Imraguen language

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The Imraguen or Imeraguen language is spoken by a tiny (thousand-strong) Imraguen fishing tribe in the Banc d'Arguin National Park on the Atlantic coast of Mauritania. According to Gerteiny (1967), it is "a strange version of Hassaniyya restructured on an Azêr base"; Hassaniyya is an Arabic dialect and Azer is a Soninke dialect. According to Fortier, the Imraguen speak the same language as the Nemadi, i.e. Hassaniyya.

The name "Imraguen" itself is a Berber word meaning "fishermen".

[edit] References

• Ethnologue article on Imeraguen
• Alfred G. Gerteiny 1967, Mauritania. Frederic A. Praeger.
• Corinne Fortier, Spring 2004. AU MIROIR DE L'AUTRE: Chasseurs (Némadi) et pêcheurs (Imraguen) dans un monde de pasteurs nomades (Mauritanie) in Figures Sahariennes no. 7.