Tarifiyt
Tarifit
Afro-Asiatic (Berber, Northern)
Also known as: Tarifit, Riffian, Berber Rif
Tarifit / Riffian (ⵜⴰⵔⵉⴼⵉⵜ Tarifit, ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ ⵏ ⴰⵔⵉⴼ) is a Northern Berber language spoken by ~5M people in Morocco's mountainous Rif region (Nador, Al Hoceima, Driouch) and in the large North Moroccan diaspora in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany. Co-official as part of Tamazight in Morocco's 2011 constitution. Distinguished from neighboring Tashelhit and Central Atlas Tamazight by spirantization (k → š, t → θ in many varieties), heavy phonological contact with Arabic, and the post-1958 Rif War political legacy of Abd el-Krim's short-lived Republic of the Rif.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Tarifit
Water
aman
/aman/
Fire
thmessi
/θmesːi/
Sun
dhish
/ðiʃ/
Moon
ayyur
/ajːuɾ/
Mother
yemma
/jemːa/
Father
baba
/baba/
Eat
eč
/etʃ/
Drink
su
/su/
Love
tayri
/tajɾi/
Heart
ul
/ul/
Tree
asɣar
/asʁaɾ/
House
thaddart
/θadːaɾt/
Dog
aydi
/ajdi/
Cat
mucc
/mutʃː/
Hand
fus
/fus/
Eye
thiṭ
/θitˤ/
Hello
azul
/azul/
Thank you
tanəmmirt
/tanəmːiɾt/
One
ijj
/ijː/
Good
šenmu
/ʃenmu/
Sources
- Ethnologue: rif
- Lafkioui (2007) Atlas linguistique des variétés berbères du Rif
- El Hannouche (2010) Ghomara Berber: A Sketch Grammar
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Berber, Northern) languages
| Meaning | Tarifit | Shawiya | Central Atlas Tamazight | Tashelhit | Kabyle | Tamasheq (Tuareg) | Daasanach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | no /no/ |
| Fire | thmessi /θmesːi/ | times /times/ | times /times/ | timsi /timsi/ | times /timəs/ | tǝmsi /təmsi/ | mes /mes/ |
| Sun | dhish /ðiʃ/ | ittij /itːiʒ/ | tafukt /tafukt/ | tafukt /tafukt/ | iṭij /itˤiʒ/ | tafuk /tafuk/ | sicho /sitʃo/ |
| Moon | ayyur /ajːuɾ/ | ayur /ajuɾ/ | ayyur /ajːuɾ/ | ayyur /ajːuɾ/ | aggur /aɡːuɾ/ | ayor /ajor/ | mar /mar/ |
| Mother | yemma /jemːa/ | ima /ima/ | yemma /jemːa/ | imma /imːa/ | yemma /jəmːa/ | anna /anːa/ | waana /waːna/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | abba /abba/ | kaaba /kaːba/ |
| Eat | eč /etʃ/ | etš /etʃ/ | ečč /etʃː/ | čč /tʃː/ | ečč /ətʃː/ | ekš /əkʃ/ | icho /itʃo/ |
| Drink | su /su/ | su /su/ | sew /səw/ | ssu /sːu/ | sew /səw/ | esu /əsu/ | ʔurro /ʔuro/ |
| Love | tayri /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | tara /tara/ | kashed /kaʃed/ |
| Heart | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | lubeen /lubeːn/ |
| Tree | asɣar /asʁaɾ/ | aseklu /asekːlu/ | aseklu /aseklu/ | aseklu /aseklu/ | ttejra /tːəʒɾa/ | ašǝk /aʃək/ | hecho /hetʃo/ |
| House | thaddart /θadːaɾt/ | axxam /axːam/ | tigemmi /tiɡemːi/ | tigemmi /tiɡemːi/ | axxam /aχːam/ | ehǝn /ehən/ | mar /maɾ/ |
| Dog | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | kashe /kaʃe/ |
| Cat | mucc /mutʃː/ | mucc /mutʃː/ | amuš /amuʃ/ | amuš /amuʃ/ | amcic /amʃiʃ/ | amuš /amuʃ/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | fus /fus/ | afus /afus/ | afus /afus/ | afus /afus/ | afus /afus/ | afus /afus/ | hark /haɾk/ |
| Eye | thiṭ /θitˤ/ | tiṭ /titˤ/ | tiṭṭ /titˤː/ | tiṭṭ /titˤː/ | tiṭ /titˤ/ | tiṭṭ /titˤː/ | ill /ilː/ |
| Hello | azul /azul/ | azul /azul/ | azul /azul/ | azul /azul/ | azul /azul/ | mâ təlla /ma təlːa/ | nagaya /naɡaja/ |
| Thank you | tanəmmirt /tanəmːiɾt/ | tanmirt /tanmiɾt/ | tanmmirt /tanmːiɾt/ | tanmmirt /tanmːiɾt/ | tanemmirt /tanəmːiɾt/ | tanǝmmirt /tanəmːiɾt/ | galche /ɡaltʃe/ |
| One | ijj /ijː/ | ijj /ijː/ | yan /jan/ | yan /jan/ | yiwen /jiwən/ | iyǝn /ijən/ | takka /takːa/ |
| Good | šenmu /ʃenmu/ | ighwdha /iʁʷða/ | ifulki /ifulki/ | ifulki /ifulki/ | yelha /jəlħa/ | ihossǝn /ihosːən/ | ash /aʃ/ |
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