Shawiya language

For the region in Morocco, see Chaouia (Morocco).
Shawiya
Chaouïa
Tacawit
Pronunciation [θʃawɪθ]
Native to Algeria
Region Aurès Mountains ( Batna, Khenchela, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa)
Native speakers
1.4 million (1993)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 shy
Glottolog tach1249[2]

Geographic distribution of Shawiya dialects in northeastern Algeria

Shawiya Berber, also spelled Chaouïa (native form: Tacawit [θaʃawiθ]), is a major Algerian Zenati variety of the Berber language. Shawiya Berber is spoken by the Shawia people of the Aurès Mountains of eastern Algeria and surrounding areas including Batna, Khenchela, Sétif, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa and the north part of Biskra.

The Shawia people call their language, also known as Numidian Berber, Tacawit (IPA: [θʃawɪθ] or [hʃawɪθ]). Estimates of number of speakers range from 1.4 to 3 million speakers.[1][3]

The French spelling of Chaouïa is commonly seen, due to the influence of French conventions on Algeria. Other spellings are "Chaoui", "Shawia", "Tachawit", "Thachawith", "Tachaouith", and "Thchèwith". In Shawiya, the leading /t/ - pronounced [θ] in that phonetic environment - is often reduced to an /h/, so the native name is often heard as Hašawiθ.

Shawiya Berber was, until recently, an unwritten language and rarely taught at school. As the Shawiya people were predominantly rural and secluded, they often code-switch to Algerian Arabic, French or even English to discuss non-traditional technology and sociological concerns.

Recently the Shawiya language, together with Kabylian Berber, has begun to achieve some cultural and media prominence thanks to the Berber cultural and political movements in Algeria, and to the introduction of Berber language education in some public schools.

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 Shawiya at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Tachawit". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

External links

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