So Tetserret reflects the ty- passive too, like Zenaga and Tashlhiyt - interesting!
January 5, 2026 at 9:18 PM
So Tetserret reflects the ty- passive too, like Zenaga and Tashlhiyt - interesting!
Consonant neutralization and vowel space area in Tashlhiyt Berber’s infant-directed speech. New publication by Abdellah Elouatiq, @chbergma.bsky.social , Evan Kidd, and @carorowland.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1177/0142...
Consonant Neutralization and Vowel Space Area in Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech - Abdellah Elouatiq, Christina Bergmann, Evan Kidd, Caroline F. Rowland, 2025
Infant-Directed Speech (IDS) and Adult-Directed Speech (ADS) are two registers that can differ across multiple linguistic domains and social contexts. In langua...
doi.org
January 5, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Consonant neutralization and vowel space area in Tashlhiyt Berber’s infant-directed speech. New publication by Abdellah Elouatiq, @chbergma.bsky.social , Evan Kidd, and @carorowland.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1177/0142...
A nice example of sibilant harmony in old Tashlhiyt (retranscribed into IPA):
tamnzujt
undergoes (semi?-)regular j > ʃ / _t
> tamnʒuʃt
tamnzujt
undergoes (semi?-)regular j > ʃ / _t
> tamnʒuʃt
NŽŠ as in 'headbutt'? Not sure I see the motivation: 'nature's headbutt'🤷🏽♂️ The word can still be found with variants, in Stroomer (2025), Ulḥaj 'tamnzuyt', Laoust (1920) 'tamenzuit'. I would think it's likely related to MNZ > amenzu / tamnzut: primeur.
See C. Taine-Cheikh hal.science/hal-01288267...
See C. Taine-Cheikh hal.science/hal-01288267...
hal.science
January 3, 2026 at 11:38 AM
A nice example of sibilant harmony in old Tashlhiyt (retranscribed into IPA):
tamnzujt
undergoes (semi?-)regular j > ʃ / _t
> tamnʒuʃt
tamnzujt
undergoes (semi?-)regular j > ʃ / _t
> tamnʒuʃt
Finally out: a really cool paper led by Abdel Elouatiq @mpi-nl.bsky.social on what parents do when they have to teach their infants a language that doesn't need vowels to form words (Tashlhiyt Berber, spoken in Morocco)
doi.org/10.1177/0142...
Invite Abdel for a talk, he's got so much more data!
doi.org/10.1177/0142...
Invite Abdel for a talk, he's got so much more data!
December 27, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Finally out: a really cool paper led by Abdel Elouatiq @mpi-nl.bsky.social on what parents do when they have to teach their infants a language that doesn't need vowels to form words (Tashlhiyt Berber, spoken in Morocco)
doi.org/10.1177/0142...
Invite Abdel for a talk, he's got so much more data!
doi.org/10.1177/0142...
Invite Abdel for a talk, he's got so much more data!
It makes me think of : خنجر / خناجر [ a wood dagger :p ]
Which makes me think that "splinter" in Tashlhiyt and my local dialect, have perhaps a link to "ssif": sword
ussif (Tash)
issif (my lect)
Which makes me think that "splinter" in Tashlhiyt and my local dialect, have perhaps a link to "ssif": sword
ussif (Tash)
issif (my lect)
December 15, 2025 at 8:47 PM
It makes me think of : خنجر / خناجر [ a wood dagger :p ]
Which makes me think that "splinter" in Tashlhiyt and my local dialect, have perhaps a link to "ssif": sword
ussif (Tash)
issif (my lect)
Which makes me think that "splinter" in Tashlhiyt and my local dialect, have perhaps a link to "ssif": sword
ussif (Tash)
issif (my lect)
On Arte, a film by Faouzi Bensaïd. A biting farce, almost Beckettian. Compared to Kaurismäki's. If nothing, you get gorgeous Moroccan southeastern landscapes. Lggs: Darija (a few sentences in Tashlḥiyt) + subtitles
The title in Arabic: الثلث الخالي (the empty third)
www.arte.tv/fr/videos/10...
The title in Arabic: الثلث الخالي (the empty third)
www.arte.tv/fr/videos/10...
Déserts - Regarder le film complet | ARTE
Dans l'arrière-pays marocain, deux agents de recouvrement détournent à leur profit les maigres remboursements de paysans surendettés... À travers l'histoire de ces deux pieds-nickelés, le Marocain Fao...
www.arte.tv
October 24, 2025 at 1:12 PM
On Arte, a film by Faouzi Bensaïd. A biting farce, almost Beckettian. Compared to Kaurismäki's. If nothing, you get gorgeous Moroccan southeastern landscapes. Lggs: Darija (a few sentences in Tashlḥiyt) + subtitles
The title in Arabic: الثلث الخالي (the empty third)
www.arte.tv/fr/videos/10...
The title in Arabic: الثلث الخالي (the empty third)
www.arte.tv/fr/videos/10...
“The acquisition of wh-questions and related phenomena in Tashlhiyt Berber” by Imane Bou-Saboun (Aug. ’25) drum.lib.umd.edu/items/e2c319...
September 19, 2025 at 5:02 AM
“The acquisition of wh-questions and related phenomena in Tashlhiyt Berber” by Imane Bou-Saboun (Aug. ’25) drum.lib.umd.edu/items/e2c319...
In Tamazight (CA & SE Morocco):
> nnun (< Ar)
> tizelmi (whether from SLM which gives 'asləm' fish, or ZLM which gives 'azəllum': wool thread, and 'bu-zəllum': sciatic nerve??)
In Tashlḥiyt:
> assisaġ : sea eel
> irimml : fresh water eel
> snnuṛ, ssanuṛ (< Ar)
> nnun (< Ar)
> tizelmi (whether from SLM which gives 'asləm' fish, or ZLM which gives 'azəllum': wool thread, and 'bu-zəllum': sciatic nerve??)
In Tashlḥiyt:
> assisaġ : sea eel
> irimml : fresh water eel
> snnuṛ, ssanuṛ (< Ar)
Eel in.......
Cornish - sylli
Jèrriais - andgulle
Manx- astan
Anglo-Romani - sap (same as snake)
Aranese - anguila
Gagauz - yılan balıı
Cornish - sylli
Jèrriais - andgulle
Manx- astan
Anglo-Romani - sap (same as snake)
Aranese - anguila
Gagauz - yılan balıı
Activists blend science and folklore as they try to revive Somerset’s eel population
August 28, 2025 at 7:33 PM
In Tamazight (CA & SE Morocco):
> nnun (< Ar)
> tizelmi (whether from SLM which gives 'asləm' fish, or ZLM which gives 'azəllum': wool thread, and 'bu-zəllum': sciatic nerve??)
In Tashlḥiyt:
> assisaġ : sea eel
> irimml : fresh water eel
> snnuṛ, ssanuṛ (< Ar)
> nnun (< Ar)
> tizelmi (whether from SLM which gives 'asləm' fish, or ZLM which gives 'azəllum': wool thread, and 'bu-zəllum': sciatic nerve??)
In Tashlḥiyt:
> assisaġ : sea eel
> irimml : fresh water eel
> snnuṛ, ssanuṛ (< Ar)
Rachid Ridouane’s overview in JIPA is a good start. And Dell & Elmedlaoui’s papers from the 1980s in JALL are still going very strong (1985, 1988).
Ridouane has a lot of more technical stuff on phonetics of Tashlhiyt, I guess it will be all on a website. For more strictly theoretical approaches,
Ridouane has a lot of more technical stuff on phonetics of Tashlhiyt, I guess it will be all on a website. For more strictly theoretical approaches,
August 12, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Rachid Ridouane’s overview in JIPA is a good start. And Dell & Elmedlaoui’s papers from the 1980s in JALL are still going very strong (1985, 1988).
Ridouane has a lot of more technical stuff on phonetics of Tashlhiyt, I guess it will be all on a website. For more strictly theoretical approaches,
Ridouane has a lot of more technical stuff on phonetics of Tashlhiyt, I guess it will be all on a website. For more strictly theoretical approaches,
July 31st is the next LangVIEW seminar, "The Acquisition of questions in Tashlhiyt Berber: Behavioral and Corpus Studies " with Imane Bou-Saboun at 6:00 PM IST / 2:30 PM CEST / 8:00 AM EDT. Join here: hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/66768218904
July 23, 2025 at 7:01 AM
July 31st is the next LangVIEW seminar, "The Acquisition of questions in Tashlhiyt Berber: Behavioral and Corpus Studies " with Imane Bou-Saboun at 6:00 PM IST / 2:30 PM CEST / 8:00 AM EDT. Join here: hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/66768218904
RESCHEDULED for July 17th, "Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System" with Abdellah Elouatiq at 6:00 PM IST / 2:30 PM CEST / 8:00 AM EDT. Join here: hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/62482000502
July 15, 2025 at 7:01 AM
RESCHEDULED for July 17th, "Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System" with Abdellah Elouatiq at 6:00 PM IST / 2:30 PM CEST / 8:00 AM EDT. Join here: hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/62482000502
July 10th is the next LangVIEW seminar, "Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System" with Abdellah Elouatiq at 6:00 PM IST / 2:30 PM CEST / 8:00 AM EDT. Join here: hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/62482000502
July 3, 2025 at 7:01 AM
July 10th is the next LangVIEW seminar, "Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System" with Abdellah Elouatiq at 6:00 PM IST / 2:30 PM CEST / 8:00 AM EDT. Join here: hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/62482000502
Zoom talk on Jul 10th, 2025 at 2:30 PM CEST: “Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System” by Abdellah Elouatiq drive.google.com/file/d/1r30F...
LangVIEW2025_Seminar4_Abstract.docx.pdf
drive.google.com
June 26, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Zoom talk on Jul 10th, 2025 at 2:30 PM CEST: “Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System” by Abdellah Elouatiq drive.google.com/file/d/1r30F...
FYI: LangVIEW Seminars 2025 ---Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System
FYI: LangVIEW Seminars 2025 ---Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System
Dear all,
We warmly invite you to the 2025 seminar series of the Consortium on Language Variation in Input Environments Around the World (LangVIEW).
The fourth talk in the series is "Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System" by Abdellah Elouatiq from the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen and Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.
The abstract can be foun
dlvr.it
June 26, 2025 at 12:14 AM
FYI: LangVIEW Seminars 2025 ---Segmental Acoustics of Tashlhiyt Berber’s Infant-Directed Speech: How do Caregivers Modify Vowels and Consonants in a Complex Phonological System
Tamasna (arabized as el-Gharb) region, the land of the Brɣwaṭa is a very fertile land, but in Tashlḥiyt the word 'tamesna' refers to a 'land without water, trees, rain... a desert'.
June 18, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Tamasna (arabized as el-Gharb) region, the land of the Brɣwaṭa is a very fertile land, but in Tashlḥiyt the word 'tamesna' refers to a 'land without water, trees, rain... a desert'.
3. I agree that Tashlhiyt las might be the effect of some more metatheses, maybe *ββălăs > *βălăs > *lăβăs > las
4. The odd one out is Tuareg. At least in Mali, /h/ should have been retained. I have no story at the moment.
4. The odd one out is Tuareg. At least in Mali, /h/ should have been retained. I have no story at the moment.
June 15, 2025 at 6:46 AM
3. I agree that Tashlhiyt las might be the effect of some more metatheses, maybe *ββălăs > *βălăs > *lăβăs > las
4. The odd one out is Tuareg. At least in Mali, /h/ should have been retained. I have no story at the moment.
4. The odd one out is Tuareg. At least in Mali, /h/ should have been retained. I have no story at the moment.
Some thoughts on the etymology of Anazigh “shear wool” provided by @phdnix.bsky.social
Technical reconstruction gives us four outcomes to this word: *ălləs (Zenatic, Kabyle); *ăləs (Tuareg); *las (Tashlhiyt); something with initial β (Zenaga).
afroasiaticcorner.wordpress.com/2025/03/10/p...
Technical reconstruction gives us four outcomes to this word: *ălləs (Zenatic, Kabyle); *ăləs (Tuareg); *las (Tashlhiyt); something with initial β (Zenaga).
afroasiaticcorner.wordpress.com/2025/03/10/p...
Proto-Berber *ăβləs ‘to shear (wool)’
Aor. *ăβləs Pf. *əβlắs Impf. *əβăllăs ‘to shear (wool)’ – Fig. lləs; CMB lləs; Kb. lləs; Tashl. las; Tu-M. ələs; Zng. āyyəš pf. īyaš impf. yālläš/yəttāyäš ◆ CTC 580; Y LS4 While the majority of the…
https://afroasiaticcorner.wordpress.com/2025/03/10/proto-berber-aβl%C9%99s-to-shear-wool/
June 15, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Some thoughts on the etymology of Anazigh “shear wool” provided by @phdnix.bsky.social
Technical reconstruction gives us four outcomes to this word: *ălləs (Zenatic, Kabyle); *ăləs (Tuareg); *las (Tashlhiyt); something with initial β (Zenaga).
afroasiaticcorner.wordpress.com/2025/03/10/p...
Technical reconstruction gives us four outcomes to this word: *ălləs (Zenatic, Kabyle); *ăləs (Tuareg); *las (Tashlhiyt); something with initial β (Zenaga).
afroasiaticcorner.wordpress.com/2025/03/10/p...
t̩‽ What is this, Tashlhiyt?
June 14, 2025 at 1:31 PM
t̩‽ What is this, Tashlhiyt?
All languages should follow the lead of Tashlhiyt.
June 9, 2025 at 6:11 PM
All languages should follow the lead of Tashlhiyt.
Things like zero grade are quite unsustainable in a post-Tashlhiyt type of syllable structure I guess 🤷
June 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Things like zero grade are quite unsustainable in a post-Tashlhiyt type of syllable structure I guess 🤷
I had the same thought. But if vowels are written one would expect some symbols to be more common in some constellations than others (unless this is modern Tashlhiyt). I didn't see that on first look.
Anatolian alphabets are a bit off chronologically, aren't they?
Anatolian alphabets are a bit off chronologically, aren't they?
June 7, 2025 at 5:57 AM
I had the same thought. But if vowels are written one would expect some symbols to be more common in some constellations than others (unless this is modern Tashlhiyt). I didn't see that on first look.
Anatolian alphabets are a bit off chronologically, aren't they?
Anatolian alphabets are a bit off chronologically, aren't they?
The Tashlhiyt language, spoken in southwestern Morocco, includes the vowelless word “tftktstt”, which means “I dropped a rubber ball on the keyboard.” #RandomAndFakeTrivia
May 26, 2025 at 11:57 AM
The Tashlhiyt language, spoken in southwestern Morocco, includes the vowelless word “tftktstt”, which means “I dropped a rubber ball on the keyboard.” #RandomAndFakeTrivia
Not that I know. But I didn't know this about Tashlhiyt either 🤷♂️
May 24, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Not that I know. But I didn't know this about Tashlhiyt either 🤷♂️
As phonologically Zenaga/Tetserret are quite recognizable (and clearly share a lot of innovations), it should in many cases be possible to distinguish similarities with Ghadames or Tashlhiyt due to common Amazigh heritage, from later borrowings (as @lameensouag.bsky.social has done for Zenaga)
May 24, 2025 at 4:24 PM
As phonologically Zenaga/Tetserret are quite recognizable (and clearly share a lot of innovations), it should in many cases be possible to distinguish similarities with Ghadames or Tashlhiyt due to common Amazigh heritage, from later borrowings (as @lameensouag.bsky.social has done for Zenaga)
Btw I am not sure that the collective/NU thing is specific to Zenati. I think I saw similar things in Kabyle, and - with retention of the Arabic article in the Unit Noun - also in Tashlhiyt (iirc lmšmaš / talmšmašt). Seems to be pretty contagious...
April 5, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Btw I am not sure that the collective/NU thing is specific to Zenati. I think I saw similar things in Kabyle, and - with retention of the Arabic article in the Unit Noun - also in Tashlhiyt (iirc lmšmaš / talmšmašt). Seems to be pretty contagious...