Sanhaja de Srair language

Not to be confused with Zenaga language.

Sanhaja de Srair
Senhaja de Srair
Chelha, Tasenhajit or Tamazight
Native to	Morocco
Region	Rif
Ethnicity	Berbers
Native speakers	86,000 (2014 census)[1]
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Berber Northern Atlas[2] Sanhaja de Srair
Language codes
ISO 639-3	sjs
Glottolog	senh1238
ELP	Senhaja de Srair

Senhaja de Srair ("Senhaja of Srair") is a Northern Berber language. It is spoken by the Sanhaja Berbers inhabiting the central part of the Moroccan Rif. It is spoken in the Ketama area west of the Tarifit speaking area in eastern Rif.

Despite its speech area, the Sanhaja language belongs to the Atlas branch of Berber.[2] It has also been influenced by the neighbouring Riffian language.[3]

Name of the language

Besides Senhaja de Srair, there are also several names such as Senhajiyya, Chelha, Chelha n Jbala, Tajeblit, Tamazight n Jbala, Tasenhajit.[4]

Dialects

Dialects of Senhaja Berber are Beni Ahmed, Beni Bechir, Beni Buensar, Beni Jennus, Beni Mesdui, Beni Seddat, Ketama, Sarcat, and Tagsut[3]

Writing System

Senhaja de Srair speakers are not used to write in their language. Unlike some other Berber languages, Tifinagh script is never used in Senhaja de Srair. 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: [4]

2 = ’ = ء	6 = ṭ = ط
3 = ɛ = ع	7 = ḥ = ح
4~8 = ġ = غ	9 = q = ق
5 = ḫ = خ

Arabic influences

Based on the Leipzig–Jakarta list, 17% of the vocabulary in Senhaja de Srair is borrowed.[4]

Consonants

Following shows the oppositions in the consonantal system:[4]

Voice	Voiced vs. voiceless consonants
Length	Short vs. long consonants
Pharyngealization	Non-pharyngealized vs. pharyngealized consonants
Spirantization	Stops vs. fricatives (spirantized consonants)
Assibilation	t vs. ț
Labialization

Vowels

There are three peripheral vowels (a, i, u) and a central vowel, schwa [ə], written as e. The vowel a is usually realized as [æ], i as [ɪ], u as [u], e as [ə].

Following shows the Senhaja vowel system: [4]

	Front	Mid	Back
Close	i		u
Mid		ə
Open		a

References

1. Sanhaja de Srair at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. Lameen Souag, 2004: "Senhaja de Srair is not Zenati, but rather Atlas, belonging (despite location) with Middle Atlas Tamazight."
3. "Senhaja Berber". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
4. Gutova, Evgeniya (26 April 2022). "Senhaja Berber Varieties : phonology, Morphology, and Morphosyntax". Retrieved 7 February 2023.

Bibliography

• Peter Behnstedt, "La frontera entre el bereber y el árabe en el Rif", Estudios de dialectología norteafricana y andalusí vol. 6, 2002.
• Esteban Ibañez, Diccionario español-senhayi (dialecto beraber de Senhaya de Srair), 1959.
• Mena Lafkiou, Atlas linguistique des variétés berbères du Rif (Berber Studies vol.15), 2007.
• A. Renisio, Études sur les dialectes berbères des Beni Iznassen, du Rif et des Senhaja de Sraïr. Grammaire, textes et lexique. PIHEM, vol. 12. Paris 1932.