Berber orthography
Encyclopedia
Berber orthography is the orthography of Berber languages
. Most Berber languages were originally unwritten, preserved through oral use in rural areas, isolated from urban hubs. Berber scholars (like Al-Youssi and Al-Mokhtar Soussi) wrote in the more prestigious Arabic language, rather than their vernacular. Currently there are three writing systems in use for Berber languages: the Berber Latin alphabet
, Tifinagh
, and the Arabic script. Different groups in North Africa
have different preferences of writing system, often motivated by ideology and politics.
used by the Tuareg to a limited extent and found in some historical engravings and which is 'Tifinagh'; and the 'Neo-Tifinagh' alphabet
which is based on the abjad but marks vowels and distinguishes more consonants. The Neo-Tifinagh script was developed and computerized in the 20th century mainly by Moroccan and Algerian researchers, some of whom were based in Europe. It has been used since the early 1970s in Berber publications, see . a resurrected version of an alphabet
ic script found in historical engravings, is currently the de jure writing system for Tamazight in Morocco,. The script was made official by a Dahir of King Mohammed VI, based on the recommendation of IRCAM. It was recognized in the Unicode
standard in June 2004.
Tifinagh was chosen to be official after consideration of its univocity (one sound per symbol, allowing regional variation), economy, consistency, and historicity. Significantly, Tifinagh avoids negative cultural connotations of the Latin and Arabic scripts.
Tifinagh is preferred by young people as a symbol of identity and has popular support. It is especially popular for symbolic use, with many books and websites written in a different script featuring logos or title pages using Neo-Tifinagh. However, until recently virtually no books or websites were published in this alphabet, with activists primarily favoring Latin scripts for serious usage.
Tifinagh has been criticized for not being practical to implement, as well as being Kabyle
-centric and not historically authentic. Despite being used to teach children Tamazight in Moroccan schools since September 2003, Tifinagh is not currently found on public signs or buildings in Morocco. Following the Tifinagh Dahir road signs were installed in the Riffian city of Nador
in Arabic and Tifinagh, but these were removed by security forces in the middle of the night soon after.
The Moroccan state arrested and imprisoned people using this script during 1980s and the 1990s., but currently Morocco is the only country in which Tifinagh has official status.
The Latin alphabet has been preferred among Amazigh linguists and researchers, and also has a great deal of established writing, including newspapers, periodicals, and magazines. It is more popular in Algeria than Morocco, but prevalent in the Riffian area. It is backed by the Amazigh elite, but is vehemently opposed by the Moroccan pro-Arab establishment. The Latin script is far more ensconced in the Kabyle dialect than in Tamazight.
The orthography used in most modern printed works is the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales
(INALCO) standard, designed for phonemicity. Older systems from the colonial French era are still found in place names and personal names. The older colonial system showed marked influence from French, for instance writing /u, w/ as ⟨ou⟩ and /sˤ/ as ⟨ç⟩, and was inconsistent in marking many Berber sounds, for instance writing /ʕ/ as a circumflex over the vowel, and often leaving emphatics unmarked.
views.
The oldest examples of Berber written in the Arabic script date back to the 10th century, and the youngest examples of medieval Berber spelling date to the 14th century. The spelling was remarkably consistent, unlike old orthographies for European languages, suggesting deliberate design. Older manuscripts show more consistency, while newer ones display corruption from copying by non-Berberphones, or by speakers of Shilha who were familiar with the different Arabic orthography for Shilha that has been in use from the 16th century to the present.
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
. Most Berber languages were originally unwritten, preserved through oral use in rural areas, isolated from urban hubs. Berber scholars (like Al-Youssi and Al-Mokhtar Soussi) wrote in the more prestigious Arabic language, rather than their vernacular. Currently there are three writing systems in use for Berber languages: the Berber Latin alphabet
Berber Latin alphabet
The Berber Latin alphabet is the version of the Latin alphabet used to write the Berber language...
, Tifinagh
Tifinagh
Tifinagh is a series of abjad and alphabetic scripts used by some Berber peoples, notably the Tuareg, to write their language.A modern derivate of the traditional script, known as Neo-Tifinagh, was introduced in the 20th century...
, and the Arabic script. Different groups in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
have different preferences of writing system, often motivated by ideology and politics.
Tifinagh
Neo-Tifinagh,Linguists and historians tend to be specific in distinguishing between the millennia-old Berber abjadAbjad
An abjad is a type of writing system in which each symbol always or usually stands for a consonant; the reader must supply the appropriate vowel....
used by the Tuareg to a limited extent and found in some historical engravings and which is 'Tifinagh'; and the 'Neo-Tifinagh' alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
which is based on the abjad but marks vowels and distinguishes more consonants. The Neo-Tifinagh script was developed and computerized in the 20th century mainly by Moroccan and Algerian researchers, some of whom were based in Europe. It has been used since the early 1970s in Berber publications, see . a resurrected version of an alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
ic script found in historical engravings, is currently the de jure writing system for Tamazight in Morocco,. The script was made official by a Dahir of King Mohammed VI, based on the recommendation of IRCAM. It was recognized in the Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
standard in June 2004.
Tifinagh was chosen to be official after consideration of its univocity (one sound per symbol, allowing regional variation), economy, consistency, and historicity. Significantly, Tifinagh avoids negative cultural connotations of the Latin and Arabic scripts.
Tifinagh is preferred by young people as a symbol of identity and has popular support. It is especially popular for symbolic use, with many books and websites written in a different script featuring logos or title pages using Neo-Tifinagh. However, until recently virtually no books or websites were published in this alphabet, with activists primarily favoring Latin scripts for serious usage.
Kabyle language
Kabyle or Kabylian is a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people north and northeast of Algeria. Estimates about the number of speakers range from 5 million to about 7 million speakers worldwide, the majority in Algeria.-Classification:The classification of Kabyle is Afro-Asiatic, Berber and...
-centric and not historically authentic. Despite being used to teach children Tamazight in Moroccan schools since September 2003, Tifinagh is not currently found on public signs or buildings in Morocco. Following the Tifinagh Dahir road signs were installed in the Riffian city of Nador
Nador
Nador is a city located in the northeastern Rif region of Morocco. The city is a Mediterranean port on the Bḥar Ameẓẓyan lagoon , and it is the major trading center in the region for fish, fruit, and livestock...
in Arabic and Tifinagh, but these were removed by security forces in the middle of the night soon after.
The Moroccan state arrested and imprisoned people using this script during 1980s and the 1990s., but currently Morocco is the only country in which Tifinagh has official status.
Latin
The Latin script has its origins in French colonialism. French missionaries and linguists found the Arabic script inconvenient, so they adapted the Latin alphabet to various Berber languages and Arabic vernaculars. While the established body of literature in the Arabic script was a barrier to wider adoption of the Latin script, it caught on among the French-educated minority, particularly in Algeria. Since independence, the Latin alphabet has been largely favored by the intelligentsia, especially in the Kabylia where the Berberists are largely pro-Westernization and French-educated. A standard transcription for Kabylie was established in 1970, and most other Northern Berber dialects have to varying extents published literature in the Latin alphabet.The Latin alphabet has been preferred among Amazigh linguists and researchers, and also has a great deal of established writing, including newspapers, periodicals, and magazines. It is more popular in Algeria than Morocco, but prevalent in the Riffian area. It is backed by the Amazigh elite, but is vehemently opposed by the Moroccan pro-Arab establishment. The Latin script is far more ensconced in the Kabyle dialect than in Tamazight.
The orthography used in most modern printed works is the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales
Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales
The Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales is located in Paris, France. It was founded in 1795 after the French Revolution and is now one of the country's Grands établissements with a specialization in African, Asian, East European, Oceanian languages and civilisations...
(INALCO) standard, designed for phonemicity. Older systems from the colonial French era are still found in place names and personal names. The older colonial system showed marked influence from French, for instance writing /u, w/ as ⟨ou⟩ and /sˤ/ as ⟨ç⟩, and was inconsistent in marking many Berber sounds, for instance writing /ʕ/ as a circumflex over the vowel, and often leaving emphatics unmarked.
Arabic
The Arabic script is the traditional script for written Berber, and is the predominant orthography for Berber literature for the general public in Morocco. Some Tamazight newspapers, periodicals, and magazines are written in Arabic script, although the Latin alphabet is preferred. Islamists support the use of Arabic script, wanting Morocco to be an Islamic country that shuns Western secularism and colonial practices. Amazigh activists, however, eschew Arabic script which is generally unpopular among Berbers who believe it is symptomatic of North African governments' pan-ArabistPan-Arabism
Pan-Arabism is an ideology espousing the unification--or, sometimes, close cooperation and solidarity against perceived enemies of the Arabs--of the countries of the Arab world, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea. It is closely connected to Arab nationalism, which asserts that the Arabs...
views.
The oldest examples of Berber written in the Arabic script date back to the 10th century, and the youngest examples of medieval Berber spelling date to the 14th century. The spelling was remarkably consistent, unlike old orthographies for European languages, suggesting deliberate design. Older manuscripts show more consistency, while newer ones display corruption from copying by non-Berberphones, or by speakers of Shilha who were familiar with the different Arabic orthography for Shilha that has been in use from the 16th century to the present.