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:
“It sounds like a soul in hell.”
—Ben Maddow (1909–1992)
“Dylan used to sound like a lung cancer victim singing Woody Guthrie. Now he sounds like a Rolling Stone singing Immanuel Kant.”
—Also quoted in Robert Shelton, No Direction Home, ch. 2, “Prophet Without Honor” (1986)
“Not many sounds in life ... exceed in interest a knock at the door.”
—Charles Lamb (1775–1834)