Book

An Introduction to Tarifiyt Berber (Nador, Morocco)

This book provides a grammatical sketch, glossed texts and a glossary of Tarifiyt Berber, which is the main heritage language of the Moroccan community in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Author

Khalid Mourigh and Maarten Kossmann

Date

03 March 2020

Links

Ugarit Verlag

Tarifiyt (tmazixt, Rif Berber) is the native language of at least 1.5 million people in north-eastern Morocco and in the European diaspora, In the Netherlands, in Belgium and in Germany, Tarifiyt is the largest heritage language among people with a Moroccan migratory background.

In this introduction, the grammatical structures of one specific Tarifiyt variety are explained, the language as spoken in the city of Nador (Morocco). In addition, a number of Tarifiyt texts are presented: a number of traditional songs (izran), a fairy tale, and part of an Islamic sermon. Finally there is a vocabulary that contains all the words that have been used in the grammar section and in the texts.

The book covers the basic grammar (phonology, morphology and syntax) of Tarifiyt Berber and is thus aimed at an audience with a basic knowledge of linguistics. Other students will appreciate the many examples and vocabulary items. No previous knowledge of any Berber of Arabic variety is required.