Berber languages evidence from medieval Berber manuscripts that all indigenous North Africans from Libya to Morocco have at some point called their language "Tamaziɣt". The name "Tamaziɣt" is currently being used increasingly by educated Berbers to refer to the written Berber language, and even to Berber as a whole, including Tuareg. In 2001, Berber became a constitutional national language of Algeria, and in 2011 Berber became a constitutionally official language of Morocco. In 2016, Berber became a constitutionally official language of Algeria alongside Arabic. The term "Berber" has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century and is still used
Proto-Berber language the use of a lingua franca which became Proto-Berber. Reconstructions of the ancient stages of this language are based on comparisons with other Afro-Asiatic languages in various stages and on the comparisons between the varieties of modern Berber languages or with Touareg, considered by some authors like Prasse to be the variety that best preserved proto-Berber. Some authors have criticised the reconstructed Proto-Berber phonological systems as being too close to those of modern Berber varieties because the common elements derived from the comparisons project modern phonology onto the Proto-Berber stage. Some earlier attempts to derive the phonemic inventory of Proto-Berber