The Amazigh (Berber) languages (ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family and spoken by the Amazigh (Berber) people, who are indigenous to North Africa. The largest Amazigh speaking populations are in Morocco, Algeria and Libya. There are also smaller communities in Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania and in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt. It has official status in both Algeria and Morocco. Historically, the ancient Libyco-Berber script was used in order to write the language. Today it is still widely used in the form of the Tifinagh script. In addition to the dialects present today, there were a number of others which have gone extinct. For instance, Amazigh languages were historically spoken in present-day southern Egypt and northern Sudan.

The overwhelming majority of the Amazigh speakers today speak one of the seven varieties, which are Shilha (Tashelhiyt), Kabyle (Taqbaylit), Central Atlas Tamazight (Tamaziɣt), Riffian (Tarifit), Shawiya (Tacawit) and Tuareg (Tamaceq/Tamajeq/Tamaheq). Each one also has separate dialects. In this video we will be featuring four of them to see how well they can understand each other!

It's important to note that the term Berber, borrowed from Latin "barbari", has been used for centuries and is still used today. Many people are unaware of the term Amazigh. Many Amazigh linguists prefer the term Tamazight as a native word while still using the European word "Berber" as an exonym, but there other writers, especially in Morocco, who prefer "Amazigh" when writing about it in French, English, or other European languages.

Note: A good Algerian friend of mine who lives here in Canada was going to be a part of this and represent Kabyle. However, something came up last minute so she couldn't join us. While I understand that it would have been better if she was a part of it, rest assured that we will do more Amazigh videos in the future and certainly include Kabyle!

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