Tarifit

language

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July 17, 2026

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Tarifit is a Berber language spoken by the Rif people in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco. It is one of the major Berber languages, which are part of the Afro-Asiatic language family. While there are dialectal differences among Berber languages, they are generally mutually comprehensible. Tamazight, which includes Tarifit, became an official language in Morocco in 2011. Many speakers of Berber languages also speak Arabic, and French and Spanish are also widely used in Morocco. Berber languages are characterized by a root and pattern system for morphology and often feature internal plurals.12

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Berber languages
…include Tashelhit (Tashelhiyt, Tashelhait, Shilha), Tarifit, Kabyle, Tamazight, and Tamahaq. The family may also include extinct languages such as the Guanche languages of the Canary Islands, Old Libyan (Numidian), and Old Mauretanian, which are known from inscriptions but have not yet been studied thoroughly enough to make any affirmative generalizations…
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…include Tashelhit (Tashelhiyt, Tashelhait, Shilha), Tarifit, Kabyle, Tamazight, and Tamahaq. The family may also include extinct languages such as the Guanche languages of the Canary Islands, Old Libyan (Numidian), and Old Mauretanian, which are known from inscriptions but have not yet been studied thoroughly enough to make any affirmative generalizations…
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