Shawiya language


Shawiya, or Shawiya Berber, also spelt Chaouïa, is a Zenati Berber language spoken in Algeria by the Shawiya people. The language's primary speech area is the Awras Mountains and in the surrounding regions in eastern Algeria, including Batna, Khenchela, Sétif, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa, Biskra, Guelma, Mila and Constantine.
It is closely related to the Shenwa language of Central Algeria.

Language

The Shawiya people call their language Tacawit . Estimates of number of speakers range from 1.4 to 3 million speakers.
The French spelling of Chaouïa is commonly seen, due to the influence of French conventions on Algeria. Other spellings are "Chaoui", "Shawia", "Tachawit", "Thachawith", "Tachaouith" and "Thchèwith". In Shawiya, the leading – pronounced in that phonetic environment – is often reduced to an, so the native name is often heard as Hašawiθ.
Shawiya Berber was, until recently, an unwritten language and rarely taught at school. As the Shawiya people were predominantly rural and secluded, they often code-switch to Algerian Arabic, French or even English to discuss non-traditional technology and sociological concerns.
Recently, the Shawiya language, together with the Kabyle language, has begun to achieve some cultural and media prominence thanks to the Berber cultural and political movements in Algeria and to the introduction of Berber language education in some public schools.

Phonology

Vowels

  • can also be laxed as.

    Consonants

  • All consonants are geminated in tense positions. The tense equivalents of the spirants are the plosives. Simple do not occur phonemically, and simple is apparently uncommon.
  • Sounds are only heard when /n/ precedes semivowels /j, w/.
  • Sounds are only heard when in tense positions.