With the exception of Zenaga, Tetserret, and Tuareg, the Berber languages form a
dialect continuum. Different linguists take different approaches towards drawing boundaries between languages in this continuum.
Maarten Kossmann notes that it is difficult to apply the classic
tree model of historical linguistics towards the Berber languages, citing various areal features that cut through his classifications:[The Berber language family]'s continuous history of convergence and differentiation along new lines makes any definition of branches arbitrary. Moreover, mutual intelligibility and mutual influence render notions such as "split" or "branching" rather difficult to apply except, maybe, in the case of Zenaga and Tuareg. Kossmann roughly groups the Berber languages into seven blocks: Otherwise, subclassifications by different linguists typically combine various blocks into different branches. Western Moroccan languages, Zenati languages, Kabyle, and sometimes Ghadamès may be grouped under
Northern Berber; Awjila is often included as an Eastern Berber language alongside Siwa, Sokna, and El Foqaha, and sometimes Ghadamès. These approaches divide the Berber languages into Northern, Southern (Tuareg), Eastern, and Western varieties. for Libya) make claims about population backed up neither by data nor by academic reputation. --> The vast majority of speakers of Berber languages are concentrated in Morocco and Algeria. The exact population of speakers has been historically difficult to ascertain due to lack of official recognition.
Morocco Morocco is the country with the greatest number of speakers of Berber languages. As of 2022, Ethnologue estimates there to be 13.8 million speakers of Berber languages in Morocco, based on figures from 2016 and 2017. At the beginning of colonialism in Morocco, Berber speakers were estimated at 40-45% of the Moroccan population. In 1960, the first census after Moroccan independence was held. It claimed that 32 percent of Moroccans spoke a Berber language, including bi-, tri- and quadrilingual people. The
2004 census found that 3,894,805 Moroccans over five years of age spoke Tashelhit, 2,343,937 spoke Central Atlas Tamazight, and 1,270,986 spoke Tarifit, representing 14.6%, 8.8%, and 4.8% respectively of the surveyed population, or roughly 28.2% of the surveyed population combined. The
2014 census found that 14.1% of the population spoke Tashelhit, 7.9% spoke Central Atlas Tamazight, and 4% spoke Tarifit, or about 26% of the population combined. The
2024 census found that 14.2% of the population spoke Tashelhit, 7.4% spoke Central Atlas Tamazight, and 3.2% spoke Tarifit, which represents 24.8% of the population. These estimates, as well as the estimates from various academic sources, are summarized as follows:
Algeria and
Shawiya languages in the central-eastern part of Algeria|leftAlgeria is the country with the second greatest number of speakers of Berber languages. Secondary sources disagree on the percentage of self-declared native Berber speakers in the 1966 census, the last Algerian census containing a question about the mother tongue. Some give 17.9% while other report 19%. in the central-western part of Algeria|left
Kabyle speakers account for the vast majority of speakers of Berber languages in Algeria.
Shawiya is the second most commonly spoken Berber language in Algeria. Other Berber languages spoken in Algeria include:
Shenwa, with 76,300 speakers; Tashelhit, with 6,000 speakers;
Ouargli, with 20,000 speakers;
Tamahaq, with 71,400 speakers;
Tugurt, with 8,100 speakers;
Tidikelt, with 1,000 speakers;
Gurara, with 11,000 speakers; and
Mozabite, with 150,000 speakers. Population estimates are summarized as follows:
Other countries As of 1998, there were an estimated 450,000
Tawellemmet speakers, 250,000
Air Tamajeq speakers, and 20,000 Tamahaq speakers in
Niger. As of 2018 and 2014 respectively, there were an estimated 420,000 speakers of Tawellemmet and 378,000 of Tamasheq in
Mali. As of 2022, based on figures from 2020,
Ethnologue estimates there to be 285,890 speakers of Berber languages in
Libya: 247,000 speakers of
Nafusi, 22,800 speakers of Tamahaq, 13,400 speakers of
Ghadamés, and 2,690 speakers of
Awjila. The number of
Siwi speakers in Libya is listed as negligible, and the last
Sokna speaker is thought to have died in the 1950s. There are an estimated 50,000
Djerbi speakers in
Tunisia, based on figures from 2004.
Sened is likely extinct, with the last speaker having died in the 1970s. Ghadamés, though not indigenous to Tunisia, is estimated to have 3,100 speakers throughout the country. Chenini is one of the rare remaining Berber-speaking villages in Tunisia. There are an estimated 20,000 Siwi speakers in
Egypt, based on figures from 2013. As of 2018 and 2017 respectively, there were an estimated 200 speakers of
Zenaga and 117,000 of
Tamasheq in
Mauritania. As of 2009, there were an estimated 122,000 Tamasheq speakers in Burkina Faso. There are an estimated 1.5 million speakers of various Berber languages in France. A small number of Tawellemmet speakers live in Nigeria. In total, there are an estimated 3.6 million speakers of Berber languages in countries outside of Morocco and Algeria, summarized as follows: ==Status==