Tifinagh (
in Neo-Tifinagh, Tifinaɣ in Berber Latin alphabet, pronounced [tifinaɣ]) is an alphabetic script used by some Berber peoples, notably the Tuareg, to write their language. The Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. It is not in widespread use as a means of daily communication, but often serves to politically and symbolically assert a Berber identity. A slightly modified version of this Berber script, called Tifinagh Ircam is used in a very limited number of Moroccan elementary schools in teaching the Berber language to children.
The word Tifinagh is etymologically derived from tifi negh 'our find/discovery'.[1]
Contents |
Linguists and historians tend to be specific in distinguishing between the millennia-old Berber abjad which is Tifinagh; and the Neo-Tifinagh alphabet which is based on the abjad but marks vowels and distinguishes more consonants.
The old Tifinagh script is found engraved in stones and tombs in some historical sites in nothern Algeria, in Tunisia, and in Tuareg areas in the African Sahara.
The Neo-Tifinagh script was developed and computerized in the 20th century mainly by Moroccan and Algerian researchers some of them based in Europe.
An older version of Tifinagh was more widely used by speakers of North Africa. It is attested from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD.
| Proto-Tifinagh | |
| Type | Abjad |
|---|---|
| Time period | 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD |
| Parent systems |
Proto-Canaanite alphabet
|
| Child systems | Tifinagh, Neo-Tifinagh |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | |
| Tifinagh (Tuareg) | |
| Type | Abjad |
|---|---|
| Spoken languages | Tuareg language |
| Time period | ?? to present |
| Parent systems |
Proto-Canaanite alphabet
|
| Child systems | Neo-Tifinagh |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | |
Traditionally, the script marks no vowels, except word-finally; however, various proposals to allow it to mark vowels have been made in recent times. In some areas, Arabic vowel diacritics are combined with Tifinagh characters to mark vowels.
Occasionally the script has been used to write other neighboring languages, such as Tagdal Songhai.
| Neo-Tifinagh | |
| Type | Alphabet |
|---|---|
| Time period | 1980 to present |
| Parent systems |
Proto-Canaanite alphabet
|
| ISO 15924 | Tfng |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | |
Salem Chaker, professor at INALCO had proposed a change in Neo-Tifinagh (Tafsut 1990 #14).
Until recently, virtually no books or websites were published in this alphabet, with activists favouring Latin (or, more rarely, Arabic) scripts for serious usage; however, it is extremely popular for symbolic use, with many books and websites written in a different script featuring logos or title pages using Neo-Tifinagh. However, in Morocco, the king took a "neutral" position between the claims of Latin script and Arabic script by adopting the Neo-Tifinagh script in 2003; as a result, books are beginning to be published in this script, and it is taught in some schools. Outside Morocco, it has no official status. Ironically, the Moroccan state arrested and imprisoned people using this script during 1980s and the 1990s.[2]
In Libya, the authorithies are, consistently, banning the Neo-Tifinagh script from being used in public like on stores' displays and banners.[3]
Neo-Tifinagh is encoded in the Unicode range U+2D30 to U+2D7F, starting from version 4.1.0. There are 55 defined characters, but there are more characters being used than those defined. In ISO 15924, the code Tfng is assigned to Neo-Tifinagh.
| Code | +0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +7 | +8 | +9 | +A | +B | +C | +D | +E | +F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U+2D30 | ||||||||||||||||
| U+2D40 | ||||||||||||||||
| U+2D50 | ||||||||||||||||
| U+2D60 | ||||||||||||||||
| U+2D70 |
Here is a comparison chart for the character glyph and the transliteration.
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Basic Tifinagh (IRCAM) | |
| Extended Tifinagh (IRCAM) | |
| Other Tifinagh letters | |
| Modern Tuareg letters | |
| This position shall not be used |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The IRCAM has lunched a software suite that enables Windows XP users to be able to view/write Tifinagh on windows machines. This suite can be downloaded from the IRCAM website download here.
It is possible to write Tifinagh on other systems as there are free Tifinagh fonts download here such as AFUS DEG WFUS developed by the SOLIDARITE BERBERO-EUROPENNE AFUS DEG WFUS .
|
|||||||||||
No comments have been added.