Amazigh is not one language. It is a family of closely related varieties spoken across North Africa, the Sahara and the Sahel. Linguists disagree on where language ends and dialect begins — but there is wide agreement that the varieties differ substantially in vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar.
All Amazigh varieties belong to the Afro-Asiatic language family. They are related to — but distinct from — Arabic, Hebrew, and the Cushitic and Chadic languages of East and Central Africa.
The main varieties
| Variety | Native name | Where spoken | Speakers (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kabyle | Taqbaylit | Kabylia, Algeria | 5–7 million |
| Chaoui | Tacawit / Tachawit | Aurès, Algeria | 2–3 million |
| Tachelhit | Tašlḥiyt | Souss & High Atlas, Morocco | 4–8 million |
| Central Atlas Tamazight | Tamaziɣt | Middle Atlas, Morocco | 2–3 million |
| Tarifit | Tarifit | Rif, Morocco | 1.5–3 million |
| Mozabite | Tumzabt | M'Zab valley, Algeria | 150,000–200,000 |
| Nafusi | Tanfusit | Nafusa mountains, Libya | 150,000–200,000 |
| Siwi | Jlan n Isiwan | Siwa Oasis, Egypt | 15,000–30,000 |
| Zenaga | Tuḍḍungiyya | Mauritania | a few thousand |
| Tuareg | Tamasheq / Tamajaq / Tamahaq | Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Libya | 1–3 million |
These figures are estimates. See the note at the bottom of this page.
Algeria
Algeria has the largest number of Amazigh varieties in one country:
- Kabyle (Taqbaylit) — Kabylia, east of Algiers. The most widely spoken and most documented Amazigh variety in the world.
- Chaoui (Tacawit) — Aurès mountains, eastern Algeria.
- Chenoui (Tachenwit) — Dahra and Ouarsenis mountains, northwestern Algeria.
- Mozabite (Tumzabt) — M'Zab valley, northern Sahara.
- Ouargli (Tagergrent) — Ouargla oasis.
- Gurara — Gourara region, near Timimoun.
- Tidikelt — Tidikelt plateau, deep Sahara.
- Tuareg (Tamahaq) — Hoggar and Tassili n'Ajjer, extreme south.
- Beni Snous and other small border varieties near Morocco.
Morocco
Three major varieties, each with large speaker communities:
- Tarifit — Rif mountains, northern Morocco. Also widely spoken in the Netherlands and Belgium.
- Central Atlas Tamazight (Tamaziɣt n waṭlas anammas) — Middle Atlas.
- Tashelhit / Tachelhit (Tašlḥiyt) — Souss plain and High Atlas, southern Morocco. The most widely spoken Moroccan Amazigh variety.
Smaller varieties include Ghomara, Senhaja, Figuig and Yebli.
Libya, Tunisia, Egypt
- Libya: Nafusi (Nafusa mountains), Zuwara, Ghadames, Awjila, Sokna
- Tunisia: Djerbi (Djerba), Matmata, Zraoua (near Tataouine), and small southern varieties
- Egypt: Siwi — the only living Amazigh variety in the country, spoken around the Siwa Oasis
Mauritania and the Sahel
- Mauritania: Zenaga (Tuḍḍungiyya) — now spoken only by a small number of people
- Mali: Tamasheq (Tamacheq)
- Niger: Tamajaq (Tamazheq)
- Burkina Faso: Tamasheq
Tuareg varieties share a continuous tradition of Tifinagh writing and a rich poetic culture.
Writing systems
Amazigh languages have been written with three main scripts:
- Tifinagh — traditional and modern Amazigh script, still actively used by Tuareg communities and standardised in Morocco as Tifinagh-IRCAM
- Latin alphabet — used for most modern Kabyle, Rifian and Shilha writing and scholarship. Also used by many diaspora communities.
- Arabic script — historically and currently used in some Amazigh contexts, especially in Morocco and among some Saharan communities.
A language can be written in more than one script. The choice of script is often cultural and political, not purely linguistic.
Notes on numbers
Speaker estimates above are approximate. They vary because:
- Some countries do not count language or ethnicity in censuses
- Many speakers are bilingual and may or may not identify as Amazigh
- Diaspora figures are difficult to measure
- Colonial and post-colonial sources often differed in how they classified varieties
What is not disputed: millions of people speak Amazigh languages every day, and these languages are an integral part of North African identity.