Minority Languages
Besides Arabic, several Berber languages are spoken as well by ca. 305,000 speakers, such as Nafusi, Ghadamès, Awjilah, Sawknah and Tamahaq. In addition, Domari, an Indo-Iranian language is spoken by ca. 33,000 speakers and Tedaga, a Saharan, by a few thousands.
The former dictator Muammar Gaddafi has denied the existence of Berbers as a separate ethnicity, and called Berbers a "product of colonialism" created by the West to divide Libya. The Berber language was not recognized or taught in schools, and it was forbidden in Libya to give children Berber names.
After recent uprisings in Libya, the National Transitional Council (rebels) has shown an openness towards the Berber language. The independent rebel "Libya TV", based in Qatar, has included the Berber language and its Tifinagh alphabet in some of its programming.
Read more about this topic: Languages Of Libya
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“A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight.”
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