Berber Latin alphabet
The Berber Latin alphabet (Berber languages: Agemmay Amaziɣ Alatin) is the version of the Latin alphabet used to write the Berber languages. It was adopted in the 19th century, using varieties of letters.
History
The Berber languages were originally written using the ancient Libyco-Berber script and then centuries later by the
The use of a Latin script for Berber has its roots in European (French and Italian) colonial expeditions to North Africa.[1] Dictionaries and glossaries written with Latin letters, ordered alphabetically and following European orthography (mainly French) began to appear in print in the 19th century, they were intended to the colonial administration, traders and military officers.[1] With the arrival of linguists specialized in Semitic languages there emerged a system based on Semitic romanization conventions:[1] diacritics were used, and dictionary entries were now ordered by root. This system has since become the most common way of Berber transcription in scientific documents and literature.[1]
Various writing standards were used since the 19th century, some are phonetically oriented, other phonologically oriented. While the Tuareg languages use a phonetically oriented transcription, the northern Berber languages use on the other hand a mixed transcription, the latter is recommended by the French institute of languages,
Northern-Berber Latin alphabet
The Berber Latin alphabet of Northern-Berber usually consists of 34 letters:
- 23 standard Latin letters, all found in the English alphabet except for O, P, and V. However, these three are also used by some in modern Berber texts in loanwords and borrowings.
- 11 additional modified Latin letters: Č Ḍ Ɛ Ǧ Ɣ Ḥ Ř Ṛ Ṣ Ṭ Ẓ.
- The labialization mark "ʷ" is added to some letters in some Berber dialects, producing: bʷ, gʷ, ɣʷ, kʷ, mʷ, nʷ, qʷ, and xʷ. However, these are usually not considered as independent letters of the Berber Latin alphabet.
The 34-Letter Alphabet of Northern-Berber A B C Č D Ḍ E ƐF G Ǧ ƔH Ḥ I J K L M N Q R Ř Ṛ S Ṣ T Ṭ U W X Y Z Ẓ Lower case a b c č d ḍ e ɛ f g ǧ ɣ h ḥ i j k l m n q r ř ṛ s ṣ t ṭ u w x y z ẓ
In Northern-Berber texts, foreign words and names are written in their original form even if they contain the letters: O, P, V, or any other non-Berber letter (like: Ü, ẞ, Å, ...). According to SIL, the letter P is used in Kabyle.[citation needed]
Berber Latin alphabet and the Tifinagh Berber alphabet
The following table shows the Northern-Berber Latin alphabet with its Neo-Tifinagh[2] and Arabic equivalents:
Berber-Latin | IRCAM's Tifinagh equivalent |
Arabic equivalent |
IPA equivalent |
Similar sound in other languages | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A a | ⴰ | أ / ا / َ | æ | By default like English a in "map". When there is an emphatic Berber consonant then the Berber "a" is pronounced like the English a in "car". |
2 | B b | ⴱ | ب | b or β | English b or a soft Spanish b / v |
3 | C c | ⵛ | ش | ʃ | English sh in "ship" |
4 | Č č (tc) | ⵞ | تش | t͡ʃ | English ch in "China" |
5 | D d | ⴷ | د / ذ | d or ð |
English d as well as English th in "this" |
6 | Ḍ ḍ | ⴹ | ض / ظ | ðˤ | Thick English d in "dick" or "door". Emphatic d |
7 | E e | ⴻ | none | ə | English unstressed a in "attack". |
8 | Ɛ ɛ |
ⵄ | ع | ʕ | ‘ayn (voiced equivalent of ḥ, similar to English onomatopoeia for retching) |
9 | F f | ⴼ | ف | f | English f |
10 | G g | ⴳ | (گ) | ɡ | English g in "gate" or "gold" |
11 | Ǧ ǧ (dj) | ⴵ | ج | d͡ʒ | English j in "joke" or English g in "George" |
12 | Ɣ ɣ (gh) |
ⵖ | غ | ɣ~ʁ | like French / German r or between this sound and Spanish intervocalic g |
13 | H h | ⵀ | هـ | h | Strong English h in "hello" or "hold" |
14 | Ḥ ḥ | ⵃ | ح | ħ | Arabic ḥ in Muḥammad (stronger than h, similar to English onomatopoeia for being cold) |
15 | I i | ⵉ | ي / ِ | i | English ee like in "sheet" or English i in "hidden". |
16 | J j | ⵊ | (ج) | ʒ | English s in "measure" or "television", or English j in "déjà-vu". |
17 | K k | ⴽ | (ک) | k | English k |
18 | L l | ⵍ | ل | ɫ |
usually British English clear L in "light" (as in French, Spanish, German)
|
19 | M m | ⵎ | م | m | English m |
20 | N n | ⵏ | ن | n |
English n |
21 | Q q | ⵇ | ق | q, qʷ or ɢ | like k, but deeper in the throat |
22 | R r | ⵔ | ر | r, rˤ |
Spanish or Italian r |
23 | Ř ř | ⵔ | ر | ɺ |
Soft Italian/Spanish r, but even softer, almost l |
24 | Ṛ ṛ | ⵕ | ر | rˤ | Thick emphatic Spanish r |
25 | S s | ⵙ | س | s | English s in "seed" |
26 | Ṣ ṣ | ⵚ | ص | sˤ | Thick English s as in "sold". Emphatic s |
27 | T t | ⵜ | ت / ث | t or θ |
English t in "tea", as well as English th in "thought" |
28 | Ṭ ṭ | ⵟ | ط | tˤ | Thick English "t" in "toll". Emphatic t |
29 | U u | ⵓ | و / ُ | ʊ | English u in "put" or "rule" |
30 | W w | ⵡ | وْ | w | English w |
31 | X x | ⵅ | خ | x~χ | German / Dutch ch in "Nacht", European Spanish j |
32 | Y y | ⵢ | يْ | j | English y in "yes" or "yard" |
33 | Z z | ⵣ | ز | z | English z in "zoo" |
34 | Ẓ ẓ | ⵥ | (ژ) | zˤ | Thick English z in "Zorro". Emphatic z |
The letter "O" does occur often in Tuareg-Berber orthography and sometimes in Northern Berber. In Northern-Berber orthography it usually corresponds to the letter "U".
In the interest of pan-dialectal legibility, the Berber Latin alphabet omits the partly phonemic contrasts found in some Berber language varieties (notably the
Phonemic
North-Berber Latin letter | Tifinagh equivalent | IPA equivalent |
---|---|---|
Bʷ bʷ / Bᵒ bᵒ | ⴱⵯ | bʷ |
Gʷ gʷ / Gᵒ gᵒ | ⴳⵯ | ɡʷ |
Ɣʷ ɣʷ / Ɣᵒ ɣᵒ | ⵖⵯ | ɣʷ |
Kʷ kʷ / Kᵒ kᵒ | ⴽⵯ | kʷ |
Qʷ qʷ / Qᵒ qᵒ | ⵇⵯ | qʷ |
Xʷ xʷ / Xᵒ xᵒ | ⵅⵯ | xʷ |
The letter ⟨ṛ⟩ is used for [rˤ] only when it contrasts with ⟨r⟩ (e.g. ṛwiɣ "I am satisfied" vs. rwiɣ "I am moved"). In all other cases ⟨r⟩ is used, e.g. tarakna "carpet" (pronounced taṛakna). This is because [rˤ] is often an allophone of /r/ in the environment of other emphatics, and it rarely contrasts with /r/ otherwise.[6] Exceptional cases of other emphatics, e.g. [ʊʃˤːæj] "hound", are ignored (i.e. written as uccay).[6]
Rif-Berber usages
In most
Riffian Berbers pronounce the "LL" (in a word like yelli, "my daughter") like "dj" or "ǧǧ" (yedji). Depending on the author's whim, this might be represented in writing as "ll", "dj", a single "ǧ", or "ǧǧ".
Riffian letter |
Riffian word | The word in other Berber dialects | meaning in English |
---|---|---|---|
Ř ř | uř | ul | heart |
aɣyuř | aɣyul | donkey | |
awař | awal | speech / talk | |
Ǧ ǧ | azeǧif | azellif | head |
yeǧa | yella | (he) is / (he) exists | |
ajeǧiđ | agellid | king | |
Č č | wučma | weltma | my sister |
t̲acemřač | tacemlalt | blonde / white | |
t̲aɣyuč | taɣyult | female donkey (jenny) |
Souss-Berber local usage
In
Kabyle-Berber local usages
In
Character | INALCO equivalent | IRCAM Tifinagh equivalent | IPA equivalent | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ţ ţ | Tt tt | ⵜⵙ | t͡s | ts like in "Tsetse fly" |
Ss ss | ||||
Z̧ z̧ | Zz zz | ⴷⵣ | d͡z | dz / the English "ds" in words |
Labiovelarization is indicated with the superscript letter ⟨ʷ⟩ (examples: kʷ, gʷ), or with the "degree sign": "ᵒ" (examples: kᵒ, gᵒ), or simply by using the letter ⟨w⟩.
On the internet, it is common to replace the Latinized Greek epsilon and gamma, ⟨Ɛɛ⟩ and ⟨Ɣɣ⟩, with actual Greek letters:[10]
- ⟨Σ⟩, Greek upper case sigma, since Greek upper case epsilon "Ε" is visually indistinguishable from Latin upper case E
- ⟨ε⟩, Greek small letter epsilon (Unicode U+03B5)
- ⟨Γ, γ⟩ Greek capital and small letter gamma (Unicode U+0393, U+03B3)
Among non-Kabyle Berber writers a number of alternative letters are used:
Character | INALCO equivalent |
---|---|
 â | Ɛ ɛ |
Ġ ġ | Ɣ ɣ |
Gh gh | |
Dj | Ǧ ǧ |
Controversy
There has been a long and fierce debate on whether to use the Latin, Tifinagh, or Arabic alphabets for Berber in Algeria and Morocco, between Berber activists and anti-Berber establishments, mainly those with an Arab-Islamic orientation. Berber activists overwhelmingly favor the use of the Latin alphabet in order to ensure a quick development and proliferation of the Berber language (Tamazight) in schools, in public institutions, and on the internet.[11] A small number of them prefer the Neo-Tifinagh alphabet.[citation needed] The states of Morocco and Algeria usually distance themselves from Latin-based Berber writing, fearing[citation needed] that it would strengthen the position of Berber against Arabic and French, and thus leading to a stronger Berber political activism. The Arab-Islamic establishments and political parties often reject the Latin alphabet as a Berber alphabet for the same reasons, and they usually brand it as a tool to westernize and Christianize Berbers.[12]
In 2003,
Southern-Berber Latin alphabet (Tuareg)
The Southern-Berber (Tuareg) Latin alphabet is made of 36 letters. They are mostly Latin letters with one IPA character and one Greek letter incorporated.
The vowel O is used in the Latin alphabet of Southern Berber (Tuareg), but is also used in some (but not all) Northern Berber languages. The vowel "O" in Tuareg words mostly corresponds to "U" in Northern Berber words.
A | Ă | B | Ḅ | D | Ḍ | E | Ǝ | F | G | Ɣ | H | Ḥ | I | J | K | L | Ḷ | M | N | Ŋ | O | Q | R | S | Ṣ | Š | T | Ṭ | U | W | X | Y | Z | Ž | Ẓ | Γ |
a | ă | b | ḅ | d | ḍ | e | ǝ | f | g | ɣ | h | ḥ | i | j | k | l | ḷ | m | n | ŋ | o | q | r | s | ṣ | š | t | ṭ | u | w | x | y | z | ž | ẓ | ʕ |
37-Letter Latin alphabet for Tuareg-Berber (Tamahaq), official in Niger since 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | Ă | Ǝ | B | C | D | Ḍ | E | F | G | Ǧ | H | I | J | J̌ | Ɣ | K | L | Ḷ | M | N | Ŋ | O | P | Q | R | S | Ṣ | Š | T | Ṭ | U | W | X | Y | Z | Ẓ |
a | ă | ǝ | b | c | d | ḍ | e | f | g | ǧ | h | i | j | ǰ | ɣ | k | l | ḷ | m | n | ŋ | o | p | q | r | s | ṣ | š | t | ṭ | u | w | x | y | z | ẓ |
The
The DNAFLA system is a somewhat morphophonemic orthography, not indicating initial vowel shortening, always writing the directional particle as ⟨dd⟩, and not indication all assimilations (e.g. ⟨Tămašăɣt⟩ for tămašăq.[14]
In Burkina Faso the emphatics are denoted by "hooked" letters, as in Fula, e.g. ⟨ɗ ƭ⟩.[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Kessai (2018)
- ^ Initiation à la langue amazighe", 2004, p.14.
- ^ Tira n Tmaziɣt, 1996, p. 6.
- ^ a b c Tira n Tmaziɣt, 1996, pp. 8–9.
- ^ "L'alphabet Kabyle" (in French). Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ a b Tira n Tmaziɣt, 1996, p. 9.
- ^ [Examples of local Riffian orthography http://www.amazigh.nl/ Archived 2021-04-13 at the Wayback Machine]
- ^ Rdouan Faizi (January 2011). "Stress Systems in Amazigh: A Comparative Study" (PDF).
- ^ a b c Tira n Tmaziɣt, 1996, pp. 7–8.
- ^ "L'alphabet berbère latin" (in French). Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ "Professor Chaker Speaks Out on the Tifinagh Script Issue – TAMAZGHA le site berbériste". www.tamazgha.fr.
- ^ "DEBAT : De la graphie arabe pour tamazight ?". Le Matin DZ. August 21, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ Sudlow (2001:33–36)
- ^ Sudlow (2001:34)
- ^ Sudlow (2001:33)
Bibliography
- "Initiation à la langue amazighe" (PDF) (in French). IRCAM. 2004. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- (in French) Tira n Tmaziɣt: Propositions pour la notation usuelle à base latine du berbère (Atelier du 24–25 juin 1996, INALCO/CRB; synthèse des travaux par S. Chaker), Études et documents berbères, 14, 1997, p. 239–253.
- Kamal Nait-Zerrad. Grammaire moderne du kabyle, tajerrumt tatrart n teqbaylit. Éditions KARTHALA, 2001. ISBN 978-2-84586-172-5
- Kessai, Fodil (2018). "Élaboration d'un dictionnaire électronique de berbère avec annotations étymologiques". F. Kessai. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- Sudlow, David (2001). The Tamasheq of North-East Burkina Faso. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. ISBN 3896453807. Archived from the originalon 2010-06-07.