Tifinagh

Neo-Tifinagh, Arabic and French at a store in Morocco

Tifinagh (Berber pronunciation: [tifinaɣ]; also written Tifinaɣ in the Berber Latin alphabet; Neo-Tifinagh: ⵜⵉⴼⵉⵏⴰⵖ; Tuareg Tifinagh: ⵜⴼⵉⵏⵗ or ⵜⴼⵏⵗ) is an abjad script used to write the Berber languages.[1]

A modern alphabetical derivative of the traditional script, known as Neo-Tifinagh, was introduced in the 20th century. A slightly modified version of the traditional script, called Tifinagh Ircam, is used in a number of Moroccan elementary schools in teaching the Berber language to children as well as a number of publications.[2][3]

The word tifinagh is thought to be a Tuareg pun meaning itif ("discovery") nnegh ("our") i.e. our discovery.[4]

Origins

Libyco-Berber
Type
Time period
 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD
Parent systems
Saharan petroglyphs
  • Libyco-Berber
Child systems
 Tifinagh

Tifinagh is believed to have descended from the ancient Libyan (libyque) or Libyco-Berber script, although its exact evolution is unclear.[5] The latter writing system was widely used in antiquity by speakers of Berber languages throughout Africa and on the Canary Islands. It is attested from the 5th century BC to the 3rd century AD. The script's origin is considered by most scholars as being of local origin,[6] some scholars however suggest it is related to the Phoenician alphabet.[7]

There are two known variants: eastern and western. The eastern variant was used in what is now Constantine and the Aurès regions of Algeria and in Tunisia and shows a clear Phoenician influence. It is the best-deciphered variant, due to the discovery of several Numidian bilingual inscriptions in Libyan and Punic (notably at Dougga in Tunisia). 22 letters out of the 24 were deciphered. The western variant is more archaic and shows no Phoenician influence (Février 1964–1965). It was used along the Mediterranean coast from Kabylie to the Canary Islands. It used 13 supplementary letters.[6]

The Libyco-Berber script was a pure abjad; it had no vowels. Gemination was not marked. The writing was usually from the bottom to the top, although right-to-left, and even other orders, were also found. The letters would take different forms when written vertically than when they were written horizontally.[8]

Tuareg Tifinagh

Tifinagh
Entrance to the town of Kidal. The name is written in Tifinagh (ⴾⴸ// Kdl) and Latin script.
Type
Languages Tuareg
Time period
 unknown to present
Parent systems
Child systems
 Neo-Tifinagh

The Libyco-Berber script is used today in the form of Tifinagh to write the Tuareg languages, which belong to the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. Early uses of the script have been found on rock art and in various sepulchres. Among these are the 1,500 year old monumental tomb of the Tuareg queen Tin Hinan, where vestiges of a Tifinagh inscription have been found on one of its walls.[9]

According to M.C.A. MacDonald, the Tuareg are "an entirely oral society in which memory and oral communication perform all the functions which reading and writing have in a literate society… The Tifinagh are used primarily for games and puzzles, short graffiti and brief messages."[5]

Occasionally, the script has been used to write other neighbouring languages such as Tagdal, which belongs to a separate Songhay family.

Orthography

Traditional Tifinagh

Common forms of the letters are illustrated at left, including various ligatures of t and n. Gemination, though phonemic, is not indicated in Tifinagh. The letter t, +, is often combined with a preceding letter to form a ligature. Most of the letters have more than one common form, including mirror-images of the forms shown here.

When the letters l and n are adjacent to themselves or to each other, the second is offset, either by inclining, lowering, raising, or shortening it. For example, since the letter l is a double line, ||, and n a single line, |, the sequence nn may be written |/ to differentiate it from l. Similarly, ln is ||/, nl |//, ll ||//, nnn |/|, etc.

Traditionally, the Tifinagh script does not indicate vowels except word-finally, where a single dot stands for any vowel. In some areas, Arabic vowel diacritics are combined with Tifinagh letters to transcribe vowels, or y, w may be used for long ī and ū.

Neo-Tifinagh

Neo-Tifinagh
Type
Languages Standard Moroccan Berber and other Northern Berber languages
Time period
 1980 to present
Parent systems
Direction Left-to-right
ISO 15924 Tfng, 120
Unicode alias
 Tifinagh
U+2D30–U+2D7F

Neo-Tifinagh is the modern fully alphabetic script developed from earlier forms of Tifinagh. It is written left to right.

Until recently, virtually no books or websites were published in this alphabet, with activists favouring the Latin (or, more rarely, Arabic) scripts for serious use; however, it is extremely popular for symbolic use, with many books and websites written in a different script featuring logos or title pages using Neo-Tifinagh.

In Morocco, use of Neo-Tifinagh was suppressed until recently. The Moroccan state arrested and imprisoned people using this script during the 1980s and 1990s.[10] In 2003, however, the king took a "neutral" position between the claims of Latin script and Arabic script by adopting Neo-Tifinagh; as a result, books are beginning to be published in this script, and it is taught in some schools. However, many independent Berber-language publications are still published using the Berber Latin alphabet. Outside Morocco, it has no official status.

In Algeria, almost all Berber publications use the Berber Latin Alphabet. The Algerian Black Spring was partly caused by the repression of Berber languages.

In Libya, the government of Muammar Gaddafi consistently banned Tifinagh from being used in public contexts such as store displays and banners.[11]

After the Libyan Civil War, the National Transitional Council has shown an openness towards the Berber languages. The rebel Libya TV, based in Qatar, has included the Berber language and the Tifinagh alphabet in some of its programming.[12]

Letters

An IRCAM version of Neo-Tifinagh

The following are the letters and a few ligatures of traditional Tifinagh and Neo-Tifinagh:

UnicodeImageFontTransliterationName
LatinArabicIPA
U+2D30ⴰaا‬æya
U+2D31ⴱbب‬byab
U+2D32ⴲbٻ‬βyab fricative
U+2D33ⴳgگ‬ɡyag
U+2D34ⴴgڲ‬ɣyag fricative
U+2D35ⴵdjج‬d͡ʒBerber Academy yadj
U+2D36ⴶdjج‬d͡ʒyadj
U+2D37ⴷdد‬dyad
U+2D38ⴸdذ‬ðyad fricative
U+2D39ⴹḍض‬dˤyaḍ
U+2D3Aⴺḍظ‬ðˤyaḍ fricative
U+2D3Bⴻeه‬əyey
U+2D3Cⴼfف‬fyaf
U+2D3Dⴽkک‬kyak
U+2D3Eⴾkک‬kTuareg yak
U+2D3Fⴿkک‬xyak fricative
U+2D40ⵀh
b		ھ‬
ب‬		h
b		yah
= Tuareg yab
U+2D41ⵁhھ‬hBerber Academy yah
U+2D42ⵂhھ‬hTuareg yah
U+2D43ⵃḥح‬ħyaḥ
U+2D44ⵄʕ (ɛ)ع‬ʕyaʕ (yaɛ)
U+2D45ⵅkh (x)خ‬χyax
U+2D46ⵆkh (x)خ‬χTuareg yax
U+2D47ⵇqق‬qyaq
U+2D48ⵈqق‬qTuareg yaq
U+2D49ⵉiي‬iyi
U+2D4Aⵊjج‬ʒyaj
U+2D4Bⵋjج‬ʒAhaggar yaj
U+2D4Cⵌẓژ‬ẓTuareg yaẓ
U+2D4Dⵍlل‬lyal
UnicodeImageFontTransliterationName
LatinArabicIPA
U+2D4Eⵎmم‬myam
U+2D4Fⵏnن‬nyan
U+2D50ⵐnyني‬njTuareg yagn
U+2D51ⵑngڭ‬ŋTuareg yang
U+2D52ⵒpپ‬pyap
U+2D53ⵓu
w		و‬
ۉ‬		wyu
= Tuareg yaw
U+2D54ⵔrر‬ryar
U+2D55ⵕṛڕ‬rˤyaṛ
U+2D56ⵖgh (ɣ)غ‬ɣyaɣ
U+2D57ⵗgh (ɣ)غ‬ɣTuareg yaɣ
U+2D58ⵘgh (ɣ)
j		غ‬
ج‬		ɣ
ʒ		Aïr yaɣ
= Adrar yaj
U+2D59ⵙsس‬syas
U+2D5Aⵚṣص‬sˤyaṣ
U+2D5Bⵛsh (š)ش‬ʃyaš
U+2D5Cⵜtت‬tyat
U+2D5Dⵝtت‬θ̱yat fricative
U+2D5Eⵞch (tš)تش‬t͡ʃyatš
U+2D5Fⵟṭط‬tˤyaṭ
U+2D60ⵠvۋ‬vyav
U+2D61ⵡwۉ‬wyaw
U+2D62ⵢyي‬jyay
U+2D63ⵣzز‬zyaz
U+2D64ⵤzز‬zTawellemet yaz
= Harpoon yaz
U+2D65ⵥẓژ‬zˤyaẓ
U+2D66ⵦe eye (APT)
U+2D67ⵧo oyo (APT)
U+2D6F ⵯ+ʷ+ ٗ‬ʷLabio-velarization mark
= Tamatart
≈ <super> 2D61
Digraphs (for which ligatures are possible)
UnicodeImageFontTransliterationName
LatinArabicIPA
U+2D5C U+2D59ⵜⵙtsتس‬t͡syats
U+2D37 U+2D63ⴷⵣdzدز‬d͡zyadz
UnicodeImageFontTransliterationName
LatinArabicIPA
U+2D5C U+2D5Bⵜⵛch (tš)تش‬t͡ʃyatš
U+2D37 U+2D4Aⴷⵊdjدج‬d͡ʒyadj
Color Key
Basic Tifinagh (IRCAM)[13] Extended Tifinagh (IRCAM) Other Tifinagh letters Modern Tuareg letters

Unicode

Tifinagh was added to the Unicode Standard in March 2005, with the release of version 4.1.

The Unicode block range for Tifinagh is U+2D30–U+2D7F:

Tifinagh[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
 0123456789ABCDEF
U+2D3x ⴰ ⴱ ⴲ ⴳ ⴴ ⴵ ⴶ ⴷ ⴸ ⴹ ⴺ ⴻ ⴼ ⴽ ⴾ ⴿ
U+2D4x ⵀ ⵁ ⵂ ⵃ ⵄ ⵅ ⵆ ⵇ ⵈ ⵉ ⵊ ⵋ ⵌ ⵍ ⵎ ⵏ
U+2D5x ⵐ ⵑ ⵒ ⵓ ⵔ ⵕ ⵖ ⵗ ⵘ ⵙ ⵚ ⵛ ⵜ ⵝ ⵞ ⵟ
U+2D6x ⵠ ⵡ ⵢ ⵣ ⵤ ⵥ ⵦ ⵧ ⵯ
U+2D7x ⵰   ⵿  
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 11.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

References

  1. ↑ To a limited extent: See Interview Archived 2008-05-03 at the Wayback Machine. with Karl-G. Prasse and Penchoen (1973:3)
  2. ↑ "Institut Royal de la Culture Amazighe" (in French). Ircam.ma. Archived from the original on 2008-04-25. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  3. ↑ "Institut Royal de la Culture Amazighe". Ircam.ma. Archived from the original on 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  4. ↑ Oulhaj, Lahcen (2000). Grammaire du tamazight: eléments pour une standardisation (in French). Center Tarik ibn Zyad pour les études et la recherche. p. 16.
  5. 1 2 M.C.A. MacDonald (2005). Elizabeth A. Slater, C.B. Mee and Piotr Bienkowski, ed. Writing and Ancient Near East Society: Essays in Honor of Alan Millard. T.& T.Clark Ltd. p. 60. ISBN 9780567026910.
  6. 1 2 Achab, Karim (2012-03-15). Internal Structure of Verb Meaning: A Study of Verbs in Tamazight (Berber). Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 9781443838269.
  7. ↑ Suleiman, Yasir (1996). Language and Identity in the Middle East and North Africa. Psychology Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-7007-0410-1.
  8. ↑ "Berber". Ancient Scripts. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  9. ↑ Briggs, L. Cabot (February 1957). "A Review of the Physical Anthropology of the Sahara and Its Prehistoric Implications". Man. 56: 20–23. JSTOR 2793877.
  10. ↑ "Rapport sur le calvaire de l'écriture en Tifinagh au Maroc". Amazighworld.org. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  11. ↑ سلطات الامن الليبية تمنع نشر الملصق الرسمي لمهرجان الزي التقليدي بكباو [Libyan security authorities to prevent the publication of the official poster for the festival traditional costume Pkpau] (in Arabic). TAWALT. 2007.
  12. ↑ "Libya TV – News in Berber". Blip.tv. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  13. ↑ "Polices et Claviers Unicode" (in French). IRCAM. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2012-08-20.

Bibliography

  • Aghali-Zakara, Mohamed (1994). Graphèmes berbères et dilemme de diffusion: Interaction des alphabets latin, ajami et tifinagh. Etudes et Documents Berbères 11, 107-121.
  • Aghali-Zakara, Mohamed; and Drouin, Jeanine (1977). Recherches sur les Tifinaghs- Eléments graphiques et sociolinguistiques. Comptes-rendus du Groupe Linguistique des Etudes Chamito-Sémitiques (GLECS).
  • Ameur, Meftaha (1994). Diversité des transcriptions : pour une notation usuelle et normalisée de la langue berbère. Etudes et Documents Berbères 11, 25–28.
  • Boukous, Ahmed (1997). Situation sociolinguistique de l'Amazigh. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 123, 41–60.
  • Chaker, Salem (1994). Pour une notation usuelle à base Tifinagh. Etudes et Documents Berbères 11, 31–42.
  • Chaker, Salem (1996). Propositions pour la notation usuelle à base latine du berbère. Etudes et Documents Berbères 14, 239–253.
  • Chaker, Salem (1997). La Kabylie: un processus de développement linguistique autonome. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 123, 81–99.
  • Durand, O. (1994). Promotion du berbère : problèmes de standardisation et d'orthographe. Expériences européennes. Etudes et Documents Berbères 11, 7–11.
  • O'Connor, Michael (1996). The Berber scripts. The World's Writing Systems, ed. by William Bright and Peter Daniels, 112–116. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Penchoen, Thomas G. (1973). Tamazight of the Ayt Ndhir. Los Angeles: Undena Publications.
  • Savage, Andrew. 2008. Writing Tuareg – the three script options. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 192: 5–14
  • Souag, Lameen (2004). "Writing Berber Languages: a quick summary". L. Souag. Archived from the original on 2004-12-05. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  • Encyclopaedia of Islam, s.v. Tifinagh.
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