Sounds
Riffian's most noticeable differences from other Berber dialects are that:
- /l/ in other dialects corresponds to ⟨ř⟩ in Riffian (example: ul (heart) → uř )
- /ll/ (geminate /lː/) in other dialects corresponds to ⟨ǧǧ⟩ (/dː͡ʒ/) in Riffian (example: yelli (my daughter) → yeǧǧi ).
- /lt/ in other dialects corresponds to ⟨č⟩ (/t͡ʃ/) in Riffian (example: weltma (my sister) → wečma ).
The above mentioned variations don't apply the Riffian sub-dialects of "Ikebdanen" and "Iznasen".
| Riffian letter | Riffian word | The word in other Berber dialects | meaning in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ř ř | uř | ul | heart |
| aɣyuř | aɣyul | donkey | |
| awař | awal | speech / talk | |
| Ǧ ǧ | azeǧǧif | azellif | head |
| yeǧǧa | yella | (he) is / (he) exists | |
| ajeǧǧid | ajellid | king | |
| Č č | wečma | weltma | my sister |
| tacemřač | tacemlalt | blonde / white | |
| taɣyuč | taɣyult | female donkey (jenny) |
- postvocalic /r/ preceding a consonantal coda is dropped, as in taddart (house/home) → taddaat. Thus in tamara the /r/ is conserved because it precedes a vowel.
- /k/ usually becomes /ʃ/, while in some local sub-accents it is merely softened.
- Additionally, the initial masculine a- prefix is dropped in certain words, e.g., afus (hand) becomes fus, and afighar (snake) becomes fighar. This change, characteristic of Zenati Berber varieties, further distances Riffian from neighbouring dialects such as Atlas-Tamazight and Shilha.
- "Tarifit" or "Tarifiyt" is often pronounced as .
Read more about this topic: Riffian Language
Famous quotes containing the word sounds:
“The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence.”
—Paul Simon (b. 1941)
“The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible
Of that eternal language, which thy God
Utters, who from eternity doth teach
Himself in all, and all things in himself.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)
“I’m not the man to baulk at a low smell,
I’m not the man to insist on asphodel.
This sounds like a He-fellow, don’t you think?
It sounds like that. I belch, I bawl, I drink.”
—Dame Edith Sitwell (1887–1964)