We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Language Humanities

Advertiser Disclosure

Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

How We Make Money

We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently from our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Linguistics

What are the Berber Languages?

By Devon Pryor
Updated Jan 29, 2024
Our promise to you
LanguageHumanities is dedicated to creating trustworthy, high-quality content that always prioritizes transparency, integrity, and inclusivity above all else. Our ensure that our content creation and review process includes rigorous fact-checking, evidence-based, and continual updates to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

Editorial Standards

At LanguageHumanities, we are committed to creating content that you can trust. Our editorial process is designed to ensure that every piece of content we publish is accurate, reliable, and informative.

Our team of experienced writers and editors follows a strict set of guidelines to ensure the highest quality content. We conduct thorough research, fact-check all information, and rely on credible sources to back up our claims. Our content is reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy and clarity.

We believe in transparency and maintain editorial independence from our advertisers. Our team does not receive direct compensation from advertisers, allowing us to create unbiased content that prioritizes your interests.

The term Berber refers both to a group of people and to the language spoken by these people. When attempting to understand the Berber languages, it may be helpful to first understand the people by whom these languages are spoken. The Berber are a collection of tribes spread across Northern Africa, the Mediterranean Coast, the Sahara, and the Sahel. There are numerous tribes who consider themselves Berber, and each tribe assigns one or more names to their chosen regional dialect, making it difficult to delimit the Berber languages. For this reason, we will consider the Berber languages to be a group of related languages spoken by the Berber people.

The Berber languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic language family and are widely known as Tamazight. The largest populations of Berber language speakers reside in Morocco and Algeria. Numerous variations of Berber are also spoken in Tunisia, Sudan, Libya, Chad, Egypt, Mauritania, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ceuta, Melilla, France, and Israel. Due to a large nomadic population of Berbers, and to the absence of language data in the censuses recorded by many of the aforementioned countries, the exact population of Berber speakers can only be estimated at roughly 15 to 25 million.

In terms of regional dialects, Tarifit, Kabyle, and Tashelhiyt are spoken in certain areas of Morocco and Algeria. One ethnological schematic sub-classifies the Berber languages as follows:

Guanche

Eastern Berber languages

  • Siwa
  • Awjila-Sokna languages

Northern Berber languages

  • Zenati languages
  • Kabyle language
  • Chenoua language
  • Moroccan Atlas languages

Tamasheq languages

  • Northern Tamasheq languages
  • Southern Tamasheq languages

Zenaga language

The Berbers themselves, however, may refer to their languages as Tamazight, Thamazight, Tamajeq, Tamahaq, Taznatit, Thaqvaylith, Tasiwit, Tuddhungiya, or Zenatia, to name a few! Tamazight remains the most popular term referring to the Berber languages, and many Berbers desire a unification of the many closely related Berber languages into one standard language under the name Tamazight.

Of all Berber languages, Tamazight has been used as a written language since about 200 BC. The Tifinagh alphabet, Arabic alphabet, and Latin alphabet, have each been used at one time to write the Berber languages. Certain countries have chosen to designate one or another of these alphabets as the official alphabet for written Berber, yet the other alphabets continue to be used within the same country. Many Berbers also speak French and Arabic, though etymologically and linguistically, these languages are not considered Berber languages.

LanguageHumanities is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
See our Editorial Process Share Feedback

Related Articles

Discussion Comments

By anon108605 — On Sep 03, 2010

There is no definite people called Berber. The term aims to include all wild tribes who refuse to submit to the roman rule.(ex: the brave scottish people). Indeed (barbering) is the fact of pronouncing confused voices. This means that kind of people are too rough to communicate with others). this roughness resides in the way of speaking and behaving. Other languages lack voyelles (musical tones) and continue few consonant letters.

In short, barbary means wildness (people that have no respect to culture and civilized life). the parrot is called (babaghaa)in arabic because (bebes)=(berbers) because instead of singing, it products rough sounds.

LanguageHumanities, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

LanguageHumanities, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.