Berber Latin alphabet

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The Berber Latin alphabet (Berber: 'Agemmay Amaziɣ Alatin') is the version of the Latin alphabet used to write the Berber language (which has two main sub-groups: Northern Berber, and Southern Berber, i.e. Tuareg). Though it was being written occasionally centuries ago, the Berber language started being written and printed systematically in the 19th century, using varieties of letters. Today, the Latin alphabet is preferred by most Berber writers and linguists in North Africa and abroad, for practical reasons.


The use of a Latin script for Berber has its roots in French colonialist expeditions to North Africa.[1] Berber texts written with Latin letters began to appear in print in the 19th century when French, Italian, and Spanish colonial expeditionaries and military officers began surveying North Africa. The French attempted to use Romanization schemes for North African Arabic dialects and for Berber. The attempts for Arabic were unsuccessful, but Berber was more susceptible, having little established literature to stand in the way.[1]

In the colonial era a French-based system was used. Though it has now fallen partly out of favor, it is still used for transcription of names into French. More recently the French institute of languages, INALCO, has proposed its own writing standard which now is the primary system used in mainly Kabyle-Berber writings [1] in Kabylie, Algeria.

Other, slightly different, varieties of Latin-based standards have been used since the beginning of the 20th century by Berber linguists in North Africa, France, and recently at the University of Barcelona, Spain.[2][3][4]

Northern-Berber Latin alphabet[edit]

The Berber Latin alphabet of Northern-Berber usually consists of 34 letters:

  • 23 standard Latin letters (all the letters found in the English alphabet except for O, P, and V).
  • 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: , , ɣʷ, , , and . However, these are usually not considered as independent letters of the Berber Latin alphabet.
The 34-Letter Alphabet of Northern-Berber
Lower case
a b c č d e ɛ f g ǧ ɣ h i j k l m n q r ř s t u w x y z
Table of Unicode Berber-Latin letters used in the Kabyle language of Algeria

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,...).

Tifinagh Berber alphabet and the Berber Latin alphabet[edit]

The following table shows the Northern-Berber Latin alphabet with its Neo-Tifinagh[5] and Arabic equivalents:

Berber-Latin IRCAM's
Similar English sound
1 A a أ / ا æ "a" like in the English word bad
2 B b ب or b or β like the English "b", and sometimes like the Spanish "v"
3 C c ش ʃ the English "sh" in ship
4 Č č (tc) تش t͡ʃ the English "ch" in China
5 D d د / ذ d or ð English "d", and English "th" in this
6 ض ðˤ emphatic "d"
7 E e none ə "a" in (unstressed) attack
8 Ɛ ɛ (Â â) ع ʕ like Arabic ع `ayn (no English equivalent)
9 F f ف f like the English "f"
10 G g (گ) ɡ "g" like in the words gate or Greek
11 Ǧ ǧ (dj) (دج) d͡ʒ English "j" like in the words joke and James
12 Ɣ ɣ (gh) (غ) ɣ like Spanish "g" in the word agua or Dutch gaan
13 H h هـ h "h" like in hello or high
14 ح ħ like in Arabic Muammad (no English equivalent)
15 I i ي /ِ i English ee like in sheet
16 J j ج ʒ like in confusion or television, French "j" in déjà vu.
17 K k كـ k English "k"
18 L l ل l or ɫ non-emphatic "L" (like in German or French)
19 M m م m m
20 N n ن n n
21 Q q ق q or like Arabic ق "qaf" (no English equivalent)
22 R r ر r, like a Spanish or Italian "r"
23 Ř ř / ر r ~ l A very light "R", pronounced like something between "R" and "L".
24 ر emphatic "r"
25 S s س s s
26 ص emphatic "s"
27 T t ت / ث t or θ English "t", and/or English "th" in three
28 ط emphatic "t"
29 U u و /ُ ʊ English "u" like in put
30 W w وَ w English "w" in water
31 X x خ χ Spanish "j", German / Dutch "ch", Arabic "kh"
32 Y y يَ j English "y" like in yes
33 Z z ز z English "z" in zoo
34 (ژ) emphatic "z"

The Latin letter "O" does occur occasionally in Tuareg-Berber orthography. In Northern-Berber orthography it 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 Kabyle language and Tarifit) between stops and fricatives.[6]

Phonemic labiovelarization of consonants is widespread in Berber varieties, but there are rarely minimal pairs and it is unstable (e.g. ameqqʷran "large", in the Ainsi dialect of Kabyle, is pronounced ameqqran in At Yanni Kabyle-Berber, only a few kilometers away).[7] The INALCO standard uses the diacritic ° for labiovelarization only when needed to distinguish words, e.g. ireggel vs. iregg°el.[7]

North-Berber Latin letter Tifinagh equivalent IPA equivalent
Bʷ bʷ / B° b° ⴱⵯ
Gʷ gʷ / G° g° ⴳⵯ ɡʷ
Ɣʷ ɣʷ / Ɣ° ɣ° ⵖⵯ ɣʷ
Kʷ kʷ / K° k° ⴽⵯ
Qʷ qʷ / Q° q° ⵇⵯ
Xʷ xʷ / X° x° ⵅⵯ

The letter 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.[9] Exceptional cases of other emphatics, e.g. [ʊʃˤːæj] "hound", are ignored (i.e. written as uccay).[9]

Rif-Berber usages[edit]

In most Riffian areas (northern Morocco), the letter "L" in the word alɣem is pronounced [ařɣem]. "Ř" is pronounced as something between "L" and "R".[10]

Riffian Berbers pronounce the "LL" (in a word like yelli, "my daughter") like "dj" or "ǧǧ" (yeǧǧi). 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 ul heart
aɣyuř aɣyul donkey
awař awal speech / talk
Ǧ ǧ azeǧǧif azellif head
yeǧǧa yella (he) is / (he) exists
ajeǧǧid ajellid king
Č č wečma weltma my sister
tacemřač tacemlalt blonde / white
taɣyuč taɣyult female donkey (jenny)

Souss-Berber local usage[edit]

In Souss (mid-southern Morocco), Berber writers either rarely use the neutral vowel "e", or they use it inconsistently. Elsewhere in the Berber world, the neutral vowel "e" is used to represent the non-phonemic [ə]. Tuareg-Berber uses "ə" for this purpose.

Kabyle-Berber local usages[edit]

In Kabyle-Berber (northeastern Algeria), the affricates /t͡s, d͡z/ have traditionally been notated as ţ, z̧ for over thirty years. However these affricates are uncommon in other dialects (except in Riffian) and they are morphologically conditioned, so for the sake of pan-dialectual legibility the INALCO standard omits them.[11] In Kabyle the affricate [t͡s] may derive from underlying /tt/ or /ss/. In the former case the INALCO standard uses tt, and in the second it uses ss (e.g. yettawi vs. ifessi deriving from the verb fsi).[11]

Unofficial usage (Kabyle)[11]
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": "°" (examples: k°, g°), or simply by using the letter w.[7] ǥ may represent spirantization.[1]

On the internet, it is common to replace the Latinized Greek epsilon and gamma, Ɛɛ and Ɣɣ, with actual Greek letters:[12]

  • "Σ", Greek upper case sigma, since Greek upper case epsilon "Ε" is visually indistinguishable from Latin upper case E
  • "ε", Greek lower case epsilon
  • "Γγ" Greek upper and lower case gamma

Among non-Kabyle Berber writers a numbers of alternative letters are used:

Unofficial / alternative usages
Character INALCO equivalent
Â â Ɛ ɛ
Ġ ġ Ɣ ɣ
Gh gh
dj Ǧ ǧ


There has been a long and fierce debate on whether to use the Latin alphabet, the Tifinagh alphabet, or the Arabic alphabet, as the official alphabet for Berber in Algeria and Morocco, between Berber activists and the anti-Berber establishments, mainly those with Arab-Islamic agendas or orientations. The 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.[13] A small number of them prefer the neo-Tifinagh alphabet. The states of Morocco and Algeria usually distance themselves from Latin-based Berber writing, fearing 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.[14]

In 2003, king Mohammed VI of Morocco approved the Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) Berber Institute's decision of using neo-Tifinagh as the sole official alphabet for the Berber language in Morocco. The IRCAM's decision was met with much disapproval among independent Berber activists and they saw it as a way of neutralizing Berber and preventing it from quick flourishing and development.

Southern-Berber Latin alphabet (Tuareg)[edit]

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 and the consonant P is used only in the Latin alphabet of Southern Berber (Tuareg), not in Northern-Berber. The vowel "O" in Tuareg words mostly corresponds to "U" in Northern Berber words.

36-Letter alphabet for Tuareg-Berber (Tamasheq) as recognized in Mali since 1982
A Ă B D E Ǝ F G Ɣ H I J K L M N Ŋ O Q R S Š T U W X Y Z Ž ʔ
a ă b d e ǝ f g ɣ h i j k l m n ŋ o q r s š t u w x y z ž ɂ
37-Letter Latin alphabet for Tuareg-Berber (Tamasheq), official in Niger since 1999
A Ă Ǝ B C D E F G Ǧ H I J ǰ Ɣ K L M N Ŋ O P Q R S Š T U W X Y Z
a ă ǝ b c d e f g ǧ h i j ǰ ɣ k l m n ŋ o p q r s š t u w x y z

The Malian national literacy program DNAFLA has proposed a standard for the Latin alphabet, which is used with modifications in Karl G. Prasse's Tuareg French Dictionary and the government literacy program in Burkina. In Niger a slightly different system was used. There is also some variation in Tifinagh and in the Arabic script.[15]

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.[16]

In Burkina Faso the emphatics are denoted by "hooked" letters, as in Fula, e.g. ɗ ƭ.[17]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c d Souag (2004)
  2. ^ "Berber-Catalan Wordlist – University of Barcelona, Spain – Guia de Conversa Universitària – Amazic-Català". Retrieved 2010-12-26. 
  3. ^ "La llengua rifenya – Tutlayt Tarifit". University of Barcelona. Retrieved 2011-01-09. 
  4. ^ "Seminario permanente de lengua y cultura Tamazight". Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
  5. ^ Initiation à la langue amazighe", 2004, p.14.
  6. ^ Tira n Tmaziɣt, 1996, p. 6.
  7. ^ a b c Tira n Tmaziɣt, 1996, pp. 8–9.
  8. ^ (French) "L'alphabet Kabyle". Retrieved 2010-03-21. 
  9. ^ a b Tira n Tmaziɣt, 1996, p. 9.
  10. ^ [Examples of local Riffian orthography]
  11. ^ a b c Tira n Tmaziɣt, 1996, pp. 7–8.
  12. ^ (French) "L'alphabet berbère latin". Retrieved 2010-03-21. 
  13. ^ Prof. Salem Chaker of INALCO
  14. ^ "DEBAT : De la graphie arabe pour tamazight ?". Le Matin DZ. August 21, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010. 
  15. ^ Sudlow (2001:33–36)
  16. ^ Sudlow (2001:34)
  17. ^ Sudlow (2001:33)


External links[edit]