Tacawit
Shawiya
Afro-Asiatic
Shawiya (autonymously Tacawit, also Chaouia) is a Northern Berber Zenati language of the Afro-Asiatic family, spoken by around 2 million people in the Aurès Mountains of eastern Algeria (Batna, Khenchela, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa wilayas). The Shawiya, who self-identify as Aurasi or Ichawiyen, are descendants of the historic Aurès Berber tribes who long resisted Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, and Arab conquests. The legendary Berber Queen Kahina (al-Kahina) who led the Aurès resistance against the Umayyad Arab conquest of North Africa in the late 7th century is a Shawiya cultural heroine. Linguistically, Shawiya is closely related to Kabyle (kab) but with distinct palatalization patterns and vocabulary, exemplified by the change of /k/ to /tʃ/ in many positions. The post-2002 Algerian recognition of Tamazight has strengthened Shawiya's institutional status.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Shawiya
Water
aman
/aman/
Fire
times
/times/
Sun
ittij
/itːiʒ/
Moon
ayur
/ajuɾ/
Star
itri
/iθri/
Mother
ima
/ima/
Father
baba
/baba/
I
nec
/nətʃ/
You
cek
/ʃək/
Name
isem
/isəm/
Eye
tiṭ
/titˤ/
Hand
afus
/afus/
Heart
ul
/ul/
Love
tayri
/tajɾi/
Tree
aseklu
/asekːlu/
House
axxam
/axːam/
Dog
aydi
/ajdi/
Cat
mucc
/mutʃː/
Eat
etš
/etʃ/
Drink
su
/su/
One
ijj
/ijː/
Two
sen
/sən/
Hello
azul
/azul/
Thank you
tanmirt
/tanmiɾt/
Good
ighwdha
/iʁʷða/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic languages
| Meaning | Shawiya | Tarifit | Central Atlas Tamazight | Kabyle | Tashelhit | Standard Moroccan Tamazight | Tamasheq (Tuareg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | aman /aman/ | ⴰⵎⴰⵏ /aman/ | ⴰⵎⴰⵏ /aman/ | aman /aman/ | ⴰⵎⴰⵏ /aman/ | ⴰⵎⴰⵏ /aman/ | ⴰⵎⴰⵏ /aman/ |
| Fire | times /times/ | ⵜⵎⵙⵙⵉ /θmesːi/ | ⵜⵉⵎⵙ /times/ | times /timəs/ | ⵜⵉⵎⵙⵉ /timsi/ | ⵜⵉⵎⵙⵙⵉ /timsːi/ | ⵜⵎⵙⵉ /təmsi/ |
| Sun | ittij /itːiʒ/ | ⵜⴼⵓⵢⵜ /θfujθ/ | ⵜⴰⴼⵓⴽⵜ /tafukt/ | iṭij /itˤiʒ/ | ⵜⴰⴼⵓⴽⵜ /tafukt/ | ⵜⴰⴼⵓⴽⵜ /tafukt/ | ⵜⴰⴼⵓⴽ /tafuk/ |
| Moon | ayur /ajuɾ/ | ⴰⵢⵢⵓⵔ /ajːuɾ/ | ⴰⵢⵢⵓⵔ /ajːuɾ/ | aggur /aɡːuɾ/ | ⴰⵢⵢⵓⵔ /ajːuɾ/ | ⴰⵢⵢⵓⵔ /ajːur/ | ⴰⵢⵓⵔ /ajor/ |
| Star | itri /iθri/ | ⵉⵜⵔⵉ /iθri/ | ⵉⵜⵔⵉ /itri/ | itri /itri/ | ⵉⵜⵔⵉ /itri/ | ⵉⵜⵔⵉ /itri/ | ⴰⵜⵔⵉ /atri/ |
| Mother | ima /ima/ | ⵢⵎⵎⴰ /jemːa/ | ⵢⵎⵎⴰ /jemːa/ | yemma /jəmːa/ | ⵉⵎⵎⴰ /imːa/ | ⵉⵎⵎⴰ /imːa/ | ⴰⵏⵏⴰ /anːa/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | ⴱⴰⴱⴰ /baba/ | ⴱⴰⴱⴰ /baba/ | baba /baba/ | ⴱⴰⴱⴰ /baba/ | ⴱⴰⴱⴰ /baba/ | ⴰⴱⴱⴰ /abba/ |
| I | nec /nətʃ/ | ⵏⵜⵛ /nətʃ/ | ⵏⴽⴽ /nəkː/ | nekk /nəkː/ | ⵏⴽⴽⵉ /nəkːi/ | ⵏⴽⴽ /nəkː/ | ⵏⴽⴽ /nækː/ |
| You | cek /ʃək/ | ⵛⴽ /ʃək/ | ⵛⴽⴽ /ʃəkː/ | kečč /kətʃː/ | ⴽⵢⵢⵉ /kəjːi/ | ⴽⵢⵢⵉ /kəjːi/ | ⴽⵢ /kæj/ |
| Name | isem /isəm/ | ⵉⵙⵎ /isəm/ | ⵉⵙⵎ /isəm/ | isem /isəm/ | ⵉⵙⵎ /ism/ | ⵉⵙⵎ /isəm/ | ⴻⵙⵎ /esæm/ |
| Eye | tiṭ /titˤ/ | ⵜⵉⵟ /θitˤ/ | ⵜⵉⵟⵟ /titˤː/ | tiṭ /titˤ/ | ⵜⵉⵟⵟ /titˤː/ | ⵜⵉⵟⵟ /titˤː/ | ⵜⵉⵟⵟ /titˤː/ |
| Hand | afus /afus/ | ⴼⵓⵙ /fus/ | ⴰⴼⵓⵙ /afus/ | afus /afus/ | ⴰⴼⵓⵙ /afus/ | ⴰⴼⵓⵙ /afus/ | ⴰⴼⵓⵙ /afus/ |
| Heart | ul /ul/ | ⵓⵍ /ul/ | ⵓⵍ /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ⵓⵍ /ul/ | ⵓⵍ /ul/ | ⵓⵍ /ul/ |
| Love | tayri /tajɾi/ | ⵜⴰⵢⵔⵉ /tajɾi/ | ⵜⴰⵢⵔⵉ /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | ⵜⴰⵢⵔⵉ /tajɾi/ | ⵜⴰⵢⵔⵉ /tajri/ | ⵜⴰⵔⴰ /tara/ |
| Tree | aseklu /asekːlu/ | ⴰⵙⵖⴰⵔ /asʁaɾ/ | ⴰⵙⴽⵍⵓ /aseklu/ | ttejra /tːəʒɾa/ | ⴰⵙⴽⵍⵓ /aseklu/ | ⴰⵙⴽⵍⵓ /asəklu/ | ⴰⵛⴽ /aʃək/ |
| House | axxam /axːam/ | ⵜⴰⴷⴷⴰⵔⵜ /θadːaɾt/ | ⵜⵉⴳⵎⵎⵉ /tiɡemːi/ | axxam /aχːam/ | ⵜⵉⴳⵎⵎⵉ /tiɡemːi/ | ⵜⵉⴳⵎⵎⵉ /tiɡəmːi/ | ⴻⵀⵏ /ehən/ |
| Dog | aydi /ajdi/ | ⴰⵢⴷⵉ /ajdi/ | ⴰⵢⴷⵉ /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | ⴰⵢⴷⵉ /ajdi/ | ⴰⵢⴷⵉ /ajdi/ | ⴰⵢⴷⵉ /ajdi/ |
| Cat | mucc /mutʃː/ | ⵎⵓⵛⵛ /mutʃː/ | ⴰⵎⵓⵛ /amuʃ/ | amcic /amʃiʃ/ | ⴰⵎⵓⵛ /amuʃ/ | ⴰⵎⵓⵛⵛ /amutʃː/ | ⴰⵎⵓⵛ /amuʃ/ |
| Eat | etš /etʃ/ | ⵜⵛ /etʃ/ | ⵛⵛ /etʃː/ | ečč /ətʃː/ | ⵛⵛ /tʃː/ | ⵛⵛ /ətʃː/ | ⴽⵛ /əkʃ/ |
| Drink | su /su/ | ⵙⵓ /su/ | ⵙⵡ /səw/ | sew /səw/ | ⵙⵙⵓ /sːu/ | ⵙⵓ /su/ | ⵙⵓ /əsu/ |
| One | ijj /ijː/ | ⵉⵊⵊ /ijː/ | ⵢⴰⵏ /jan/ | yiwen /jiwən/ | ⵢⴰⵏ /jan/ | ⵢⴰⵏ /jan/ | ⵉⵢⵏ /ijən/ |
| Two | sen /sən/ | ⵜⵏⴰⵢⵏ /θnajən/ | ⵙⵉⵏ /sin/ | sin /sin/ | ⵙⵉⵏ /sin/ | ⵙⵉⵏ /sin/ | ⵛⵛⵉⵏ /əʃːin/ |
| Hello | azul /azul/ | ⴰⵣⵓⵍ /azul/ | ⴰⵣⵓⵍ /azul/ | azul /azul/ | ⴰⵣⵓⵍ /azul/ | ⴰⵣⵓⵍ /azul/ | ⵎⴰ ⵜⵍⵍⴰ /ma təlːa/ |
| Thank you | tanmirt /tanmiɾt/ | ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵎⵉⵔⵜ /tanəmːiɾt/ | ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵎⵉⵔⵜ /tanmːiɾt/ | tanemmirt /tanəmːiɾt/ | ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵎⵉⵔⵜ /tanmːiɾt/ | ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵎⵉⵔⵜ /tanəmːirt/ | ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵎⵉⵔⵜ /tanəmːiɾt/ |
| Good | ighwdha /iʁʷða/ | ⵛⵏⵎⵓ /ʃenmu/ | ⵉⴼⵓⵍⴽⵉ /ifulki/ | yelha /jəlħa/ | ⵉⴼⵓⵍⴽⵉ /ifulki/ | ⵉⴼⵓⵍⴽⵉ /ifulki/ | ⵉⵀⵓⵙⵙⵏ /ihosːən/ |
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