| Riff | |
|---|---|
| Riffian | |
| Geographic distribution | North Africa |
| Linguistic classification | Afro-Asiatic
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| Glottolog | None |
In some classifications, the Riff (Rif) languages are a branch of the Zenati Berber languages (Northern Berber), of the Rif area of Morocco, that includes Riffian, one of the major Berber languages.
Blench (2006) considers Riff to be a dialect cluster, consisting of the following varieties: [1]
Al Hoceima is a Riffian city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It is the capital city of the Al Hoceïma Province. It is situated in the territory of the Ibaqouyen and Aith Ouriaghel tribes of the Rif region, who speak a Riffian variety of the Berber language locally called Tmaziɣt or Tarifit. The city is a known tourist destination despite its small size. It has a population of about 56,716 according to the 2014 census.
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 central part of the Moroccan Rif. It is spoken in the Ketama area west of the Tarifit speaking area in eastern Rif.
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 Rif or Riff, also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland to the indigenous people of the Rifians people. Historically, it belonged to the Rif Republic and its president, Abd el Krim, who led the Rif War from 1920 to 1927 and against a Spanish colonial empire, the Rif region was historically a Spanish colony by the Spanish colonial empire in Africa. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterranean to the north, and by the Ouergha River to the south. The Rif mountains are separated into the eastern Rif mountains and western Rif mountains.
RIF or Rif may refer to:
Roger Marsh Blench is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and is based in Cambridge, England. He researches, publishes, and works as a consultant.
The Ait Ouriaghel or Ait Waryaghar is one of the biggest Riffian tribes of the Rif region of the north-eastern part of Morocco and one of the most populous. Ait Waryagher means "those who do not back off/ those who do not retreat". They inhabit most of the territory around the city of Al Hoceima. The Ait Waryaghar speak the "Western-Tarifit" dialect of the Riffian language.
A riff is an example of ostinato, a short, repeated musical phrase.
The Kebdana or Ichebdanen are a Riffian-Berber tribe of Zenata origin that lives in the eastern part of the Rif, in northeastern Morocco. Towns such as Zaio, Arekmane and Ras Kebdana are located in their area.
Riffian or Rifian may refer to:
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.
Segangan is a town and municipality in the province of Nador, Oriental, Morocco. It is one of the major towns of the province. According to the 2014 census, its population was 34,025.
Gurara (Gourara) is a Zenati Berber language spoken in the Gourara (Tigurarin) region, an archipelago of oases surrounding the town of Timimoun in southwestern Algeria. Ethnologue gives it the generic name Taznatit ("Zenati"), along with Tuwat spoken to its south; however, Blench (2006) classifies Gurara as a dialect of Mzab–Wargla and Tuwat as a dialect of the Riff languages.
The history of Bible translation into the Berber language is fairly recent. The six major Berber language/dialects are spoken by 90% of the total Berber-speaking population: Tashelhit Berber, Kabyle Berber, Central Atlas Tamazight, Riffian Berber, Shawiya Berber, and Tuareg Berber.
Jebli (Jebelia) is a pre-Hilalian Arabic dialect spoken in the mountains of northwestern Morocco.
Tuwat is a Zenati Berber language. It is spoken by Zenata Berbers in a number of villages in the Tuat region of southern Algeria; notably Tamentit and Tittaf, located south of the Gurara Berber speech area. Ethnologue considers them a single language, "Zenati", but Blench (2006) classifies Gurara as a dialect of Mzab–Wargla and Tuwat as a dialect of the Riff cluster.
Sheliff Basin Berber is a variety of the Berber languages that is spoken in Algeria. It is traditionally taken to be a dialect of Shenwa, one of the Western Algerian Zenati languages. Blench (2006) argues instead that the variety is part of the Riffian dialect cluster.
Jaysh al-Rifi, described in 18th-century correspondence with the British as 'the Army of all the People of the Rif', was the name of an influential Moroccan army corps in the 17th and the 18th centuries. The army was formed by Moulay Ismail out of Riffian tribesmen from the eastern Rif. Their rise coincided with the formation of the Black Guard, also by Moulay Ismail. They came to play an important role in the 17th century Moroccan wars against Spanish colonization. Cities like Tangier, Ksar el-Kebir, Mehdya, Asilah were reconquered by the Jaysh al-Rifi. One of its generals was Ali bin Abdallah al-Riffi, a native of Temsamane, who became governor of Tangier, Asilah and Tetouan. His descendants, the al-Rifi family, would govern those towns and most of the Gharb with a large degree of autonomy until 1912.
Ait Touzine is one of the biggest Riffian tribes from the central Rif region in Morocco. Cities such as Midar, Tsaft, Ijermaouas and Kassita belong to this tribe. Many Ait Touzine can also be found in cities such as Imzouren, Al Hoceima and Tangier. The name Ait Touzine in its Berber original form is 'Ait Uzgn' meaning "The Children of the Half" perhaps implying a mixed ancestry.
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