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Kabyle
Taqbaylit (help·info)
Spoken in: Algeria; immigrant communities in France, Belgium and elsewhere 
Region: Kabylie (Provinces of Tizi Ouzou, Bejaia, Bouira, Boumerdes, Sétif, BBA, and parts of Jijel)
Total speakers: 4,123,000 (1995) [1]—5. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those This article focuses on the region in Algeria For the ethnic group see Kabyle people. A province is a territorial unit almost always an Administrative division. Tizi Ouzou ( Kabyle: Tizi Wezzu) is a province in Algeria, named after its capital. Béjaïa (بجاية Kabyle: Bgayet) is a province of Algeria. Bouïra ( Arabic: ولاية البويرة, Berber: Tubiret) is a province in Algeria. Boumerdès ( Arabic: ولاية بومرداس, Berber: Bumerdas) is a province of northern Algeria, between Algiers Sétif Province (ولاية سطيف is a province in north-eastern Algeria. Bordj Bou Arréridj ( ولاية برج بوعريريج) is a province and in the east Algeria around 200 km away from the capital Algiers. Jijel ( ولاية جيجل) is a province in Algeria in the eastern Mediterranean cost 5 millions in Algeria, about 8 millions worldwide [2] [3]
Language family: Afro-Asiatic
 Berber
  Northern
   Kabyle 
Writing system: Berber Latin alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: kab
ISO 639-3: kab 
Kabyle-speaking areas (in 1936)
Kabyle-speaking areas (in 1936)
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa Nomenclature The term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century and is still used today The Northern Berber languages are a language continuum across the Maghreb that form a sub-family within the Berber languages. A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. The Berber Latin alphabet is the version of the Latin alphabet commonly used to write Northern Berber languages. ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's

Kabyle is a Berber language (Kabyle: Ṯaqbayliṯ, Taqbaylit (help·info), pronounced [ˌθæqβæjˈlɪθ]) spoken by the Kabyle people. Nomenclature The term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century and is still used today The Kabyles ( Iqvaylyen or Iqbayliyen in Kabyle, iqβajlijən are a Berber people whose traditional Homeland is highlands of In 1995, there were 7,123,000 speakers worldwide, the majority in Algeria, where there were more than 4,500,000. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's However, according to INALCO estimates, there are 5. The Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO is located in Paris, France 5 million speakers in Algeria and about 7 million worldwide.

Kabyle was (with some exceptions) rarely written before the 20th century; however, in recent years a small but increasing body of literature has been printed. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The originally oral poetry of Si Mohand is particularly notable in this respect. Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken (oral word to Literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word Si Mohand ou-Mhand n At Hmadouch ( Icheraiouen, At Yiraten, about 1848 - Lhammam-Michelet 28 december 1905) was a Berber Famous Kabyle singers include Matoub Lounes, Idir and Ait Menguellet. Lounès Matoub ( Berber Latin: Lwennas Meɛṭub, Tifinagh: ⵍⵡⴻⵏⵏⴰⵙ ⵎⴻⵄⵟⵓⴱ, often credited as Matoub Lounès Idir (b 1949 in Aït Lahcène Algeria real name Hamid Cheriet) is an Algerian Musician. Lounis Aït Menguellet ( 17 January, 1950) was born in Ighil Bouammas in the Djurdjura mountains, near Tizi-Ouzou and is a Berber

Contents

Classification

The classification of Kabyle is Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern. The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa Nomenclature The term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century and is still used today The Northern Berber languages are a language continuum across the Maghreb that form a sub-family within the Berber languages.

Geographic distribution

Kabyle is a Berber language native to Kabylie, it is present in seven Algerian districts. Nomenclature The term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century and is still used today This article focuses on the region in Algeria For the ethnic group see Kabyle people. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's

The populations of Tizi Ouzou, Béjaïa (Bgayet) and Bouira (Tubiret) are in majority Kabyle-speaking. Tizi Ouzou (in Kabyle: Tizi Uzzu in Latin script, in Tifinagh) is a city in Kabylia, Algeria, where it ranks second it Béjaïa or Bougie ( Kabyle Bgayet or Tifinagh:, pronounced /β'gajəθ in Algerian Arabic) is a Mediterranean port Bouïra (البويرة Kabyle: Tubiret) is the capital of Bouïra Province, Algeria. Kabyle is majority language in Bordj Bou Arreridj, Sétif and a minority language in Boumerdes and Jijel where it coexists with Algerian Arabic. Bordj Bou Arréridj (برج بوعريريج population 140000 ( 2005 estimate is a city in Bordj Bou Arréridj Province, Algeria. Sétif (سطيف Kabyle: Sṭif; formerly Sitifis Colonia) is a town in northeastern Algeria. Boumerdès ( Arabic: بومرداس; Kabyle:) is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. Jijel (formerly known as Djidjelli, Gigeri or Gigery) is the capital of Jijel Province in northeastern Algeria. Algerian Arabic is the variety or varieties of Arabic spoken in Algeria.

Kabyle is also spoken as a mother tongue among the Kabyle diaspora in Algerian and European cities (mainly France). This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. It is estimated that half of Kabyles live outside Kabylie.

Official status

Berber languages have no official status in Algeria. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's Kabyle faces an unfavourable environment in this nation, although there exists a public radio (Channel II, which dates back to the Algerian revolution), and some TV news reports on the unique Algerian TV channel. The Algerian War ( French: Guerre d'Algérie; 1954-1962 also known as Algerian War of Independence, led to Algeria 's independence from Since private ownership of TV channels is illegal in Algeria, Kabyles have launched a private Kabyle speaking TV channel that broadcasts from Paris, France (Berbère Télévision).

In 1994, Kabyle pupils and students boycotted Algerian schools for a year, demanding for the officialization of Berber, leading to the symbolic creation of the "Haut Commissariat à l'Amazighité" (HCA) in 1995. Berber languages were subsequently taught as a non-compulsory language in Berber speaking areas.

After the tragic events of the Black Spring in 2001, The Kabyle population organized itself under the label of the Arouch. The Black Spring ( Kabyle: Tafsut taberkant was a series of violent disturbances and political demonstrations by Kabyle Berber activists in the Kabylie The Arouch Movement, Berber Arouch Citizen's Movement, or simply Arouch, is an organization representing Algerian Berbers. One of their main goals was to officially recognize Berber. President Bouteflika said "Berber will never be an official language, and if it has to be a national language, it has to be submitted to a referendum," [1] however he had to submit to the pressure of the Black spring and recognize Berber as a "national language" without a referendum. Abdelaziz Bouteflika (abdəlazɪz butəflika ( عبد العزيز بوتفليقة) (born March 2 1937 in Oujda, Morocco) has been the President

In 2005, Bouteflika contradicted himself about the Berber issue, saying that "there is no country in the world that has two official languages" and that "this will never be the case of Algeria". Abdelaziz Bouteflika (abdəlazɪz butəflika ( عبد العزيز بوتفليقة) (born March 2 1937 in Oujda, Morocco) has been the President [2]

Varieties

From west to east, some linguists distinguish four zones characterized by three distinct—but mutually intelligible—pronunciations in the following regions: At the west of Tizi Ghenif, Kabylie of the Djurdjura, Soummam valley and the zone starting from Bejaïa to the east.

Phonology

The phonemes below reflect the pronunciation of Kabyle.

Vowels

Kabyle language has four vowels: (e is not considered to be a true vowel, it just makes the reading easier)

Historically, schwa (e) is thought to be the result of a pan-Berber reduction or merger of three other vowels. The phonetic realization of the vowels, especially /a/, is influenced by the character of the surrounding consonants; emphatic consonants invite a more open realization of the vowel, e. g. aẓru = [az̴ru] 'stone' vs. amud = [æmud] 'seed'.

Consonants

Kabyle consonant phonemes
  Bilabial Labio-
dental		 Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar		 Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
 Plain  Lab.  Plain  Emph.  Plain  Emph.  Plain  Emph.  Plain  Lab.  Plain  Lab.  Plain  Lab.
Stops and affricates voiceless       t [t] ṭ [tˁ] tt [ts]   č [tʃ]       k [k] k [kʷ] q [q] q [qʷ]    
voiced b [b] b [bʷ]   d [d]   zz [dz]   ǧ [dʒ]       g [g] g [gʷ]        
Fricatives voiceless   f [f] t [θ]   s [s] ṣ [sˁ] c [ʃ] c [ʃˁ] k [ç] k [çʷ]     x [χ] x [χʷ] ḥ [ħ] h [h]
voiced b [β]     d [ð] ḍ [ðˁ] z [z] ẓ [zˁ] j [ʒ] j [ʒˁ] g [ʝ] g [ʝʷ]     ɣ [ʁ] ɣ [ʁʷ] ɛ [ʕ]  
Nasals m [m]     n [n]                          
Laterals       l [l] l [ɫ]                        
Trills       r [r] r [rˁ]                        
Approximants                   y [j]     w [w]      

Assimilation

Inside the Kabyle language there are various accents which are the result of assimilations (these accents are generally divided into western and eastern Kabyle). In Phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a Consonant articulated with both Lips The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet In Phonetics, labiodentals are Consonants articulated with the lower Lip and the upper Teeth. In Linguistics, a dental consonant or dental is a Consonant that is articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth such as /t/ /d/ /n/ and Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Postalveolar consonants are Consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the Alveolar ridge, placing them a bit further back in the Palatal consonants are Consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the Hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth Uvulars are Consonants articulated with the back of the Tongue against or near the uvula, that is further back in the mouth than Velar consonants A pharyngeal consonant is a type of Consonant which is articulated with the root of the Tongue against the Pharynx. Glottal consonants are Consonants articulated with the Glottis. "Lip rounding" redirects here See Roundedness for the lip rounding of vowels Pharyngealization is a Secondary articulation of Consonants or Vowels by which the Pharynx or Epiglottis is constricted during the articulation Pharyngealization is a Secondary articulation of Consonants or Vowels by which the Pharynx or Epiglottis is constricted during the articulation Pharyngealization is a Secondary articulation of Consonants or Vowels by which the Pharynx or Epiglottis is constricted during the articulation "Lip rounding" redirects here See Roundedness for the lip rounding of vowels "Lip rounding" redirects here See Roundedness for the lip rounding of vowels "Lip rounding" redirects here See Roundedness for the lip rounding of vowels A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the Laterals are "L"-like Consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both In Phonetics, a trill is a Consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the Place of articulation. Approximants are speech sounds ( Phonemes) that could be regarded as intermediate between Vowels and typical Consonants In the articulation of approximants Some of these assimilations are present among all Kabyle "dialects" and some not. These assimilations are not noted in writing, such as:

Gemination affects the quality of certain consonants, turning fricatives into stops; in particular, geminated ɣ becomes qq and y becomes gg. In Phonetics, gemination happens when a spoken Consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short Consonant. Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together

Fricatives vs Stops

Kabyle is mostly composed of fricatives phonemes which are originally stops in other Berber languages, but in writing there is no difference between fricatives and stops. Below is a list of fricatives vs stops and when they are pronounced (note that gemination turns fricatives into stops). In Phonetics, gemination happens when a spoken Consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short Consonant. Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together

Cononant B D G K T
Fricative /β/ Sound sample (help·info) /ð/ Sound sample (help·info) /ʝ/ Sound sample (help·info) /ç/ Sound sample (help·info) /θ/ Sound sample (help·info)
Stop /b/ /d/ /g/ /k/ /t/
Is a stop after m l,n b,j,r,z,ɛ f,b,s,l,r,n,ḥ,c,ɛ l,n
Is a stop in the words (and their derivatives) ngeb, ngeḥ, ngeẓwer, angaẓ, ngedwi, nages,ngedwal

Writing system

Main article: Kabyle alphabet
A trilingual sign in Algeria, written in Arabic, Kabyle (using Tifinagh), and French.
A trilingual sign in Algeria, written in Arabic, Kabyle (using Tifinagh), and French. The Berber Latin alphabet is the version of the Latin alphabet commonly used to write Northern Berber languages.

The most ancient Berber writings were written in the Libyco-Berber script (Tifinagh). Tifinagh ( in Neo-Tifinagh Tifinaɣ in Berber Latin alphabet, tifinaɣ is an Alphabetic script used by some Africans to write their language Such writings have been found in Kabylie (also known as Kabylia) and continue to be discovered by archeologists. This article focuses on the region in Algeria For the ethnic group see Kabyle people. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos

During the Middle Ages, religious literature in Kabylia was written in the Arabic language, which was sometimes annotated with footnotes in Kabyle using the Arabic script, however, entire texts were not written in Kabyle. This article focuses on the region in Algeria For the ethnic group see Kabyle people. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language A footnote (or bootnote) is a note of text placed at the bottom of a page in a book or document The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing several languages of Asia and Africa such as Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.

During the Ottoman era, the first French-Kabyle dictionary was compiled by a French ethnologist in the 18th century. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A dictionary is a book of alphabetically listed Words in a specific language with definitions etymologies pronunciations and other information or a book of alphabetically This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Ethnology (from the Greek ἔθνος, ethnos meaning "habit custom convention" is the branch of Anthropology that compares and It was written in the Latin script with an orthography based on that of French. The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific Writing system to write the language French Orthography encompasses the Spelling and Punctuation of the French language Other dictionaries were edited when the French colonized North Africa, mainly by priests, the pères blancs, who also compiled dictionaries in Algerian Arabic. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan The Missionary Society known as " White Fathers " ( Pères Blancs in French after their dress, is a Roman Catholic Algerian Arabic is the variety or varieties of Arabic spoken in Algeria. They also collected many stories from the local population.

By the beginning of the 20th century, contributions of educated Kabyles in their own language, and written in the Latin script, began appearing―"tamacahutt n wuccen" by Brahim Zellal being an example of this trend.

After the independence of Algeria, some Kabyle activists tried to revive the Libyco-Berber script, which is still in use by the Tuareg. The fertile Coastal plain of North Africa, especially west of Tunisia, is often called the Maghreb (or Maghrib The Tuareg (also Twareg or Touareg, Amazigh: Imuhagh / Itargiyen, besides regional ethnyms are a Nomadic Attempts were made to modernize the writing system by modifying the shape of the letters and by adding vowels, but its use remains limited to logos. A logo ( Greek el λογότυπος = el-Latn logotypos is a graphical element ( Ideogram, Symbol, Emblem, Icon, Sign) Kabyle literature continued to be written in the Latin script. This new version of Tifinagh has been called Neo-Tifinagh and has been adopted as the official script of Berber languages in Morocco. Tifinagh ( in Neo-Tifinagh Tifinaɣ in Berber Latin alphabet, tifinaɣ is an Alphabetic script used by some Africans to write their language Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa

Mouloud Mammeri codified a new orthography for the writing of the Kabyle language which avoided the use of the archaic French orthography. Mouloud Mammeri is a Kabyle Berber writer anthropologist and linguist ( Algeria born in December 28 1917 in Taourirt Mimoune (Ath His script has been adopted by all Berber linguists, the INALCO and the Algerian HCA. The Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO is located in Paris, France It uses diacritics and two letters from the extended Latin alphabet: Čč Ḍḍ Ɛɛ Ǧǧ Ɣɣ Ḥḥ Ṣṣ Ṭṭ Ẓẓ. The grapheme Č (Latin C with Háček) is used in various contexts usually denoting the Voiceless postalveolar affricate Consonant not unlike Ḍ ( minuscule: ḍ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, formed from D with the addition of a dot diacritic. Latin epsilon (majuscule Ɛ, minuscule ɛ) is a letter of the extended Latin alphabet, based on the Lowercase of the Greek letter Ǧ / ǧ ( G with Caron, Unicode code points U+01E6 and U+01E7 is a letter used in several Latin orthographies The letter Ɣ ( minuscule: ɣ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet based on the Greek letter Gamma (γ Ṣ ( minuscule: ṣ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, formed from S with the addition of a dot below the letter Ṭ ( minuscule: ṭ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, formed from T with the addition of a dot below the letter Ẓ ( minuscule: ẓ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, formed from Z with the addition of a dot below the letter

Grammar

Nouns and adjectives

Gender

As an Afro-Asiatic language, Kabyle has only two genders, Masculine and Feminine. The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa In Linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called Noun classes are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words every noun must belong Like most Berber languages, masculine nouns and adjectives generally start with a vowel (a-, i-, u-), while the feminine nouns generally start with t- and end with a -t (there are some exceptions, however). Nomenclature The term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century and is still used today Note that most feminine nouns are in fact feminized versions of masculine nouns.

Examples:

Pluralization

Singular nouns generally start with an a-, and do no have a suffix. Plural nouns generally start with an i- and often have a suffix such as -en. There are three types of plural : external, Internal, mix:

amɣar "an old man" → imɣaren "old men". In Linguistics, broken plurals are a grammatical phenomenon typical in many Semitic languages of the Middle East and Ethiopia in which a singular In Grammar, a suffix (also postfix, ending) is an Affix which is placed at the end of a word
afus → ifasen "hands"
argaz → irgazen "men"
ul → ulawen "hearts"
adrar → idurar "mountain"
amicic "a cat" → imcac "cats"
igenni "sky" → igenwan "skies".
izi → izan "fly"
aẓar → iẓuran "root"

Free and annexed state

As in all Berber languages, Kabyle has two types of states or cases of the noun, organized ergatively: one is unmarked, while the other serves as the subject of a transitive verb and the object of a preposition, among other contexts. In Grammar, the case of a Noun or Pronoun indicates its Grammatical function in a greater Phrase or Clause; such as the The ergative case is the Grammatical case that identifies the subject of a Transitive verb in Ergative-absolutive languages In such languages The former is often called free state, the latter construct state. The construct state of the noun derives from the free state through one of the following rules:

The first involves a vowel alternation, whereby the vowel a become u :

amaziɣ → umaziɣ "Berber"
ameqqran → umeqqran "big"
adrar → udrar "mountain"

The second involves the loss of the initial vowel in the case of some feminine nouns (e is not considered to be a true vowel, it just makes the reading easier):

tamɣart → temɣart "women"
tamdint → temdint "town"
tamurt → tmurt "country"

The third involves the addition of a semi-vowel (w or y) word-initially:

asif → wasif "river"
aḍu → waḍu "wind"
iles → yiles "tongue"
uccen → wuccen "jackal"

Finally, some nouns do not change for free state:

taddart → taddart "village"
tuccent → tuccent "female jackal"

Depending on the role of the noun in the sentence, it takes either its free or annexed state:

After a preposition (at the exception of "ar" and "s"), all nouns take their annexed state:

Verbs

There are three tenses : the Preterite (past), intensive Aorist (present perfect, present continuous, past continuous) and the future (Ad+Aoriste). This article is about the grammatical term To see the article relating to Eschatology and the Book of Revelation, see Preterism. Unlike other Berber languages, the aorist alone is rarely used in Kabyle (In the other languages it is used to express the present).

Verb Preterite ad + aorist Intensive aorist
If (to outdo) ifeɣ ad ifeɣ ttifeɣ
Muqel (to observe) muqleɣ ad muqleɣ ttmuqleɣ
Krez (to plough) kerzeɣ ad kerzeɣ kerrzeɣ
Verb Preterite ad + aorist Intensive aorist
Aru (to write) uriɣ ad aruɣ ttaruɣ

Conjugation

Conjugation in Kabyle is done by adding suffixes (prefixes, postfixes or both). In Linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a Verb, Noun or Adjective from its Principal parts by Inflection These suffixes are static and identical for all tenses (only the theme changes):

Person Singular Plural
1st — (e)ɣ n(e) —
2nd (m) t(e) — (e)ḍ t(e) — (e)m
2nd (f) t(e) — (e)ḍ t(e) — (e)mt
3rd (m) i/y(e) — — (e)n
3rd (f) t(e) — — (e)nt
Person Preterite Negative Preterite Ad+Aorist Intensive Aorist Imperative Intensive Imperative
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st ufgeɣ nufeg ur ufigeɣ ur nufig ad afgeɣ ad nafeg ttafgeɣ nettafeg
2nd (m) tufgeḍ tufgem ur tufigeḍ ur tufigem ad tafgeḍ ad tefgem tettafgeḍ tettafgem afeg afget ttafeg ttafget
2nd (f) tufgeḍ tufgemt ur tufigeḍ ur tufigemt ad tafgeḍ ad tefgemt tettafgeḍ tettafgemt afeg afgemt ttafeg ttafgemt
3rd (m) yufeg ufgen ur yufig ur ufigen ad yafeg ad afgen yettafeg ttafgen
3rd (f) tufeg ufgent ur tufig ur ufigent ad tafeg ad afgent tettafeg ttafgent
Preterite Participle Aorist Participle Intensive Aorist Participle
Positive Negative Positive Negative
yufgen ur nufig ara yafgen yettafeg ur nettafeg

Verb framing

Kabyle is a satellite-framed based language, Kabyle verbs use two particles to show the path of motion:

Examples:

Negation

Kabyle usually expresses negation in two parts, with the particle ur attached to the verb, and one or more negative words that modify the verb or one of its arguments. In Linguistics, the term particle is a word lacking a strict definition but has the function of changing the relation of the parts of the sentence to one another and is therefore In Logic, an argument is a Set of one or more Declarative sentences (or "propositions") known as the Premises along For example, simple verbal negation is expressed by « ur » before the verb and the particle « ara » after the verb:

Other negative words (acemma. . . etc. ) are used in combination with ur to express more complex types of negation.

Verb derivation

Verb derivation is done by adding suffixes. There are three types of derivation forms : Causative, reflexive and Passive. A causative form in Linguistics, is an expression of an agent causing or forcing a patient to perform an action (or to be in a certain condition In Grammar, a reflexive verb is a Verb whose semantic agent and patient (typically represented syntactically by the subject and the direct object are the In English, as in many other languages the Passive voice is the form of Transitive verb whose grammatical subject serves as the patient, receiving

ffeɣ "to go out" → ssuffeɣ "to make to go out"
kcem "to enter" → ssekcem "to make to enter, to introduce"
irid "to be washed" → ssired "to wash".
ẓer "to see" → mẓer "to see each other"
ṭṭef "to hold" → myuṭṭaf "to hold each other".
krez "to plough" → ttwakrez "to be ploughed"
ečč "to eat" → mmečč "to be eaten".
enɣ "to kill" → mmenɣ "to kill each other" → smenɣ "to make to kill each other"

Interestingly, two prefixes can cancel each other:

enz "to be sold" → zzenz "to sell" → ttuzenz "to be sold" (ttuzenz = enz !!).

Agent noun

Every verb has a corresponding agent noun. In Linguistics, an agent noun (or nomen agentis) is a word that is derived from another word denoting an action, and that identifies an entity that does In English it could be translated into verb+er. It is obtained by prefixing the verb with « am- » or with « an- » if the first letter is b / f / m / w (there are exceptions however).

ṭṭef "to hold" → anaṭṭaf "holder"
inig "to travel" → iminig "traveller"
eks "to graze" → ameksa "shepherd"

Action noun

Every verb has a corresponding action noun, which in English it could be translated into verb+ing:

ffer "to hide" → tuffra "hiding" (stem VI), « Tuffra n tidett ur telhi » — "Hiding the truth is bad". A verbal noun is a Noun formed directly as an Inflexion of a Verb or a verb stem, sharing at least in part its constructions

There are 6 regular stems of forming action nouns, and the 7th is for quality verbs : (C for consonant, V for vowel)

Stem Verb Action noun
I cvcv acvcv
II c(c)vc(c) ac(c)vc(c)v
III c(c)ecc ac(c)ecci
IV (c)cac(c) a(c)cac(c)i
V c1c2ec3 accac
VI ccec tuccca
VII ic1c2vc3 tec1c2ec3
ɣeẓẓ "to bite" → aɣẓaẓ
zdi "to be united" → azday
ini "to say" → timenna

Predicative particule "d"

The predicative particule "d" is an indispensable tool in speaking Kabyle, "d" is equivalent to both "it is + adjective" and "to be + adjective", but cannot be replaced by the verb "ili" (to be). It is always followed by a noun (free state).

Examples:

The predicative particule "d" should not be confused with the particle of coordination "d"; indeed, the former is followed by a noun at its annexed state while the first is always followed by a noun at its free state.

Pronoun

Personal pronouns

Person Singular Plural
1st (m) nekk / nekkini nekni
1st (f) nekk / nekkini nekkenti
2nd (m) kečč / keččini kunwi / kenwi
2nd (f) kemm / kemmini kunnemti / kennemti
3rd (m) netta / nettan / nettani nutni / nitni
3rd (f) nettat nutenti / nitenti

Example : « Ula d nekk.  » — "Me too. "

Possessive pronouns

Person Singular Plural
1st (m) (i)w / inu nneɣ
1st (f) (i)w / inu nnteɣ
2nd (m) (i)k / inek nwen
2nd (f) (i)m / inem nkent
3rd (m) (i)s / ines nsen
3rd (f) (i)s / ines nsent

Example : « Axxam-nneɣ.  » — "Our house. " (House-our)

Pronouns of the verb

Person Singular Plural
1st (m) (i)yi ɣ / (y)aɣ / naɣ / (y)anaɣ
1st (f) (i)yi ɣ / (y)aɣ / tnaɣ / (y)anteɣ
2nd (m) (i)k (i)ken
2nd (f) (i)kem (i)kent
3rd (m) (i)t (i)ten
3rd (f) (i)tt (i)tent

Example : « Yuɣ-it.  » — "He bought it. " (He. bought-it)

Person Singular Plural
Long form Short form Long form Short form
1st (m) (i)yi yi ɣ / (y)aɣ ɣ
1st (f) (i)yi yi ɣ / (y)aɣ ɣ
2nd (m) (y)ak k (y)awen wen
2nd (f) (y)am m (y)akent kent
3rd (m) (y)as s (y)asen sen
3rd (f) (y)as s (y)asent sent

Demonstratives

There are three demonstratives, near-deictic ('this, these'), far-deictic ('that, those') and absence:

Near-deictic Far-deictic Absence
Singular Plural Singular Plural
(y)a / (y)agi (y)agini (y)ihin / (y)ihinna (y)inna nni
Near-deictic Far-deictic Absence
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
masculine wa/ wagi/ wagini wi/ wigi/ wigini wihin / wihinna wihid / wihidak
widak-inna / wigad-inna
widak-ihin / wigad-ihin		 win / winna wid / wid-nni
widak / widak-nni
wigad-nni
feminine ta / tagi / tagini ti / tigi / tigini tihin / tihinna tihid / tihidak
tidak-inna / tigad-inna
tidak-ihin / tigad-ihin		 tin / tinna tid / tid-nni
tidak / tidak-nni
tigad-nni

Numerotation

Only the first two numbers are Berber; for higher numbers, Arabic is used. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language They are yiwen (f. yiwet) "one", sin (f. snat) "two". The noun being counted follows it in the genitive: sin n yirgazen "two men". In Grammar, the genitive case or possessive case (also called the second case) is the case that marks a Noun as modifying another

"First" and "last" are respectively amezwaru and aneggaru (regular adjectives). Other ordinals are formed with the prefix wis (f. tis): wis sin "second (m. )", tis tlata "third (f. )", etc.

Prepositions

Prepositions precede their objects: « i medden » "to the people", « si temdint » "from the town". In Grammar, a preposition is a Part of speech that introduces a prepositional phrase. All words preceded by a preposition (at the exception of « s » and « ar », "towards", "until" ) take their annexed state.

Some prepositions have two forms : one is used with pronominal suffixes and the other form is used in all other contexts.

Also some of these prepositions have a corresponding relative pronoun (or interrogative), example:

« i » "for/to" → « iwumi » "to whom"
« Tefka aksum i wemcic » "she gave meat to the cat" → « Amcic iwumi tefka aksum » "The cat to whom she gave meat"
Kabyle prepositions
Preposition With suffixes translation equivalent Corresponding Relative pronoun translation equivalent
d yid- / did- 'and, with, in the company of' (w)ukud / wi d 'with whom'
i — 'for, to' (dative) iwumi / iwimi / imi / umi / mi 'to whom' (dative) / 'whose'
ɣer / ar — 'to' (direction) iɣer / ɣer way / (s)aniɣer / (s)awier / ɣer 'to' (direction)
s — 'to' (direction) sani 'to' (direction)
ɣur — 'among' (w)uɣur / ɣur 'among'
ɣef / af / f fell- 'on; because of; about' iɣef / ɣef way / ɣef wadeg / ɣef 'on what'
deg / g / di — 'in' ideg / deg way / deg waydeg / anda / deg 'where'
seg / si / g — 'from' iseg / seg way / ansi 'from where'
s iss- / yiss- / yis- 'with, by means of, using' (instrumental) s ways / s wacu / s / iss / is 'with what' (instrumental)
ger gar- 'between' — —
n — 'of' — —
nnig / sennig — 'on top of' — —
ddaw / seddaw — 'beneath, under' — —
ar — 'until' — —
deffir — 'behind' — —
zdat / zzat — 'in front of' — —
am — 'like, as' — —

Conjunctions

Conjunctions precede the verb: mi yiwweḍ "when he arrived", muqel ma yusa-d "see if he came". A relative pronoun is a Pronoun that marks a Relative clause within a larger sentence. A relative pronoun is a Pronoun that marks a Relative clause within a larger sentence. The dative case is a Grammatical case generally used to indicate the Noun to whom something is given The dative case is a Grammatical case generally used to indicate the Noun to whom something is given The instrumental case (also called the eighth case) is a Grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the The instrumental case (also called the eighth case) is a Grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the

Vocabulary

Kabyle has absorbed quite some Arabic and French vocabulary. According to Salem Chaker, about a third of Kabyle vocabulary is of Arabic origin; the amount of French loanwords has not been studied yet. These loanwords are sometimes Berberized and sometimes kept in their original form. The Berberized words follow the regular grammar of Kabyle (free and annexed state).

Examples of berberized Arabic or french words :

Kitab => Taktabt (Book, Ar. )
Machine => Tamacint (Machine, Fr. )

Many loanwords from Arabic have often a different meaning in Kabyle:

El Mal (Money, Ar. ) => Lmal (Domestic animals, Kab. )

All verbs of Arabic origin follow a Berber conjugation and verbal derivation:

fhem (to understand) => ssefhem (to explain).

Sample text

In. MOULIERAS (Auguste), les fourberies de si Djeh'a.

Aqerruy n tixsi Ewe Head
Yiwen wass, Ğeḥḥa yefka-yas baba-s frank, akken ad d-yaɣ aqerruy n tixsi. Yuɣ-it-id, yečča akk aksum-is. Yeqqim-d uceqlal d ilem, yewwi-yas-t-id i baba-s. Ihi, mi t-iwala yenna-yas: "acu-t wa?" yenna-yas: "d aqerruy n tixsi".

-A ccmata, anida llan imeẓẓuɣen-is?

-Tella d taɛeẓẓugt.

-Anida llan wallen-is?

-Tella d taderɣalt.

-Anida yella yiles-is?

-Tella d tagugamt.

-I weglim n uqerruy-is, anida yella?

-Tella d taferḍast.
One day, Jehha's father gave him one cent, so that he buys a ewe head. He bought it, and ate all of its meat. Only an empty carcass was left, he brought it to his father. Then, when he saw it he said: "what is that?" Jehha said: "a ewe head".

-You vile (boy), where are its ears (the ewe)?

-It was deaf.

-Where are its eyes?

-It was blind.

-Where is its tongue?

-It was dumb.

-And the skin of its head, where is it?

-It was bald.
IPA transcription : æqərruj ən θiχsi Word by word translation : head of ewe
jiwən wæss, dʒəħħæ jəfkæ-jæs βæβæ-s frank, ækkən æ d-jæʁ æqərruj ən θiχsi. Yuʁ-iθ-id, yətʃtʃæ ækʷ æçsum-is. Yəqqim-d uʃəqlæl ð iləm, jəwwi-jæs-θ-id i βæβæ-s. Ihi, mi θ-iwælæ jənnæ-jæs: "æʃu-θ wæ?" jənnæ-jæs: "ð æqərruj ən θiχsi".

-æ ʃʃmætæ, ænidæ llæn iməz̴z̴uʁn-is?

-θəllæ ts aʕəz̴z̴ugt.

-ænidæ llæn wælln-is?

-θəllæ ts æðərʁælθ.

-ænidæ jəllæ jils-is?

-θəllæ ts æʝuʝæmθ.

-i wəʝlim ən uqərruj-is, ænidæ jəllæ?

-θəllæ ts æfərðˁast.
One day, Jehha he. gave-to. him father-his cent, so. that he. buys head of ewe. He. bought-it-here, he. ate all meat-its. Stayed-here carcass it. is empty, he. brought-to. him-it-here to father-his. Then, when it-he. saw he. said-to. him: "what-it that?" he. said-to. him: "head of ewe".

-Oh vile, where are ears-its?

-She. was it. is deaf.

-Where are eyes-its?

-She. was it. is blind.

-Where is tongue-its?

-She. was it. is dumb.

-And skin of head-its, where it. is?

-She. was bald.

Note: the predicative particule d was translated as "it. is", the particule of direction d was translated as "here".

Sources used for this article

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Boutefliqa et l'amazighophobie. terrorisme a l'egard de la langue Amazigh
  2. ^ Les déclarations de Bouteflika à Constantine sur tamazight

External links

Websites in Kabyle

Online dictionaries

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