Kabyle language

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Kabyle
Taqbaylit 
Spoken in: Algeria; immigrant communities in France, Belgium and elsewhere 
Region: Kabylie (Provinces of Tizi Ouzou, Bejaia, Bouira, Boumerdes, Sétif, BBA, and parts of Jijel)
Total speakers: 3,123,000 (1995) [1]—5.5 millions in Algeria, about 7 millions worldwide [2] [3]
Language family: Afro-Asiatic
 Berber
  Northern
   Kabyle
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: kab
ISO 639-3: kab 
Kabyle-speaking areas (in 1936)
Kabyle-speaking areas (in 1936)

Kabyle is a Berber language (Kabyle: Ṯaqbayliṯ, Taqbaylit , pronounced /ˌθaq.βajˈliθ/) spoken by the Kabyle people. In 1995, there were 3,123,000 speakers worldwide, the majority in Algeria, where there were more than 2,000,000. However, according to INALCO estimates, there are 5.5 million speakers in Algeria and about 7 million worldwide.

Kabyle was (with some exceptions) rarely written before the 20th century; however, in recent years a small but increasing body of literature has been printed. The originally oral poetry of Si Mohand is particularly notable in this respect. Famous Kabyle singers include Matoub Lounes, Idir and Ait Menguellet.

Contents

[edit] Classification

The classification of Kabyle is Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern.

[edit] Geographic distribution

Kabyle is a Berber language native to Kabylie, it is present in seven Algerian districts.

The populations of Tizi Ouzou, Béjaïa (Bgayet) and Bouira (Tubiret) are in majority kabyle-speaking. Kabyle is majority language in Bordj Bou Arreridj, Sétif and a minority language in Boumerdes and Jijel where it coexists with Algerian arabic.

Kabyle is also spoken as a mother tongue among the Kabyle diaspora in Algerian and european cities (mainly France). It is estimated that half of Kabyles live outside Kabylie.

[edit] Official status

Berber languages have no official status in Algeria, kabyle faces un unfavourable environnement not to say hostile, however there exist a public radio (Channel II, which dates back to the algerian revolution), and some TV news report on the unique Algerian TV channel, since private ownership of TV channels is illegal in Algeria, Kabyles have launched a private kabyle speaking TV channel that emits from Paris, france (Berbère Télévision).

In 1994, all kabyle pupils and students have boycotted Algerian schools for a year, the kabyle population asked for the officialisation of Berber, but this ended up in the symbolic creation of the "Haut Commissariat à l'Amazighité" (HCA) in 1995 and Berber languages were taught as a non-compulsary langue in Berber speaking areas.

After the tragic events of the Black Spring in 2001, The kabyle population organized itself under the label of the Arouch, one of their main revendications was the officialisation of Berber. President Bouteflika who said "Berber will never be an official language, and if it has to be a national language, it has to be submitted to a referendum" had to abdicate in front of the pressure of the Black spring and recognized Berber as a "national language" without a referundum.

In 2005, Bouteflika pronounced himself again about the Berber issue, saying that "there is no country in the world that has two official languages" and that "this will never be the case of Algeria".

[edit] Varieties

From west to east, some linguists distinguish four zones caracterized by three distinct -but intelligibale- pronounciations : At the west of Tizi Ghenif, Kabylie of the Djurdjura, Soummam valley and the zone starting from Bejaïa to the east.

[edit] Phonology

The phonemes below reflect the pronunciation of Kabyle.

[edit] Vowels

Kabyle language has four vowels: (e is not considered to be a true vowel, it just makes the reading easier)

  • /a/ (as in "man") [æ]
  • /e/ (as in "children") [ə]
  • /i/ (as in "ski") [ɪ]
  • /u/ (as in "flu") [ʊ]

Historically, schwa (e) is thought to be the result of a pan-Berber reduction or merger of three other vowels. The phonetic realization of the vowels, especially /a/, is highly influenced by the character of the surrounding consonants; emphatic consonants invite a more open realization of the vowel, e.g. aẓru = [az̴ru] 'stone' vs. amud = [æmud] 'seed'.

[edit] Consonants

Kabyle consonant phonemes
  Bilabial Labio
dental
Inter
dental
Dental Sibilant Alveolar Postal
veolar
Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
 Plain  Emph.  Plain  Emph.  Plain  Emph.  Plain  Lab.  Plain  Lab.
Stop voiceless         t [t] [] tt [ts]     č [] k [k] k [] q [q] q []    
voiced b [b]       d [d]   zz [dz]     ğ [] g [g] g []        
Fricative voiceless b [β] f [f] t [θ]       s [s] [] c [ʃ] [ʃˁ]   k [ç] k [çʷ] x [χ] x [χʷ] [ħ] h [h]
voiced     d [ð] [ðˁ]     z [z] [] j [ʒ] [ʒˁ]   g [ʝ] g [ʝʷ] γ [ʁ] γ [ʁʷ] ε [ʕ]  
Nasal m [m]       n [n]                      
Lateral         l [l] l []                    
Trill         r [r] r []                    
Approximant w [w]               y [j]            

[edit] Assimilation

Inside the kabyle language there are various accents which are the result of assimilations (these accents are generally devided into western and eastern kabyle), some of these assimilations are present among all kabyle "dialects" and some not. These assimilations are not noted at writing, examples:

  • « Axxam n wergaz. » — "The house of the man." is pronounced either « Axxam n wergaz. » or « Axxam bb wergaz » or « Axxam pp wergaz » ...etc. (N+W=BB)
  • « D taqcict. » — "It's a girl." is pronounced « Tsaqcict ». (D+T=TS)
  • Here is a list of some of these assimilations: D+T=TS, T+T=TS, N+W=BB/PP, I+Y=IG, W+W=BB, Y+Y=GG.

Gemination affects the quality of certain consonants, turning fricatives into stops; in particular, geminated γ becomes qq and y becomes gg.

[edit] Fricatives vs Stops

Kabyle is mostly composed of fricatives phonemes which are originally stops in other berber languages, at writing there is no difference between fricatives and stops. Below is a list of fricatives vs stops and when they are pronounced (note that gemination turns fricatives into stops).

Cononant B D G K T
Fricative /β/ Sound sample  /ð/ Sound sample  /ʝ/ Sound sample  /ç/ Sound sample  /θ/ Sound sample 
Stop /b/ /d/ /g/ /k/ /t/
Is a stop after m l,n b,j,r,z,ε f,b,s,l,r,n,ḥ,c,ε l,n
Is a stop in the words (and their derivatives) ngeb, ngeḥ, ngeẓwer, angaẓ, ngedwi, nages,ngedwal

[edit] Writing system

Main article: Kabyle alphabet

[edit] Grammar

[edit] Nouns and adjectives

[edit] Gender

As an Afro-Asiatic language, Kabyle has only two genders, Masculine and Feminine. Like most Berber languages, masculine nouns and adjectives generally start with a vowel (a-, i-, u-), while the feminine nouns generally start with t- and end with a -t (there are some exceptions, however). Note that most feminine nouns are in fact feminized versions of masculine nouns.

Examples:

  • Aqcic "a boy", taqcict "a girl".
  • Amγar "an old man", tamγart "an old woman".
  • Argaz "a man", Tameṭṭut "a woman".
  • Izi "a fly", Tizit "mosquito".

[edit] Pluralization

Singular nouns generally start with an a-, and do no have a suffix. Plural nouns generally start with an i- and often have a suffix such as -en. There are three types of plural : external, Internal, mix:

  • External or "regular": it consists in changing the initial vowel of the noun, and adding a suffix -n,
amγar "an old man" → imγaren "old men".
afus → ifasen "hands"
argaz → irgazen "men"
ul → ulawen "hearts"
  • Internal: It involves only a change in the vowels within the word:
adrar → idurar "mountain"
amicic "a cat" → imcac "cats"
  • Mix: it combines a change of vowels (within the word) with the suffix -n:
igenni "sky" → igenwan "skies".
izi → izan "fly"
aar → iuran "root"

[edit] Free and annexed state

As in all Berber languages, Kabyle has two types of states or cases of the noun, organized ergatively: one is unmarked, while the other serves for the subject of a transitive verb and the object of a preposition, among other contexts. The former is often called free state, the latter construct state. The construct state of the noun derives from the free state through one of the following rules:

The first involves a vowel alternation, whereby the vowel a become u :

aqbayli → uqbayli "Kabyle"
ameqqran → umeqqran "big"
adrar → udrar "mountain"

The second involves the loss of the initial vowel, in the case of some feminine nouns (e is not considered to be a true vowel, it just makes the reading easier):

tamγart → temγart "women"
tamdint → temdint "town"
tamurt → tmurt "country"

The third involves the addition of a semi-vowel (w or y) word-initially:

asif → wasif "river"
au → wau "wind"
iles → yiles "tongue"
uccen → wuccen "jackal"

Finally, some nouns do not change for free state:

taddart → taddart "village"
tuccent → tuccent "female jackal"

Depending on the role of the noun in the sentence, it takes either its free or annexed state:

  • Free: Yewwet aqcic. "He has beaten a boy". (Verb-Object)
  • Annexed: Yewwet weqcic. "The boy has beaten". (Verb-Subject)

After a preposition (at the exception of "ar" and "s"), all nouns take their annexed state:

  • Free state: Aman (water), Kas n waman (a glass of water).

[edit] Verbs

There are three tenses : the Preterite (past), intensive Aorist (present perfect, present continuous, past continuous) and the future (Ad+Aoriste). Unlike other berber languages, the aorist alone is rarely used in Kabyle (In the other languages it is used to express the present).

  • "Weak verbs" have their preterite the same as their aoriste, the examples of weak verbs that follows are conjugated at the first person of the singular:
Verb Preterite ad + aorist Intensive aorist
If (to outdo) ifeγ ad ifeγ ttifeγ
Muqel (to observe) muqleγ ad muqleγ ttmuqleγ
Krez (to plough) kerzeγ ad kerzeγ kerrzeγ
  • "Strong verbs" or "irregular verbs":
Verb Preterite ad + aorist Intensive aorist
Aru (to write) uriγ ad aruγ ttaruγ

[edit] Conjugation

Conjugation in kabyle is done by adding suffixes (prefixes, postfixes or both), these suffixes are static, they are identical for all tenses (only the theme changes):

Person Singular Plural
1st — (e)γ n(e) —
2nd (m) t(e) — (e) t(e) — (e)m
2nd (f) t(e) — (e) t(e) — (e)mt
3rd (m) i/y(e) — — (e)n
3rd (f) t(e) — — (e)nt
  • Example: verb afeg with its four themes : ufeg (preterite), ufig (negative preterite), afeg (aorist), ttafeg (intensive aorist).
Person Preterite Negative Preterite Ad+Aorist Intensive Aorist Imperative Intensive Imperative
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st ufgeγ nufeg ur ufigeγ ur nufig ad afgeγ ad nafeg ttafgeγ nettafeg
2nd (m) tufgeḍ tufgem ur tufigeḍ ur tufigem ad tafgeḍ ad tefgem tettafgeḍ tettafgem afeg afget ttafeg ttafget
2nd (f) tufgeḍ tufgemt ur tufigeḍ ur tufigemt ad tafgeḍ ad tefgemt tettafgeḍ tettafgemt afeg afgemt ttafeg ttafgemt
3rd (m) yufeg ufgen ur yufig ur ufigen ad yafeg ad afgen yettafeg ttafgen
3rd (f) tufeg ufgent ur tufig ur ufigent ad tafeg ad afgent tettafeg ttafgent
Preterite Participle Aorist Participle Intensive Aorist Participle
Postive Negative Postive Negative
yufgen ur nufig ara yafgen yettafeg ur nettafeg

[edit] Verb framing

Kabyle is a satellite-framed based language, Kabyle verbs use two particles to show the path of motion:

  • d orientates towards the one who's speaking, and could be translated as "here".
  • n orientates towards the interlocuter or towards a certain place, and could be translated as "there".

Examples:

  • « iru-d » (he came), « iru-n » (he went).
  • « awi-d aman» (bring the water), « awi aman » (carry away the water).

[edit] Negation

Kabyle usually expresses negation in two parts, with the particle ur attached to the verb, and one or more negative words that modify the verb or one of its arguments. For example, simple verbal negation is expressed by « ur » before the verb and the particle « ara » after the verb:

  • « Urareγ » ("I played") → « Ur urareγ ara » ("I didn't play")

Other negative words (acemmek...etc.) are used in combination with ur to express more complex types of negation.

[edit] Verb derivation

Verb derivation is done by adding suffixes, there are three types of derivation forms : Causative, reflexive and Passive.

  • Causative: is obtained by prefixing the verb with s- / sse- / ssu- :
ffeγ "to go out" → ssuffeγ "to make to go out"
kcem "to enter" → ssekcem "to make to enter, to introduce"
irid "to be washed" → ssired "to wash".
  • Reflexive: is obtained by prefixing the verb with m- / my(e)- / myu-:
er "to see" → mer "to see each other"
ṭṭef "to hold" → myuṭṭaf "to hold each other".
  • Passive: is obtained by prefixing the verb with ttu- / ttwa- / tt- / mm(e)- / n- / nn-:
krez "to plough" → ttwakrez "to be ploughed"
ečč "to eat" → mmečč "to be eaten".
  • Complex forms: is obtained by combining two or more of the previous prefixes:
enγ "to kill" → mmenγ "to kill each other" → smenγ "to make to kill each other"

Interestingly, two prefixes can cancel each other:

enz "to be sold" → zzenz "to sell" → ttuzenz "to be sold" (ttuzenz = enz !!).

[edit] Agent noun

Every verb has a corresponding agent noun. In english it could be translated into verb+er. It is obtained by prefixing the verb with « am- » or with « an- » if the first letter is b / f / m / w (there are exceptions however).

  • Examples:
ṭṭef "to hold" → anaṭṭaf "holder"
inig "to travel" → iminig "traveller"
eks "to graze" → ameksa "shepherd"

[edit] Action noun

Every verb has a corresponding action noun, In english it could be translated into verb+ing:

ffer "to hide" → tuffra "hiding" (stem VI), « Tuffra n tidett ur telhi » — "Hiding the truth is bad".

There 6 regular stems of forming action nouns, the 7th is for quality verbs : (C for consonant, V for vowel)

Stem Verb Action noun
I cvcv acvcv
II c(c)vc(c) ac(c)vc(c)v
III c(c)ecc ac(c)ecci
IV (c)cac(c) a(c)cac(c)i
V c1c2ec3 accac
VI ccec tuccca
VII ic1c2vc3 tec1c2ec3
  • Examples:
γeẓẓ "to bite" → aγa
zdi "to be united" → azday
ini "to say" → timenna

[edit] Predicative particule "d"

The predicative particule "d" is an indispensable tool in speaking kabyle, "d" is equivent to both "it is + adjective" and "to be + adjective", it cannot be replaced by the verb "ili" (to be). It is always followed by a noun (free state).

Examples:

  • D taqcict, "it's a girl".
  • D nekk, "it's me".
  • Nekk d argaz, "I'm a man".
  • Akli d anelmad, "Akli is a student".
  • Akli yella d anelmad, "Akli was a student".

The predicative particule "d" should not be confused with the particle of coordination "d", indeed, the former is followed by a noun at its annexed state while the first is always followed by a noun at its free state.

[edit] Pronoun

[edit] Personal pronouns

Person Singular Plural
1st (m) nekk / nekkini nekni
1st (f) nekk / nekkini nekkenti
2nd (m) kečč / keččini kunwi / kenwi
2nd (f) kemm / kemmini kunnemti / kennemti
3rd (m) netta / nettan / nettani nutni / nitni
3rd (f) nettat nutenti / nitenti

Example : « Ula d nekk. » — "Me too."

[edit] Possessive pronouns

Person Singular Plural
1st (m) (i)w / inu nneγ
1st (f) (i)w / inu nnteγ
2nd (m) (i)k / inek nwen
2nd (f) (i)m / inem nkent
3rd (m) (i)s / ines nsen
3rd (f) (i)s / ines nsent

Example : « Axxam-nneγ. » — "Our house." (House-our)

[edit] Pronouns of the verb

  • Direct object
Person Singular Plural
1st (m) (i)yi γ / (y)aγ / naγ / (y)anaγ
1st (f) (i)yi γ / (y)aγ / tnaγ / (y)anteγ
2nd (m) (i)k (i)ken
2nd (f) (i)kem (i)kent
3rd (m) (i)t (i)ten
3rd (f) (i)tt (i)tent

Example : « Yuγ-it. » — "He bought it." (He.bought-it)

  • Indirect object
Person Singular Plural
Long form Short form Long form Short form
1st (m) (i)yi yi γ / (y)aγ γ
1st (f) (i)yi yi γ / (y)aγ γ
2nd (m) (y)ak k (y)awen wen
2nd (f) (y)am m (y)akent kent
3rd (m) (y)as s (y)asen sen
3rd (f) (y)as s (y)asent sent
  • Example : « Yenna-yas. » — "He said to him." (He.said-to.him)
  • Complex example (Mixing indirect and direct object) : « Yefka-yas-t. » — "He gave it to him." (He.gave-to.him-it)

[edit] Demonstratives

There are three demonstratives, near-deictic ('this, these'), far-deictic ('that, those') and absence:

  • Suffix: Used with a noun, example : « Axxam-agi» — "This house." (House-this).
Near-deictic Far-deictic Absence
Singular Plural Singular Plural
(y)a / (y)agi (y)agini (y)ihin / (y)ihinna (y)inna nni
  • Isolated : Used when we omit the subject we are speaking about : «Wagi yelha» — "This is nice." (This-is.nice)
Near-deictic Far-deictic Absence
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
masculine wa/ wagi/ wagini wi/ wigi/ wigini wihin / wihinna wihid / wihidak
widak-inna / wigad-inna
widak-ihin / wigad-ihin
win / winna wid / wid-nni
widak / widak-nni
wigad-nni
feminine ta / tagi / tagini ti / tigi / tigini tihin / tihinna tihid / tihidak
tidak-inna / tigad-inna
tidak-ihin / tigad-ihin
tin / tinna tid / tid-nni
tidak / tidak-nni
tigad-nni

[edit] Numerotation

Only the first two numbers are Berber; for higher numbers, Arabic is used. They are yiwen (f. yiwet) "one", sin (f. snat) "two". The noun being counted follows it in the genitive: sin n yirgazen "two men".

"First" and "last" are respectively amezwaru and aneggaru (regular adjectives). Other ordinals are formed with the prefix wis (f. tis): wis sin "second (m.)", tis tlata "third (f.)", etc.

[edit] Prepositions

Prepositions precede their objects: « i medden » "to the people", « si temdint » "from the town". All words preceded by a preposition (at the exception of « s » and « ar », "towards", "untill" ) take their annexed state.

Some prepositions have two forms : one is used with pronominal suffixes and the other form is used in all other contexts.

Also some of these prepositions have a corresponding relative pronoun (or interrogative), example:

« i » "for/to" → « iwumi » "to whom"
« Tefka aksum i wemcic » "she gave meet to the cat" → « Amcic iwumi tefka aksum » "The cat to whom she gave meet"
Kabyle prepositions
Preposition With suffixes translation equivalent Corresponding Relative pronoun translation equivalent
d yid- / did- 'and, with, in the company of' (w)ukud / wi d 'with whom'
i 'for, to' (dative) iwumi / iwimi / imi / umi / mi 'to whom' (dative) / 'whose'
γer / ar 'to' (direction) iγer / γer way / (s)aniγer / (s)awier / γer 'to' (direction)
s 'to' (direction) sani 'to' (direction)
γur 'among' (w)uγur / γur 'among'
γef / af / f fell- 'on; because of; about' iγef / γef way / γef wadeg / γef 'on what'
deg / g / di 'in' ideg / deg way / deg waydeg / anda / deg 'where'
seg / si / g 'from' iseg / seg way / ansi 'from where'
s iss- / yiss- / yis- 'with, by means of, using' (instrumental) s ways / s wacu / s / iss / is 'with what' (instrumental)
ger gar- 'between'
n 'of'
nnig / senning 'on top of'
ddaw / seddaw 'beneath, under'
ar 'until'
deffir 'behind'
zdat / zzat 'in front of'
am 'like, as'

[edit] Conjunctions

Conjunctions precede the verb: mi yiwwe "when he arrived", muqel ma yusa-d "see if he came".

[edit] Sample text

In. MOULIERAS (Auguste), les fourberies de si Djeh'a.

Aqerruy n tixsi Ewe Head
Yiwen wass, Ğeḥḥa yefka-yas baba-s frank, akken ad d-yaγ aqerruy n tixsi. Yuγ-it-id, yečča akk aksum-is. Yeqqim-d uceqlal d ilem, yewwi-yas-t-id i baba-s. Ihi, mi t-iwala yenna-yas: "acu-t wa?" yenna-yas: "d aqerruy n tixsi".

-A ccmata, anida llan imeẓẓuγen-is?

-Tella d taεeẓẓugt.

-Anida llan wallen-is?

-Tella d taderγalt.

-Anida yella yiles-is?

-Tella d tagugamt.

-I weglim n uqerruy-is, anida yella?

-Tella d taferḍast.
One day, Jehha's father gave him one cent, so that he buys an ewe head. He bought it, and ate all of its meet. Only an empty carcass was left, he brought it to his father. Then, when he saw it he said: "what is that?" Jehha said: "an ewe head".

-You vile, where are its ears (the ewe)?

-It was deaf.

-Where are its eyes?

-It was blind.

-Where is its tongue?

-It was dumb.

-And the skin of its head, where is it?

-It was bald.
IPA transcription : æqərruj ən θiχsi Word by word translation : head of ewe
jiwən wæss, dʒəħħæ jəfkæ-jæs βæβæ-s frank, ækkən æ d-jæʁ æqərruj ən θiχsi. Yuʁ-iθ-id, yətʃtʃæ ækʷ æçsum-is. Yəqqim-d uʃəqlæl ð iləm, jəwwi-jæs-θ-id i βæβæ-s. Ihi, mi θ-iwælæ jənnæ-jæs: "æʃu-θ wæ?" jənnæ-jæs: "ð æqərruj ən θiχsi".

-æ ʃʃmætæ, ænidæ llæn iməz̴z̴uʁn-is?

-θəllæ ts aʕəz̴z̴ugt.

-ænidæ llæn wælln-is?

-θəllæ ts æðərʁælθ.

-ænidæ jəllæ jils-is?

-θəllæ ts æʝuʝæmθ.

-i wəʝlim ən uqərruj-is, ænidæ jəllæ?

-θəllæ ts æfərðˁast.
One day, Jehha he.gave-to.him father-his cent, so.that he.buys head of ewe. He.bought-it-here, he.ate all meet-its. Stayed-here carcass it.is empty, he.brought-to.him-it-here to father-his. Then, when it-he.saw he.said-to.him: "what-it that?" he.said-to.him: "head of ewe".

-Oh vile, where are ears-its?

-She.was it.is deaf.

-Where are eyes-its?

-She.was it.is blind.

-Where is tongue-its?

-She.was it.is dumb.

-And skin of head-its, where it.is?

-She.was bald.

Note: the predicative particule d was translated as "it.is", the particule of direction d was translated as "here".

[edit] Bibliography

  • Kamal Nait-Zerrad. Grammaire moderne du kabyle, tajerrumt tatrart n teqbaylit. Editions KARTHALA, 2001. ISBN 978-2-84586-172-5
  • Dallet, Jean-Marie. 1982. Dictionnaire kabyle–français, parler des At Mangellet, Algérie. Études etholinguistiques Maghreb–Sahara 1, ser. eds. Salem Chaker, and Marceau Gast. Paris: Société d’études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France.

[edit] External links

[edit] Online dictionaries