Shilha Language

Shilha Language

Shilha ( /ˈʃɪlhə/) also known as Tashelhit (Tashelhit Berber) or Chleuh (native Tacelḥiyt or Tamazirt n Suss, Moroccan Arabic: الشلحة Shelha), is the most populous variety of Berber, with some 8 million speakers.

Shilha is spoken in High-Atlas Morocco, an area ranging from the northern slopes of the High-Atlas to the southern slopes of the Anti-Atlas, the Great Canyon, bounded to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The northern limit of the Shilha area is impossible to pinpoint because of a smooth transition into Southern Middle Atlas Berber. The High-Atlas Mountains, plains and valleys, and the Great Canyons region is central to the Shilha area, therefore the Shilha-speaking Berbers are also found in surrounding regions and cities well outside of the High-Atlas and Souss areas.

There are also large Shilha-speaking migrant communities of Moroccan Berber origin living in France, Belgium, Germany, the United States, and Canada.

Shilha is known for its rich oral literature. Written literature written in an Arabic alphabet has been produced since the eleventh century. Muhammad Awzal (ca. 1680–1749) was one of the most prolific Shilha poets. Important collections of Shilha literature exist in Leiden University, and in Aix-en-Provence, France, in addition to manuscripts in Morocco.