As the
Massylii, who spoke the language, were ethnically
Berber, it is supposed that Numidian was therefore a
Berber language. The Berber branch of Afro-Asiatic is sometimes called
Libyco-Berber since it is not certain whether Numidian would fall within the modern Berber languages or form a sister branch to them. Some theorize that it constituted a group of its own, as there is no trace of the
noun-case system shared by the modern Berber languages. However,
Proto-Berber is
theorized to have no grammatical case either, which would also imply a later addition of the system. The
Lybico-Berber tifinagh and the
Phoenician alphabet being
abjads without vowels complicates the matter even more. Work on deciphering the language has not been decisive, although especially recently some tried to reconstruct words by comparing Numidian script to proto- and modern Berber languages. Most remaining inscriptions are funerary, and follow the formula of "
X w-Y" (X son of Y). BNS is also an often returning words in this script, which probably meant "tomb of". Many words had an H at the end of them, the function of which is unclear. A few gravestones show a different word between the two personal names, plausibly interpreted as a kinship term based on Berber comparisons:
wlt "daughter (of)" (modern Berber
wəltma meaning "sister" possibly compound of "daughter of mother"), and, more rarely,
mt "mother (of)" (modern Tuareg
ma). Similar to the modern berber languages, the ta-...-t circumfix signified feminine version of the word with a silent h added to the end. In the
Dougga inscriptions some political positions are mentioned, such as "gld" (lord) which based on this technique, can be translated into the modern berber word "a-ǵăllid" which originates from the proto-berber word "
*agăllid". A few verbs have been unambiguously identified in the various inscriptions. Comparison with modern Berber suggests that ṣkn, probably read as "eṣ(ə)k-n based on modern berber comparison which means"built" is to be analysed as ṣk "build" plus -n, marking 3pl subject agreement (
-ən). An example of translation using this method can be demonstrated on a part of a Numidian inscription which is read as "
Msnsn. gldt. w-gjj." "Msnsn" is the name of king
Massinissa while "gldt" is the word for king
. Finally, "w-gjj" means "son of
Gaia". Thus by attempting to translate the Numidian text through modern and proto-Berber the inscription would read "
Massinissa the king, son of Gaia". These facts would strongly suggest that Numidian is a now extinct branch of the
Berber languages, although some linguists believe that Numidian is not an ancestor but an extinct sister branch to the modern surviving Berber languages. As Zenaga was one of the first Berber languages to split off from the Proto-Berber group and thus still possesses many ancient characteristics, along with the Numidian usage of this form, could suggest that in the evolution of Berber languages "ww" turned into "bʷ" and then into "gʷ".
Naming conventions Numidian names generally often followed a complicated, but well documented naming convention of Berber antiquity and medieval times. While this wasn't always the case, this was especially true for nobles or higher leaders. The way it worked was simple: Verb in the 3rd person + personal pronouns as an affix (direct or indirect) in 3rd person plural form (he/she-X-they/of them). For example, the actual name of
Jughurta most likely sounded as "
y-uger-ten" (he who surpasses them), while the name of king
Massinissa (MSNSN in Libyco-Berber) was "
mas-nsen" (their seignor). Much of the
onomastic work on the Numidian language was done by
Salem Chaker, who through his work also help in decoding a few words in the language through dissecting known names.
Proposed words, cognates, and meanings Here is a comparison of the few known Numidian words to modern
Northern Berber languages and the
Tamashek language. Normalized words with vowels added are written in the brackets. Underlined words are based on etymologic or onomastic reconstructions from Numidian names. This comparison suggests that Numidian may be closest to the modern
Northern Berber languages such as the
Zenati languages,
Shilha language, and the
Kabyle language although the modern northern Berber languages have gone through grammatical changes, and they have also taken loanwords from Arabic, Latin, and French. Kabyle may be the closest to Numidian, but has absorbed loanwords and phrases from the other languages mentioned. According to many linguists the H at the end of many numidian words were either silent or disappeared by modern times, or that in many cases such as MSWH or MWSNH was possibly used as a replacement for, or possibly was the ancestor of the modern berber
ɣ sound. == Thugga inscription ==