Sanhaja de Srair language

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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 toMorocco
RegionRif
EthnicityBerbers
Native speakers
86,000 (2014 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3sjs
Glottologsenh1238
ELPSenhaja 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

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Besides Senhaja de Srair, there are also several names such as Senhajiyya, Chelha, Chelha n Jbala, Tajeblit, Tamazight n Jbala, Tasenhajit.[4]

Dialects

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Dialects of Senhaja Berber are Beni Ahmed, Beni Bechir, Beni Buensar, Beni Jennus, Beni Mesdui, Beni Seddat, Ketama, Sarcat, and Tagsut[3]

Writing System

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Senhaja 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

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Based on the Leipzig–Jakarta list, 17% of the vocabulary in Senhaja de Srair is borrowed.[4]

Consonants

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Following 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

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There 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

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  1. ^ Sanhaja de Srair at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
  2. ^ a b Lameen Souag, 2004: "Senhaja de Srair is not Zenati, but rather Atlas, belonging (despite location) with Middle Atlas Tamazight."
  3. ^ a b "Senhaja Berber". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  4. ^ a b c d e Gutova, Evgeniya (26 April 2022). "Senhaja Berber Varieties : phonology, Morphology, and Morphosyntax". Retrieved 7 February 2023.


Bibliography

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  • 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.