ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ
Central Atlas Tamazight
Afro-Asiatic (Berber, Atlas)
Also known as: Central Atlas Tamazight, Tamazight
Central Atlas Tamazight is the central pillar of Moroccan Berber/Amazigh languages alongside Tashelhit (south) and Tarifit (north), with ~4.5M speakers in the Middle Atlas mountains. Co-official Amazigh language of Morocco since the 2011 constitutional reform. Used in education and Moroccan state TV channel TamazightTV (2010). Tifinagh script (revived as the official Amazigh script in 2003) coexists with Arabic and Latin orthographies. Notable verbal prefix-conjugation system retaining Proto-Berber forms; SVO/VSO flexibility.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Central Atlas Tamazight
Water
aman
/aman/
Fire
times
/times/
Sun
tafukt
/tafukt/
Moon
ayyur
/ajːuɾ/
Mother
yemma
/jemːa/
Father
baba
/baba/
Eat
ečč
/etʃː/
Drink
sew
/səw/
Love
tayri
/tajɾi/
Heart
ul
/ul/
Tree
aseklu
/aseklu/
House
tigemmi
/tiɡemːi/
Dog
aydi
/ajdi/
Cat
amuš
/amuʃ/
Hand
afus
/afus/
Eye
tiṭṭ
/titˤː/
Hello
azul
/azul/
Thank you
tanmmirt
/tanmːiɾt/
One
yan
/jan/
Good
ifulki
/ifulki/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Berber, Atlas) languages
| Meaning | Central Atlas Tamazight | Tashelhit | Kabyle | Shawiya | Tarifit | Tamasheq (Tuareg) | Misak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | aman /aman/ | unø /unø/ |
| Fire | times /times/ | timsi /timsi/ | times /timəs/ | times /times/ | thmessi /θmesːi/ | tǝmsi /təmsi/ | nipi /nipi/ |
| Sun | tafukt /tafukt/ | tafukt /tafukt/ | iṭij /itˤiʒ/ | ittij /itːiʒ/ | dhish /ðiʃ/ | tafuk /tafuk/ | shi /ʃi/ |
| Moon | ayyur /ajːuɾ/ | ayyur /ajːuɾ/ | aggur /aɡːuɾ/ | ayur /ajuɾ/ | ayyur /ajːuɾ/ | ayor /ajor/ | atru /atɾu/ |
| Mother | yemma /jemːa/ | imma /imːa/ | yemma /jəmːa/ | ima /ima/ | yemma /jemːa/ | anna /anːa/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | abba /abba/ | tata /tata/ |
| Eat | ečč /etʃː/ | čč /tʃː/ | ečč /ətʃː/ | etš /etʃ/ | eč /etʃ/ | ekš /əkʃ/ | mɵ /mɵ/ |
| Drink | sew /səw/ | ssu /sːu/ | sew /səw/ | su /su/ | su /su/ | esu /əsu/ | ushi /uʃi/ |
| Love | tayri /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | tayri /tajɾi/ | tara /tara/ | kausrap /kawsɾap/ |
| Heart | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | ul /ul/ | mun /mun/ |
| Tree | aseklu /aseklu/ | aseklu /aseklu/ | ttejra /tːəʒɾa/ | aseklu /asekːlu/ | asɣar /asʁaɾ/ | ašǝk /aʃək/ | yu /ju/ |
| House | tigemmi /tiɡemːi/ | tigemmi /tiɡemːi/ | axxam /aχːam/ | axxam /axːam/ | thaddart /θadːaɾt/ | ehǝn /ehən/ | ya /ja/ |
| Dog | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | aydi /ajdi/ | kuchi /kutʃi/ |
| Cat | amuš /amuʃ/ | amuš /amuʃ/ | amcic /amʃiʃ/ | mucc /mutʃː/ | mucc /mutʃː/ | amuš /amuʃ/ | mishi /miʃi/ |
| Hand | afus /afus/ | afus /afus/ | afus /afus/ | afus /afus/ | fus /fus/ | afus /afus/ | mar /maɾ/ |
| Eye | tiṭṭ /titˤː/ | tiṭṭ /titˤː/ | tiṭ /titˤ/ | tiṭ /titˤ/ | thiṭ /θitˤ/ | tiṭṭ /titˤː/ | kab /kab/ |
| Hello | azul /azul/ | azul /azul/ | azul /azul/ | azul /azul/ | azul /azul/ | mâ təlla /ma təlːa/ | ma'rik /maʔɾik/ |
| Thank you | tanmmirt /tanmːiɾt/ | tanmmirt /tanmːiɾt/ | tanemmirt /tanəmːiɾt/ | tanmirt /tanmiɾt/ | tanəmmirt /tanəmːiɾt/ | tanǝmmirt /tanəmːiɾt/ | payn /pajn/ |
| One | yan /jan/ | yan /jan/ | yiwen /jiwən/ | ijj /ijː/ | ijj /ijː/ | iyǝn /ijən/ | kan /kan/ |
| Good | ifulki /ifulki/ | ifulki /ifulki/ | yelha /jəlħa/ | ighwdha /iʁʷða/ | šenmu /ʃenmu/ | ihossǝn /ihosːən/ | kausrik /kawsɾik/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.