Endangered Berber Languages

Berber languages are scattered in North Africa, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Nile (West-East), the Mediterranean and the Sahel zone (North-South). Some of those languages are still quite vital, used in everyday communication by all generations, but many of them are seriously endangered, or extinct already.

This is shown in the map below, on which only some of the endangered Berber languages and dialects are indicated. We lack information to complete the map, in terms of the languages involved, but also their degree of endangerment.

As can be seen on the map, most Berber varieties are endangered (some of them probably extinct already). And even in the most vital regions, oral traditions are disappearing under the pressure of modern lifestyles and formal schooling in standard Arabic. This realization led me to start documenting Tarighit (spoken in the Oued Righ region around Touggourt (Algeria)) in 2012, and since then, I have been developing ideas and methods for more global documentation and preservation strategies for all Berber languages.

This page will keep track of those strategies and refer you to my talks, publications, tools, and methods in that special area. If you are willing to document an endangered Berber language, feel free to send me an email at both of the following adresses:
amina.mettouchi@ephe.psl.eu, and amina.mettouchi@cnrs.fr

Social Media:

  • Facebook: Endangered Berber Languages @yaminamettouchi
  • Twitter: Langues Berberes en Danger @BerbereEPHE

Tools and Methods:

Publications:

  • Mettouchi, A. 2018.Tarighit, an endangered Amazigh language from the Oued Righ region (Algeria). Talk presented at the World Congress of African Linguistics WOCAL 9. Rabat, August 25-28, 2018.

Links to documentation:


Berber Languages