Riff language
| Riffian | |
|---|---|
| Tmaziɣt | |
| Native to | Morocco, Melilla (Spain), Algeria |
| Region | Rif |
| Ethnicity | Riffians |
|
Native speakers
|
1.5 million (2004 census) |
|
Standard forms
|
|
| mainly Latin script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | tari1263 |
 |
|
Riffian, Rif Berber or Riffian Berber (native local name: Tmaziɣt, external name: Tarifit) is a Zenati Northern Berber language, spoken by about 2.5 million Moroccans, mainly in the Rif provinces Al Hoceima, Nador, Driouch, Berkane, as a minority language in Tangier, in Oujda, Tetouan and among Riffian migrant communities in Western Europe.
Riffian is a Zenati Berber dialect which consists of various sub-dialects specific to each clan and of which a majority are spoken in the Rif region, a large mountainous area of Northern Morocco, and a minority spoken in the western part of neighbouring Algeria.
Riffian is spoken mainly in the Moroccan Rif on the Mediterranean coast and in the Rif mountains, with a large minority in the Spanish autonomous city of Melilla. There are also speakers of Riffian in Morocco outside the Rif region, notably in the rest of Moroccan cities where they compose a minority. The neighbour state of Algeria is also home to Rif minorities. A Riffian-speaking community exists in the Netherlands and Belgium as well as to a lesser extent other European countries. Its own speakers simply call it "Tamazight", a term also often applied in a broader sense to the Berber language across North Africa in general.
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Wikipedia