Senhaja de Srair language

Besides Senhaja de Srair, the language is also known in English as Tasenhajit,^[4][5][6][7], Senhaja Berber, Senhajiya, Shilha/Shelha, Shelha n Senhaja and Tamazight n Senhaja. The most widespread endonym (term used by the speakers themselves) to refer to their language is Ccelḥa 'Shelha'. If necessary, one can specify, depending on the (sub-)tribe: Shelha of Ketama, Seddat, Taghzut, etc., or simply "our Shelha". Some Senhaja de Srair Berber activists prefer the name Tasenhajit or Senhaja Berber, as the term Shelha can refer to other Berber languages as well.^[8][9]

Senhaja de Srair, according to the Unesco is an endangered language.^[3][7]

Senhaja de Srair speakers are generally less involved in the Amazigh Cultural Movement. Their situation can be partly explained by their marginalization from both the Berber world and the Moroccan society as whole. Their language lacks official recognition, as state language policies have primarily focused only on the three large Moroccan Berber varieties (Tashelhit, Middle Atlas Berber, and Tarifit).

Additional factors contribute to this limited engagement: geographic isolation in the mountains, the economic situation (their region being the center of cannabis cultivation), prejudice against them, the fact that they are overlooked by Berbers from other regions, and so on.

Recently, the association of "Amazighs of Senhaja of the Rif" has emerged, with the aim of promoting and preserving the Senhajan language and cultural heritage. Its most active members include Charif Adardak, Iliasse Aarab, Mounir Aghzennay, Mohamed Ben Abdellah Aghzout and few more. Besides many various cultural initiatives, the association created "Tidighin" a magazine devoted to the cultural and linguistic heritage of Senhaja Srair.^[9]

Senhaja de Srair exhibits significant internal dialectal variation:^[10] the Ketama dialect is considered distinct from that of other tribes^[11] and is now spoken only in seven villages: Ait Ahmed, Ait Aissi, Makhzen, Asmmar, Talghunt, Sahel, and Zgara. the Senhaja de Srair is also spoken in the village of Ighoumad, on the northern slope of Adrar Dahdouh, but this sector of Ketama has its main contacts with the Berber speakers of Ait Seddat, which favoured the preservation of the language there.^[12]

Near the current Berber-speaking Senhaja Srair, there are communities that still speak Tasenhajit: In Ait Gmil, in the Bni Chboun fraction, the villages of Bougherda, Belḥekk and Lmaẓiyyin. And in Ait Boufrah, the village of Akhzouz. As well as Zouaoua, which is a small village of the Fennassa tribe.^[13]

The prevalence of Senhaja de Srair spoken also varies among the tribes:^[9]

• Ait Ahmed: predominantly Berber-speaking, Arabic-speaking minority;
• Ait Bshir: predominantly Berber-speaking, Arabic-speaking minority;
• Ait Bunsar: entirely Berber-speaking;
• Ait Bushibet: entirely Arabic-speaking, except the village of Tarya;
• Ait Khennus: entirely Berber-speaking;
• Ait Mezduy:^[14] entirely Berber-speaking_;
• Ait Seddat: entirely Berber-speaking;
• Ketama: bilingual both Berber and Arabic speaking;
• Taghzut: entirely Berber-speaking;
• Zerqet: entirely Berber-speaking;

→ Senhaja Berber speaker, from Ketama. on YouTube.

Senhaja de Srair speakers are not used to writing in their language. Unlike some other Berber languages, Tifinagh script is never used in Tasenhajit. If the language is written, especially in the case on Computer-mediated communication, Latin script is the most considered one, numbers are sometimes (but not consistently) used to represent some sounds.^[9] The Berber Latin script:

Dialects of Senhaja de Srair are Ait Ahmed, Ait Bshir, Ait Bunsar, Ait Khennus, Ait Seddat, Ketama, Taghzut, and Zerqet.^[3]

Each dialect has its own shifts such as:

• l > y / (ǧ / r) : A single *l usually undergoes changes in Senhaja, changing to y(y) in most varieties (Ketama/Seddat/Hmed/Bunsar), to ǧ(ǧ) in Taghzut, and to r(r) in Mezduy. A single *l is preserved in Zerqet.
• ll > ǧǧ : Long ll is preserved in Ketama, Hmed, as well as in Taghzut. Long ll > ǧǧ in Seddat, Bunsar, and Zerqet.
• g > y / w : Found in Hmed, Bunsar, and Zerqet.
• t > h / Ø : Found in Ketama and Taghzut.

Based on the Leipzig–Jakarta list, 17% of the vocabulary in Senhaja de Srair is borrowed from Arabic.^[9]