Zenati languages
Encyclopedia
The Zenati languages, named after the medieval Zenata tribe, are a subgroup of the Northern Berber language family
, spoken in North Africa
, proposed in Destaing (1915, 1920/3.) They are distributed across the central Maghreb
, from northeastern Morocco
to just west of Algiers
, and the northern Sahara
, from southwestern Algeria
around Bechar
to Zuwara in Libya
; in much of this range, they are limited to discontinuous pockets in a predominantly Arabic
-speaking landscape. The largest languages in this subgroup are Riff in NE Morocco and Shawiya in eastern Algeria.
According to Kossmann (1999:28, 32), Zenati consists of the following varieties:
Common innovations defining this subgroup include:
In addition to the correspondence of k and g to š and ž, Chaker (1972), while expressing uncertainty about the linguistic coherence of Zenati, notes as shared Zenati traits:
These characteristics identify a more restricted subset of Berber than those previously mentioned, mainly northern Saharan varieties; they exclude, for example, Chaoui and all but the easternmost Riff dialects.
The Ethnologue
(16th edition) also includes Senhaja De Srair
and Ghomara
, along with an extra subgroup, the "East Zenati languages": Ghadamès
, Nafusi
, and Sened
. These do not share all the innovations listed above.
Northern Berber languages
The Northern Berber languages form a dialect continuum across the Maghreb that constitute a branch of the Berber language subgroup of the Afroasiatic family...
, spoken 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...
, proposed in Destaing (1915, 1920/3.) They are distributed across the central Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
, from northeastern Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
to just west of Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, and the northern Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
, from southwestern Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
around Bechar
Béchar
Béchar , formerly known as Colomb-Béchar, is a capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. The area is controlled by Algeria, though claims have also been made on it by Morocco. In 1998 the city had a population of 134,954....
to Zuwara in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
; in much of this range, they are limited to discontinuous pockets in a predominantly Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
-speaking landscape. The largest languages in this subgroup are Riff in NE Morocco and Shawiya in eastern Algeria.
According to Kossmann (1999:28, 32), Zenati consists of the following varieties:
- Riff (northeastern MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
), including Beni Iznasen - Eastern Middle Atlas: Ait SeghrouchenAit Seghrouchen Berber-Classification:Ait Seghrouchen Berber commonly classed as Central Atlas Tamazight, and Ait Seghrouchen is reported to be mutually intelligible with the neighbouring Central Atlas Tamazight dialect of Ait Ayache...
and Ait Warain (north-central Morocco) - South Oran and FiguigSouth Oran BerberSouth Oran and Figuig Berber is a Zenati Berber dialect group spoken in a number of oases of southwestern Algeria, as well as nearby ones in Morocco...
(southwestern AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and southeastern Morocco) - Northwestern Algerian varieties: Beni SnousBeni Snous dialectBeni Snous is a dialect of Berber spoken near Tlemcen in Algeria....
, ChenouaChenoua languageChenoua or Shenwa is the Berber language of Jebel Chenoua in Algeria, just west of Algiers near Tipasa and Cherchell. The speech of Jebel Chenoua proper is mutually comprehensible with that of the nearby Beni Menacer, and the two are thus treated as a single language...
, Beni Menacer etc., Metmata - Mozabite or Tumzabt (northern Algerian Sahara, near GhardaiaGhardaïaGhardaïa is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 104,645, with 82,500 in the main city according to 2005 estimates. It is located in northern-central Algeria in the Sahara Desert and lies along the left bank of the Wadi Mzab...
) and OuargliOuargli languageOuargli, or Teggargrent, is a Zenati Berber variety spoken in the oases of Ouargla and N'Goussa in Algeria. As of 1987, it had no more than 10,000 speakers; the Ethnologue estimated only 5,000 speakers as of 1995...
or Teggargarent (northern Algerian Sahara, near OuarglaOuarglaOuargla is the capital city of Ouargla province, in the Sahara Desert, in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing oil industry, and hosts one of Algeria's universities. The city had a population of 129,402 in 1998 ....
) – their close relative, Oued Righ BerberOued Righ BerberOued Righ Berber, or Temacine Tamazight, is a Zenati Berber variety spoken in some of the oases of the Oued Righ region around Touggourt in Algeria. As of 1893, it was spoken in Temacine, Blidet-Amor, Meggarine and Ghomra. The only published study of it is Basset . It is closely related to...
, is not discussed in Kossmann 1999. - Zenati proper or Taznatit, including Gourara Berber (southwestern Algeria, around TimimounTimimounTimimoun is a little oasis town in Adrar Province, Algeria; in the Gourara region.It is located to the northwest of the eponymous Sebkha, at the edge of the plateau of Tadmaït....
); the dialects Touat and Tidikelt are not discussed in Kossmann 1999. - Shawiya (around BatnaBatna CityBatna is the main city of Batna Province, Algeria. With a population of 285,800 it is the fifth largest city in Algeria. It is also one of the principal cities of the Chaoui area and is considered the capital of the Aures.-History:...
and KhenchelaKhenchelaKhenchela ancient Mascula is the name of the capital city of the administrative Khenchela Province , number 40, in the north east of Algeria. Situated in the Aures Mountains, 1200 m above sea level. The city is mainly populated by Berber Chaouis....
in eastern Algeria) - Matmata BerberMatmata BerberMatmata Berber is the Zenati Berber dialect spoken around the town of Matmâta in southern Tunisia, in the villages of Zraoua, Taoujjout and Tamezret. According to Ben Mamou's lexicon, its speakers call it Tmaziγṯ, or dwi-nna "our language", while it is called Chelha or Jbali in local Arabic...
(MatmataMatmâtaMatmata is a small Berber speaking town in southern Tunisia. Some of the local Berber residents live in traditional underground "troglodyte" structures. In 2004 it had a population of 2,116....
in southeastern TunisiaTunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
) - DjerbiDjerbi languageJerba or Djerbi is the Berber language of Djerba in Tunisia....
(DjerbaDjerbaDjerba , also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is, at 514 km², the largest island of North Africa, located in the Gulf of Gabes, off the coast of Tunisia.-Description:...
in southeastern TunisiaTunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
) - Zuwara Berber (Zuwara in northwestern LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
)
Common innovations defining this subgroup include:
- The vowel a- in nominal prefixes is dropped in a number of words when it precedes CV, where C is a single consonant and V is a full (non-schwaSchwaIn linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in some languages, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel...
) vowel. For example, afus "hand" is replaced with fus. (A similar development is found in some Eastern Berber languagesEastern Berber languagesThe Eastern Berber languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic family and are spoken in Libya and Egypt. They include Awjila, Sokna and Fezzan , Siwi, and Ghadamès. Kossmann divides them into two groups:...
, but not Nafusi.) - Verbs whose original aorist forms end in -u while their perfect forms end in -a end up with -a in the aorist as well, leaving the aorist / perfect distinction unmarked for these verbs. For example, *ktu "forget", Siwi ttu, becomes Ouargli tta. (This also affects NafusiNafusi languageNafusi is the Berber language of the Nafusa Mountains , a large area in northwestern Libya. This variety of the Berber language is spoken by the Ibadite communities around Jadu, Nalut , and Yafran...
.) - Verbs consisting (in the aorist) of two consonants with no vowel other than schwa fall into two classes elsewhere in Berber: one where a variable final vowel appears in the perfect form, and one which continues to lack a final vowel in the perfect. In Zenati, the latter class has been entirely merged into the former in the perfect, with the single exception of the negative perfect of *əγs "want". For example, KabyleKabyle languageKabyle 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...
(non-Zenati) gər "throw", pf. -gər (int. -ggar), corresponds to Ouargli (Zenati) gər, pf. -gru. (This change too also affects NafusiNafusi languageNafusi is the Berber language of the Nafusa Mountains , a large area in northwestern Libya. This variety of the Berber language is spoken by the Ibadite communities around Jadu, Nalut , and Yafran...
; Basset (1929:9) gives examples where it appears not to occur in Chenoua.) - Proto-Berber *-əβ has become -i in Zenati. For example, *arəβ "write" becomes ari. (This change also occurs in varieties including the Central Atlas Tamazight dialect of the IzayanZayanesZayanes are a Berber people in the Khenifra region in the central Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco....
, Nafusi, and SiwiSiwi languageSiwi is a Berber language of Egypt, spoken by about 15,000 to 30,000 people in the oases of Siwa and Gara, near the Libyan border. The language has been heavily influenced by Egyptian Arabic, to a greater degree than most Berber languages...
.) - Proto-Berber palatalised k´ and g´, corresponding to k and g in non-Zenati varieties, become š and ž in Zenati (although a fair number of irregular correspondences for this are found.) For example, k´ăm "you (f. sg.)" becomes šəm. (This change also occurs in Nafusi and Siwi.)
In addition to the correspondence of k and g to š and ž, Chaker (1972), while expressing uncertainty about the linguistic coherence of Zenati, notes as shared Zenati traits:
- A proximal demonstrative suffix "this" -u, rather than -a
- A final -u in the perfect of two-consonant verbs, rather than -a (e.g. yə-nsu "he slept" rather than yə-nsa elsewhere)
These characteristics identify a more restricted subset of Berber than those previously mentioned, mainly northern Saharan varieties; they exclude, for example, Chaoui and all but the easternmost Riff dialects.
The Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
(16th edition) also includes Senhaja De Srair
Senhaja de Srair language
The language of the Senhaja de Srair, also Senhaya or Zenaga, is a Northern Berber language spoken in the southern part of the Moroccan Rif. It is most closely related to the Atlas languages, but heavily influenced by the neighboring Riff language Contrary to the Ethnologue, it is not extinct;...
and Ghomara
Ghomara language
The language of the Ghomara is a Northern Berber language spoken by at least 10,000 people in Morocco near Tetouan and Chaouen. While included in the Zenati subgroup by some sources , it is probably more closely related to southern Moroccan languages, such as Central Atlas Tamazight and Shilha....
, along with an extra subgroup, the "East Zenati languages": Ghadamès
Ghadamès language
Ghadamès is a language spoken mainly by some Libyan Berbers. It is spoken in Ghadames, a small oasis town near the Libyan border with Algeria and Tunisia. It is spoken by 2,000 people in Libya, and 2,000 elsewhere. It has two dialects, Ayt Waziten and Elt Ulid....
, Nafusi
Nafusi language
Nafusi is the Berber language of the Nafusa Mountains , a large area in northwestern Libya. This variety of the Berber language is spoken by the Ibadite communities around Jadu, Nalut , and Yafran...
, and Sened
Sened language
Sened is an extinct Berber language that was spoken in the nearby towns of Sened and Majoura in Southern Tunisia until the mid-twentieth century...
. These do not share all the innovations listed above.