Senhaja de Srair ("Senhaja of Srair") is a Northern Berber language. It is spoken by the Sanhaja Berbers inhabiting the central part of the Moroccan Rif. It is spoken in the Ketama area west of the Tarifit speaking area in eastern Rif.
| Sanhaja de Srair | |
|---|---|
| Senhaja de Srair | |
| Chelha, Tasenhajit or Tamazight | |
| Native to | Morocco |
| Region | Rif |
| Ethnicity | Berbers |
Native speakers | 86,000 (2014 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sjs |
| Glottolog | senh1238 |
| ELP | Senhaja de Srair |
 | |
Despite its speech area, the Sanhaja language belongs to the Atlas branch of Berber.[2] It has also been influenced by the neighbouring Riffian language.[3]
Name of the language
editBesides Senhaja de Srair, there are also several names such as Senhajiyya, Chelha, Chelha n Jbala, Tajeblit, Tamazight n Jbala, Tasenhajit.[4]
Dialects
editDialects of Senhaja Berber are Beni Ahmed, Beni Bechir, Beni Buensar, Beni Jennus, Beni Mesdui, Beni Seddat, Ketama, Sarcat, and Tagsut[3]
Writing System
editSenhaja de Srair speakers are not used to write in their language. Unlike some other Berber languages, Tifinagh script is never used in Senhaja de Srair. If the language is written, especially in the case on Computer-mediated communication, Latin script is the most considered one, numbers are sometimes (but not consistently) used to represent some sounds: [4]
| 2 = ’ = ء | 6 = ṭ = ط |
| 3 = ɛ = ع | 7 = ḥ = ح |
| 4~8 = ġ = غ | 9 = q = ق |
| 5 = ḫ = خ |
Arabic influences
editBased on the Leipzig–Jakarta list, 17% of the vocabulary in Senhaja de Srair is borrowed.[4]
Consonants
editFollowing shows the oppositions in the consonantal system:[4]
| Voice | Voiced vs. voiceless consonants |
| Length | Short vs. long consonants |
| Pharyngealization | Non-pharyngealized vs. pharyngealized consonants |
| Spirantization | Stops vs. fricatives (spirantized consonants) |
| Assibilation | t vs. ț |
| Labialization |
Vowels
editThere are three peripheral vowels (a, i, u) and a central vowel, schwa [ə], written as e. The vowel a is usually realized as [æ], i as [ɪ], u as [u], e as [ə].
Following shows the Senhaja vowel system: [4]
| Front | Mid | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | ə | ||
| Open | a |
References
edit- ^ Sanhaja de Srair at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ a b Lameen Souag, 2004: "Senhaja de Srair is not Zenati, but rather Atlas, belonging (despite location) with Middle Atlas Tamazight."
- ^ a b "Senhaja Berber". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
- ^ a b c d e Gutova, Evgeniya (26 April 2022). "Senhaja Berber Varieties : phonology, Morphology, and Morphosyntax". Retrieved 7 February 2023.
Bibliography
edit- Peter Behnstedt, "La frontera entre el bereber y el árabe en el Rif", Estudios de dialectología norteafricana y andalusí vol. 6, 2002.
- Esteban Ibañez, Diccionario español-senhayi (dialecto beraber de Senhaya de Srair), 1959.
- Mena Lafkiou, Atlas linguistique des variétés berbères du Rif (Berber Studies vol.15), 2007.
- A. Renisio, Études sur les dialectes berbères des Beni Iznassen, du Rif et des Senhaja de Sraïr. Grammaire, textes et lexique. PIHEM, vol. 12. Paris 1932.
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