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Abstract:
Although Berber is known to be the indigenous language of the populations of North Africa for over thirty centuries, it has never been promoted to the status of a standard language, let alone that of an official language of any of the states where it is traditionally spoken as a mother tongue. Since the late 1960s, a revival movement has been striving for official recognition of Berber. Some recent events in Morocco and Algeria serve as proof of a limited success of this movement; but as a result of growing urbanization, education (mainly in Arabic and French), and emigration inside and outside Morocco, the threat of a massive language shift is greater than ever. This paper explores the paradoxical constructs of ethnic identity and linguistic identity in Morocco and Algeria, and highlights their role in the revival movement. In the light of these constructs, it deals with (i) the factors that energize the revival movement, (ii) the factors that impede the official recognition of Berber and its standardization, and finally (iii) the prospects for the survival of Berber.
Keywords: Berber, North Africa, ethnic identity, linguistic identity, Marocco, Algeria.
This paper is an attempt to analyze the situation of Berber in Morocco and Algeria, with particular emphasis on the construct of a Berber identity, its goals, claims, philosophy, and prospects. The issue whether the Berber identity is founded on purely linguistic claims or also on extralinguistic ones, like ethnicity and culture, will be explored. The paper addresses the following questions: l)Why is there an increase in the revival movement for a Berber identity in recent years? What is the nature of the relationship between Berber, Arabic, and Islam? What are the chances for the official recognition of Berber? The attribute Amazigh will substitute for Berber when we refer to the language in general, disregarding the regional variants. The terminology for regional variants will follow the custom as found in the relevant literature; i.e., attributes like Tarifit, Taqbaylit, and Tashelhit will be used when warranted. For references to the people themselves, the plural form Imazighen will be used.
This change in attributes is an attempt to meet the demands of Amazigh audiences who insist on using the indigenous terminology, instead of the external appellation 'Berber'....