The Amazigh community hopes that the Moroccan king's promises of reforms will translate into official recognition of their language. For years, Morocco’s Amazigh community pressed for the consitutionalisation of the Amazigh language. King Mohammed VI’s pledge to implement comprehensive reforms instilled hope that their dream might soon come true. In his March 9th speech, the Moroccan sovereign emphasised “the rich, variegated... 

Tamazight in Moroccan media Nobody can deny the fact that the majority of mass media are the most important and the most dependable for the authorities of Morocco. They have a leading role as they officially reflect the political and cultural opinion of the kingdom. About a decade ago, these mass media defended the opposite opinion of what they are supporting now. Tamazight language is, in the eye of Moroccan mass media, a mere dialect with no prestige.... 

UNESCO A group of experts working for UNESCO have just finished a study dealing with the issue of the longevity of languages of the world. The study revealed an astonishing truth. Of the estimated 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, linguists say, nearly half are in danger of extinction and likely to disappear in this century. In fact, one falls out of use about every two weeks. It was in 1987 that UNESCO initiated an international programme,... 

The etymology of the word "Berber"? For some people, the origin of the word “Berber”? would be Greek; their argument rely on the fact that the Greeks called people who spoke a language other than Greek “the Barbarians”?. For the Arabs, the above word would be borrowed from Arabic, since in this language there is the verb “Barbara”? (to roar) and “Al-barbarah”? (“roar”? and by extension,... 

Towards a Unified, Common and Standard Amazigh Language For many decades, we witnessed, especially in the Amazighophone circles, rational consciousness raising whose consequences are promoting, normalizing, standardizing and unifying Amazigh language, one of the old languages that has been living for several millennia. As far as can be traced back in the field of Amazigh studies, the theory of the Amazigh language has always been brought to the fore.... 

tifinagh An international colloquium on Tifinagh, the earliest alphabet used to transcribe the Amazigh language, took place on Thursday (March 22nd) in Algiers. Organized by the High Commission for Amazigh (HCA), the conference was attended by distinguished social science experts from Niger, Morocco, Tunisia and France. Those in attendance deliberated the alphabet’s use and how best to preserve it as a part of the Berber people’s cultural... 

Tifinagh It is so astonishing that Imazighen possess, along their history, an alphabet “TIFINAGH”, didn’t write in their own language “Tamazight”, Only some inscriptions, some texts from the medieval ages, some poems and some religious writings. The Burghwatians have well translated Coran from Arabic to Amazigh language, but this text was very limited and then disappeared. Along their history, Imazighen neglected... 

Institute of Tamazight Studies The Institute of Tamazight Studies (ITS) is a Not-for-Profit research institute that represents a proper educational body that can characterise a research resource to intellectuals and/or leaders who are involved in the Tamazight social, political, educational, cultural and/or academic affairs. The ITS aims to deliver high quality postgraduate research in various subjects via the WWW cyberspace using e-Learning based... 

Amazigh Flag At the beginning of the Berber (Amazigh) civilisation, there is a people, then there are the words, then the pictures of animals and other means of living things, facts of early lives drawn on cave walls several thousands of years B.C Many of those rocking engravings exist on several prehistoric landmarks. throughout the North-West of Africa, the Amazigh land, Tamazgha that covers a vast and mountainous land and desert from Canaries Islands...