Agurzil
agurzilag.bsky.social
Agurzil
@agurzilag.bsky.social
Do these words also have the meaning of "visiting people (family and friends) during Tafaska"?
June 10, 2025 at 12:56 AM
In Kabyle we say tuddna/ladan, the verb is dden (from ar.)

However, there is a verb (that I have never encountered in any book) that we only use in expressions today: ṣewwek (pronounced ṣeppʷek in my region).

We say "aḥq ccix-agi yṣewweken akka" when we swear right when there is a call to prayer.
May 8, 2025 at 8:37 PM
But it is never used to call your grandma (we use Setti or Jida instead)
Tabuslimant is untranslatable in my opinion, the closest attempt might be "The Solomonic one (fem.)" (?). I think in this case the feminine is litteral, not a diminutive formation (I'm not totally sure about this though)
2/2
May 7, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Thank you for sharing it to a wider audience, I got a few comments regarding some translations:

All of these names are feminine, so it should be mare instead of horse.
In Kabyle, "Nanna" isn't granny (like in Darja), it designates a paternal aunt, an older sister, or any older woman we respect.
1/2
May 7, 2025 at 7:47 PM
In Kabyle it actually has A LOT of different names:

Tagmart n [Sidi/Sidna] [Sliman/Ɛli/Yaḥya/Ɛisa]
Tagmart n Lalla Faḍma
Tagmart n [Ṛsel/Nbi]
Tasardunt n [Ccix/Ɛmi Ɛli]
Tabuslimant
Nanna Ḥaǧǧa
Lalla Faṭima welt Nbi

The common theme is that all of these names are related to a religious figure.
May 6, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Oh I see. Thank you for this info!
May 5, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Interesting! I've already heard the first 2 ones, but "Bu Yetran" is new to me!

Some folk etymologies claim that "Baba Rebbi" is a remnant of the christian era in North Africa.

I have always suspected that it comes from "bab" instead, which would actually be a calque of "Rebbi".
May 5, 2025 at 11:31 PM
In this context, is it Baba (father) or Bab (owner, master)? As these are 2 distinct words in northern Tamazight (like Kabyle).

Because I noticed that in the Tetserret word you mentioned, the vowel after the second b is a schwa, not an "a".
May 4, 2025 at 4:59 PM