Get to Know the Amazigh languages of the Imazighen
The Amazigh languages are a group of closely related languages and dialects spoken by the Amazigh people, predominantly in North Africa. The Amazigh are sometimes known as Berbers in English, although Amazigh or Imazighen are the proper terms.
Why learn the Amazigh languages?
Estimates vary, but the number of speakers of Amazigh languages today is likely to be anywhere between 20 and 30 million. The largest Amazigh languages and dialects by number of speakers are in Morocco and Algeria, and to a lesser extent Libya, Tunisia, northern Mali, and northern Niger. There are also smaller communities in Burkina Faso, Egypt, and Mauritania, as well as significant emigrated communities in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Italy, Canada, and the United States.
The classification of languages and dialects depends on how someone chooses to define these terms, but regardless of such distinctions, the Amazigh languages are closely related. A significant factor for most people is mutual intelligibility, and this can vary significantly between the Amazigh languages and dialects.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to develop a standardised form of Amazigh among speakers of the closely related varieties of the Northern Amazigh languages. The name for this language is Tamazight (Tamaziɣt), or standardised Tamazight. The name Tamazight is also used to refer to the Central Atlas Tamazight variety of Amazigh, but is sometimes used to refer to other languages and dialects from the Atlas group of Amazigh languages as well.
Unfortunately, some Amazigh dialects have gone extinct. For example, Amazigh dialects were once spoken in southern Egypt and northern Sudan, whilst Guanche was spoken by the indigenous people of the Canary Islands - the Guanches.
The Amazigh languages and dialects have a written tradition dating back 2,500 years. Although the Latin script is sometimes used, the Amazigh languages have their own script, known as Tifinagh. In the Tifinagh script, the Amazigh languages are known as ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ.
Tamnougalt, Morocco
Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash
Map
By Ajellid-n-arif - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71160447
Resources for learning the Amazigh languages
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Videos
Intro to the Amazigh Language and Alphabet - All Things Amazigh
Learn Tamazight : Start a Conversation - Learn with Tayeb
Learn Tamazight : 30 Important Questions and Answers - Learn with Tayeb
Colors in Tamazight - All Things Amazigh
The Amazigh Numbering System - All Things Amazigh
Basic Tamazight Vocabulary (Playlist) - All Things Amazigh
Amazigh Grammar Lessons (Playlist) - All Things Amazigh
Learn Tamazight (Playlist) - Learn with Tayeb
Can Amazighs Understand Each Other? - Bahador Alast
Can Tuaregs, Kabyle and Sanhja Amazighs understand each other? - Bahador Alast
Can Moroccan & Algerian Amazigh Language Speakers Understand Each Other? - Bahador Alast
Jamal speaking Tachelhit - Wikitongues
Abderrahman speaking Tachelhit - Wikitongues
Anass speaking Tarifit - Wikitongues
Mohammed speaking Shelha - Wikitongues
Ghiles speaking Kabyle - Wikitongues
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Books
The Poetics of Tifinagh : Learning Amazigh Alphabet
by Abdellatif Talibi
ⴰⴳⵍⴷⵓⵏ ⴰⵎⵥⵥⴰⵏ (The Little Prince in Tamazight)
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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Podcasts
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How to Learn French eBook
Some of the resources available for learning Amazigh languages are in French.
One of the great things about learning French is that it makes learning Amazigh languages like Kabyle easier - simply because Kabyle is spoken in Algeria (which suffered French colonialism), and some of the resources are therefore in French.
If you're interested in learning French, How to Learn French will guide you through the process in a fast and fun way.
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