocco. The two official languages are Standard Arabic and Standard Moroccan Berber. Moroccan Arabic is the spoken native vernacular. The languages of prestige in Morocco are Arabic in its Classical and Modern Standard Forms and sometimes French, the latter of which serves as a second language for approximately 33% of Moroccans. According to a 2000–2002 survey done by Moha Ennaji, author of Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco, "there is a general agreement that Standard Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, and Berber are the national languages." Ennaji also concluded "This survey confirms the idea that multilingualism in Morocco is a vivid sociolinguistic phenomenon, which is favored by many people."
Berkane Province is located in northeastern Morocco in the area of Aït Iznasen. It is bounded by the Mediterranean to its north, the Kiss Oued and Oujda Prefecture in the east, Nador Province to the west, and Taourirt Province in the south. The Berkane Province includes under its jurisdiction the towns of Saïdia and Ahfir. The population of the city is 80,012 as of the 2004 census. The population originates primarily from Aït Iznasen, a major tribe which consists of Berber clans. The tribe's descendants are spread widely over the rest of eastern Morocco, usually in cities like Ahfir, Saïdia and Oujda. Due to recent immigration originating from all over Morocco, the eastern dialect of Moroccan Arabic is spoken by most of the citizens, although Berber is still spoken by many of the adults.
Beni Snous is a Berber variety close to Zenati languages spoken near Tlemcen in Algeria.
Beni Snous or Aït Snous is a town and commune in Tlemcen Province in northwestern Algeria.
South Oran Berber, or Figuig Berber, is a cluster of the Zenati languages, which belong to the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. It is spoken in a number of oases of southwestern Algeria and across the border in Morocco.
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.
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.
The Western Algerian Zenatic dialects are a diffuse set of Zenati Berber dialects spoken in north-western Algeria, west of the capital Algiers.
Edmond Destaing was a French orientalist Arabist, Berberologist, and first holder of the Chair of Berber at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales.
Eastern Morocco Arabic, Eastern Moroccan Arabic or Oujda Arabic is a dialectal continuum of Hilalian Arabic, mainly spoken in Oujda area and in a part of Oriental region of Morocco.
