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Shawiya language
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Shawiya language
Shawiya
Chaouïa
Tacawit
Pronunciation[θæʃæwiθ]
Native toAlgeria
RegionAurès Mountains (Batna, Khenchela, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa, Biskra),Mila,Guelma,Constantine.
EthnicityShawiya
Native speakers
2.6 million (2022)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3shy
Glottologtach1249
Geographic distribution of Shawiya dialects in northeastern Algeria
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Shawiya, or Shawiya Berber, also spelt Chaouïa (native form: Tacawit [θæʃæwiθ]), is a Zenati Berber language spoken in Algeria by the Shawiya people. The language's primary speech area is the Awras Mountains and in the surrounding regions in eastern Algeria, including Batna, Khenchela, Sétif, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa, Biskra, Guelma, Mila and Constantine. It is closely related to the Shenwa language of Central Algeria.

Language

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The Shawiya people call their language Tacawit (Thashawith) ([θʃæwɪθ] or [hʃæwɪθ]). Estimates of number of speakers range from 1.4 to 3 million speakers.[2][3]

The French spelling of Chaouïa is commonly seen, due to the influence of French conventions on Algeria. Other spellings are "Chaoui", "Shawia", "Tachawit", "Thachawith", "Tachaouith" and "Thchèwith". In Shawiya, the leading /t/ – pronounced [θ] in that phonetic environment – is often reduced to an /h/, so the native name is often heard as Hašawiθ.

Shawiya Berber was, until recently, an unwritten language and rarely taught at school. As the Shawiya people were predominantly rural and secluded, they often code-switch to Algerian Arabic, French or even English to discuss non-traditional technology and sociological concerns.

Recently, the Shawiya language, together with the Kabyle language, has begun to achieve some cultural and media prominence thanks to the Berber cultural and political movements in Algeria and to the introduction of Berber language education in some public schools.

Phonology

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Vowels

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Front Central Back
High i u
Mid ə
Low a
  • /i, a, u/ can also be laxed as [ɪ, æ, ʊ].

Consonants

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Labial Dental Alveolar Palato-
alveolar
Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyn-
geal
Glottal
plain phar. plain phar. plain lab. plain lab.
Nasal m n () ()
Plosive voiceless () t̪ˤ (k) q
voiced (b) () (d̪ˤ) (ɡ) (ɡʷ)
Fricative voiceless f θ θˤ s ʃ ç (çᶣ) x ħ h
voiced β ð ðˤ z ʒ ʝ (ʝᶣ) ʁ ʕ
Trill r
Approximant l j w
  • All consonants are geminated in tense positions. The tense equivalents of the spirants /β, θ, ð, θˤ/ðˤ, ç, ʝ, j, w/ are the plosives [bː, t̪ː, d̪ː, t̪ːˤ/d̪ːˁ, kː, qː, ɡː, ɡːʷ]. Simple [b, t̪, d̪, d̪ˁ, k, ɡʷ] do not occur phonemically, and simple [ɡ] is apparently uncommon.
  • Sounds [nʲ, nʷ] are only heard when /n/ precedes semivowels /j, w/.
  • Sounds /çᶣ, ʝᶣ, ɡʷ/ are only heard when in tense positions.[4]

Bibliography

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References

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