Tashelhiyt language

language
name=Tashelhiyt
nativename=تَشْلْحِيت "unicode|Tašlḥiyt"
familycolor=Afro-Asiatic
states=Morocco
region=Southern Morocco, Atlas, Sous plains and Anti-Atlas
speakers=Between 8 and 10 million (Stroomer)
fam2=Berber
fam3=Northern
fam4=Atlas
iso2=ber
iso3=shi

Tashelhiyt (also "Tashelhit" or "Tachelhit" or "Tachelhiyt" or "Shilha", native name: unicode|"tašlḥiyt", French: "tachelhit", Arabic: تشلحيت) is the largest Berber language by number of speakers (between 8 and 10 million). Tashelhiyt is spoken in Southern Morocco an area ranging from the northern slopes of the High-Atlas to the southern slopes of the Anti-Atlas, bounded to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The eastern limit of the Tashelhiyt area is difficult to pinpoint because of a smooth transition into Southern Middle Atlas Berber or Tamazight. The Sous region is central to the Tashelhiyt area, therefore the language is often called Sous-Berber or "tasusiyt" ("tasousit"), even though it stretches to surrounding regions well outside of Sous. Tashelhiyt is known for its rich oral literature. Literature written in the Arabic script has been produced from the second half of sixteenth century on; Muhammad Awzal (ca. 1680-1749) was the most prolific poet of the Tashelhiyt literary tradition.

Geography and demography

The Sous, one of Morocco's most fertile regions, irrigated by the Wadi Sous and separated from the Sahara by the Anti-Atlas Mountains, is the central area of the Chleuhs (sometimes Shluh or Soussis, Tashelhiyt unicode|"išlḥan"), the speakers of Tashelhiyt. As early as the eleventh century, the area was noted for its cultivation and export of sugar. The sale of sugar to Portuguese, Dutch and English traders as well as a share in the Trans-Saharan gold trade brought prosperity to the region. A traditional Islamic schooling system, 'a rare example of a self-organised and productive education system in an almost entirely rural environment' (vd. Boogert 1997:9), has existed in the area for centuries.

Tashelhiyt is a major Berber language of Morocco with some three million speakers [Ethnologue: [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=Shi code shi] ] in that country as well as some in Algeria.

Writing system

Like other Berber languages, it has been written with several different systems over the years. Dominant script is Latin alphabet, with usage of Arabic script to a lesser degree. Most recently, Tifinagh started to be used as an optional script.

Literature

Tashelhiyt, like other Berber languages, has an extensive body of oral literature in a wide variety of genres. Fables and animal stories often revolve around the character of the jackal ("uššn"); other genres include legends, imam/taleb stories, riddles, and tongue-twisters.

Less well known is the existence of a distinct literary tradition which can be traced back at least to the early sixteenth century. For at least four centuries, Sous Berber has been written by local scholars in a Magribic variant of the Arabic script. The most prolific writer of this tradition was unicode|Muḥammad Awzal (ca. 1680-1749); the longest extant text in Tashelhiyt however is a commentary on unicode|"al-Ḥawḍ" entitled 'the pasture' ("al-Mandja") from the hand of al-Ḥasan b. Mubarak al-Tamudizti (d. 1899). Important collections of Tashelhiyt Berber manuscripts can be found in Aix-en-Provence (the "fonds Arsène Roux") and Leiden. Virtually all manuscripts are of religious nature, and their main purpose was to instruct the illiterate common people. Many of the texts are in versified form to facilitate memorisation and recitation.

The written language differs in some aspects from normal spoken Tashelhiyt. For example, it is common for the manuscript texts to contain a mix of dialectal variants not found in a single dialect. The language of the manuscripts also contains a higher number of Arabic words than the spoken form, a phenomenon that has been called "arabisme poétique"ref|Galand-Pernet. Other characteristics of the written language include use of a plural form instead of the singular; plural formation by use of the prefix "ida"; use of stopgaps like unicode|"daɣ" 'again', "hann" and "hatinn" 'lo!' to fill the metre of the verse; and the use of archaisms.

ounds

Vowels

Tashelhiyt has three phonemic vowels: IPA|/i/ /a/ /u/. The schwa (IPA| [ə] ) which turns up in many words between two consonants (e.g. inbgi = IPA| [inəbgi] 'guest', tigmmi = IPA| [tigəmmi] 'house') has no phonemic status; some authors do not write it for that reason, while others (e.g. Aspinion) write it because it is heard nonetheless. Historically, schwa is thought to be the result of a pan-Berber reduction or merger of three other vowels. The phonetic realization of the vowels, especially IPA|/a/, is highly influenced by the character of the surrounding consonants; emphatic consonants invite a more open realization of the vowel, e.g. unicode|aẓru = IPA| [az̴ru] 'stone' vs. amud = IPA| [æmud] 'seed'.

Consonants

Tashelhiyt has thirty-three phonemic consonants. Like other Berber languages and Arabic, it has both pharyngealized ("emphatic") and plain dental consonants. There is also a distinction between labialized and plain dorsal obstruents.

In Latin orthography, emphatics are marked by an underwritten dot. Also, IPA|/χ/ is written , IPA|/ʁ/ is written <IPA|ɣ>, and IPA|/j/ is written .