Berber Spring the Berber language is now a national language of Algeria. However, this is still distinct from Arabic, which remains the official language, and many other points of contention remain. Since January 2011 massive Berber activism re-emerged in North Africa in the wake of the Tunisian revolution and the overthrow of the Tunisian president Ben Ali, in what Berbers sometimes call the Berber-Arab Spring. This time, Berber activists were much more active and vocal on the streets of Morocco and Libya compared to Algeria. In Libya, Berber rebels helped topple Gaddafi, as the offensive that captured Tripoli and greatly helped end
Berber languages European languages distinguish between the words "Berber" and "barbarian", while Arabic has the same word "al-Barbari" for both meanings. Some other Berber writers, especially in Morocco, prefer to refer to Berber with "Amazigh" when writing about it in French or English. Traditionally, the term "Tamazight" (in various forms: "Thamazighth", "Tamasheq", "Tamajaq", "Tamahaq") was used by many Berber groups to refer to the language they spoke, including the Middle Atlas, the Riffians, the Sened in Tunisia and the Tuareg. However, other terms were used by other groups; for instance, some Berber populations of Algeria called their language "Taznatit" (Zenati) or "Shelha",