Languages
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The Berber languages form a branch of Afro-Asiatic, and thus descend from the proto-Afro-Asiatic language. Linguist Christopher Ehret specifically suggests identifying the Capsian culture with speakers of languages ancestral to Berber and/or Chadic. It is still disputed which branches of Afro-Asiatic are most closely related to Berber, but most linguists accept at least either Semitic or Chadic as among its closest relatives within the family (see Afro-Asiatic languages.)
There are between 30 and 40 million speakers of Berber languages in Africa (see population estimation), principally concentrated in Morocco, Algeria, to a lesser extent in Mali, Niger, and Libya, and with smaller communities as far east as Egypt and as far south as Burkina Faso.
Their Berber languages form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family comprising many closely related varieties, including Riff, Kabyle and Shilha, with a total of roughly 30 million-40 million speakers. A frequently used generic name for all Berber languages is Tamazight, though this may also be used to refer specifically to Central Morocco Tamazight or Riffian dialects.
Read more about this topic: Berber People
Famous quotes containing the word languages:
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those languages, or we remain mute.”
—J.G. (James Graham)
“No doubt, to a man of sense, travel offers advantages. As many languages as he has, as many friends, as many arts and trades, so many times is he a man. A foreign country is a point of comparison, wherefrom to judge his own.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)