Awjila (also Aujila, Augila, Aoudjila, Awgila, Awdjila; own name: Jlan n Awilen; in other Berber varieties Tawjilit[2][3]) is a severely endangered (considered "moribund" by Ethnologue)[4]Eastern Berber language spoken in Cyrenaica, Libya,[5] in the Awjila oasis. Due to the political situation in Libya, immediate data on the language has been inaccessible.[6] However, Facebook postings by speakers and younger semi-speakers have provided some recent supplementary data.[7]
Awjila is a member of the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic language family, of the Eastern Berber subgroup. It is closely related to Ghadames of Libya though considerably more endangered, with an estimated 2,000–3,000 native speakers remaining.[8]UNESCO considers Awjila to be seriously endangered as the youngest speakers have reached or passed middle age.[9]
The Berber languages of Libya faced severe oppression during the period of Muammar Gaddafi, which has likely been the cause of the demise of some varieties such as Sokna and the endangerment of others, including Awjila and Ghadames. The usage of Berber/Amazigh languages was effectively prohibited, and Gaddafi completely denied the existence of the Imazighen people, reportedly saying, "call yourselves whatever you want inside your homes – Berbers, children of Satan, whatever – but you are only Libyans when you leave your homes".[10] He denied the existence of Berbers as a separate ethnicity, and called Berbers a "product of colonialism" created by the West to divide Libya.[11][12] He repeatedly targeted Amazigh rights activists (including linguists from abroad), to which can be attributed the lack of current and updated information on the Libyan Berber languages and the relatively limited content available, even in Arabic, on the Internet (as opposed to the more extensive resources found on Moroccan and Algerian Amazigh varieties). The language is, however, used on Facebook by some Awjili members.[13]
History of scholarshipedit
Because of the political issues in Libya, field work on Awjila has been limited. The earliest studies of the language were carried out by Müller in 1827,[14] however, his work is difficult to analyze because there were no standard conventions such as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for transcribing it at that time and because he failed to make distinctions for various sounds in Awjila (such the difference between as emphatic, pharyngeal consonants and their non-emphatic counterparts).[6] Moritz von Beurmann also contributed a short word list but some forms contradict information found in later sources.[6] The latest field work was done by Umberto Paradisi in 1960, whose data (in the form of texts) have become the basis for all future studies of the language, particularly that of contemporary scholar Marijn van Putten who has taken up the study of Awjila and other Eastern Berber varieties. Van Putten, who has published extensively on the language, relies heavily on the work of Paradisi and has used it to compile a dictionary and a grammar within his 2014 book A Grammar of Awjila Berber.[6]
Writing systemedit
Although historically Libyco-Berber languages were written with the Tifinagh alphabet between second century BCE and third century CE, Aujila and other Amazigh languages have remained oral for most of their modern existence. In recent times most Amazigh languages are written in either Latin or Arabic script, although attempts to revive the Amazigh languages and cultures have led to the reintroduction of a "neo-Tifinagh" script in several domains. Nevertheless, Gaddafi had banned the script during the 42-years of his oppressive regime and therefore it is unlikely that the few Awjila speakers make any significant use of it.[15]
Phonologyedit
Awjila has several interesting phonological features that set it apart from most other varieties of Berber. A few notable distinctions are listed below: (Van Putten)
Retention of Proto-Berber/β/ as the /v/ rather than being lost as in most other modern varieties.[16]
Retention of velar stop/k/ where most Berber varieties have replaced it with palatal approximant /j/. Example: Awjila: təkəmmušt vs. Tachelhit: taymmust meaning bundle[16]
Clitic –a is used with the present to express a resultative state, a feature shared only by the easternmost Berber variety, Siwa[18]
Statusedit
Due to the already dwindled population of Awjila speakers and the continued political strife in post-Arab Spring Libya, the future of this language seems grim. Although researchers at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and the president of the Congrès Mondial Amazigh have confirmed that speakers of the language still remain, all of the known speakers have been advanced in age, suggesting that younger generations are not learning Awjila.[6]
Referencesedit
^Awjila Berber language at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
^Linguasfera: Tamazic (Berber)(catalan) Llengües, Literatures i Cultures del Món, [LLCM], Retrieved the 27 October 2015
^Berbers willen geen Arabieren meer zijn(unimportant parts in dutch), maroc.nl, Retrieved the 27 October 2015
^http://www.tawalt.com/?p=14122 سلطات الامن الليبية تمنع نشر الملصق الرسمي لمهرجان الزي التقليدي بكباو [Libyan security authorities to prevent the publication of the official poster for the festival traditional costume Pkpau] (in Arabic). TAWALT. 2007.
^ abcdMarijn, Putten Van. "Some Notes on the Historical Consonantism of Awjila." Folia Orientalia 51 (2014): 257-74.
^Van Putten, Marijn. "Some Notes on the Development of Awjila Berber Vowels1." Nordic Journal of African Studies 22.4 (2013): 236-255.
Awjilah Profile at the Endangered Languages Project
Collection of Awjila texts with glosses and English translation
Awjila Blog
Libyan security authorities to prevent the publication of the official poster for the festival traditional costume Pkpau
December 15, 2023
awjila, language, awjila, also, aujila, augila, aoudjila, awgila, awdjila, name, jlan, awilen, other, berber, varieties, tawjilit, severely, endangered, considered, moribund, ethnologue, eastern, berber, language, spoken, cyrenaica, libya, awjila, oasis, polit. Awjila also Aujila Augila Aoudjila Awgila Awdjila own name Jlan n Awilen in other Berber varieties Tawjilit 2 3 is a severely endangered considered moribund by Ethnologue 4 Eastern Berber language spoken in Cyrenaica Libya 5 in the Awjila oasis Due to the political situation in Libya immediate data on the language has been inaccessible 6 However Facebook postings by speakers and younger semi speakers have provided some recent supplementary data 7 Awjila Berber languageJlan n AwilenNative toLibyaRegionCyrenaicaNative speakers2 700 2020 1 Language familyAfro Asiatic BerberEasternAwjila Berber languageLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code auj class extiw title iso639 3 auj auj a Glottologawji1241ELPAwjilah Contents 1 General information 2 History of scholarship 3 Writing system 4 Phonology 5 Morphology and syntax 6 Status 7 References 8 External linksGeneral information editAwjila is a member of the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic language family of the Eastern Berber subgroup It is closely related to Ghadames of Libya though considerably more endangered with an estimated 2 000 3 000 native speakers remaining 8 UNESCO considers Awjila to be seriously endangered as the youngest speakers have reached or passed middle age 9 The Berber languages of Libya faced severe oppression during the period of Muammar Gaddafi which has likely been the cause of the demise of some varieties such as Sokna and the endangerment of others including Awjila and Ghadames The usage of Berber Amazigh languages was effectively prohibited and Gaddafi completely denied the existence of the Imazighen people reportedly saying call yourselves whatever you want inside your homes Berbers children of Satan whatever but you are only Libyans when you leave your homes 10 He denied the existence of Berbers as a separate ethnicity and called Berbers a product of colonialism created by the West to divide Libya 11 12 He repeatedly targeted Amazigh rights activists including linguists from abroad to which can be attributed the lack of current and updated information on the Libyan Berber languages and the relatively limited content available even in Arabic on the Internet as opposed to the more extensive resources found on Moroccan and Algerian Amazigh varieties The language is however used on Facebook by some Awjili members 13 History of scholarship editBecause of the political issues in Libya field work on Awjila has been limited The earliest studies of the language were carried out by Muller in 1827 14 however his work is difficult to analyze because there were no standard conventions such as the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA for transcribing it at that time and because he failed to make distinctions for various sounds in Awjila such the difference between as emphatic pharyngeal consonants and their non emphatic counterparts 6 Moritz von Beurmann also contributed a short word list but some forms contradict information found in later sources 6 The latest field work was done by Umberto Paradisi in 1960 whose data in the form of texts have become the basis for all future studies of the language particularly that of contemporary scholar Marijn van Putten who has taken up the study of Awjila and other Eastern Berber varieties Van Putten who has published extensively on the language relies heavily on the work of Paradisi and has used it to compile a dictionary and a grammar within his 2014 book A Grammar of Awjila Berber 6 Writing system editAlthough historically Libyco Berber languages were written with the Tifinagh alphabet between second century BCE and third century CE Aujila and other Amazigh languages have remained oral for most of their modern existence In recent times most Amazigh languages are written in either Latin or Arabic script although attempts to revive the Amazigh languages and cultures have led to the reintroduction of a neo Tifinagh script in several domains Nevertheless Gaddafi had banned the script during the 42 years of his oppressive regime and therefore it is unlikely that the few Awjila speakers make any significant use of it 15 Phonology editAwjila has several interesting phonological features that set it apart from most other varieties of Berber A few notable distinctions are listed below Van Putten Retention of Proto Berber b as the v rather than being lost as in most other modern varieties 16 Loss of the pharyngealized voiced dental stop and entirely replaced it with the voiceless variant Example Awjila aveṭ vs Tachelhit iḍ meaning night 16 Retention of velar stop k where most Berber varieties have replaced it with palatal approximant j Example Awjila tekemmust vs Tachelhit taymmust meaning bundle 16 Palatalization of s and z to ʃ written as s and ʒ written as z 16 Dominance of the i vowel and seeming shift from the a vowel of other varieties to i 17 Morphology and syntax editAwjila also has several distinguishing features in the domains of morphology and syntax 18 Lacks overt case marking that has been retained in other Berber varieties 18 Lacks clitic fronting 18 Clitic a is used with the present to express a resultative state a feature shared only by the easternmost Berber variety Siwa 18 Status editDue to the already dwindled population of Awjila speakers and the continued political strife in post Arab Spring Libya the future of this language seems grim Although researchers at the School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS and the president of the Congres Mondial Amazigh have confirmed that speakers of the language still remain all of the known speakers have been advanced in age suggesting that younger generations are not learning Awjila 6 References edit Awjila Berber language at Ethnologue 26th ed 2023 nbsp Linguasfera Tamazic Berber catalan Llengues Literatures i Cultures del Mon LLCM Retrieved the 27 October 2015 Berbers willen geen Arabieren meer zijn unimportant parts in dutch maroc nl Retrieved the 27 October 2015 Awjila Ethnologue Retrieved 8 October 2023 http portal unesco org ci en ev php URL ID 11198 amp URL DO DO TOPIC amp URL SECTION 201 html Libya UNESCO CI Libya UNESCO CI UNESCO n d Web 11 May 2015 a b c d e van Putten M 2014 A Grammar of Awjila Berber Libya Based on Umberto Paradisi s Material Berber Studies 41 Rudiger Koppe Verlag Koln van Putten M amp L Souag Attrition and revival in Awjila Berber Corpus 14 pp 23 58 2015 Brenzinger Matthias Language endangerment in northern Africa Language diversity endangered 181 2007 123 UNESCO http muftah org denied existence libyan berbers under gaddafi and hope for the current revolution VVA EflViko Solieman Ishrah Denied Existence Libyan Berbers under Gaddafi and Hope for the Current Revolution Muftah N p 24 Mar 2011 Web 11 May 2015 Libya Gaddafi Rails Against No Fly Attacks and Berbers allAfrica com 20 March 2011 Libyan rebels seize western border crossing as fighting in mountains intensifies The Washington Post 21 April 2011 Awjili negation and Facebook Oriental Berber Retrieved the 27 October 2015 https orientalberber wordpress com 2012 05 18 a look into the history of awjila Putten Marijn Van A Look into the History of Awjila Oriental Berber N p 18 May 2012 Web 11 May 2015 http www tawalt com p 14122 سلطات الامن الليبية تمنع نشر الملصق الرسمي لمهرجان الزي التقليدي بكباو Libyan security authorities to prevent the publication of the official poster for the festival traditional costume Pkpau in Arabic TAWALT 2007 a b c d Marijn Putten Van Some Notes on the Historical Consonantism of Awjila Folia Orientalia 51 2014 257 74 Van Putten Marijn Some Notes on the Development of Awjila Berber Vowels1 Nordic Journal of African Studies 22 4 2013 236 255 a b c d van Putten Marijn An Aujila Berber Vocabulary External links editAwjilah Profile at the Endangered Languages Project Collection of Awjila texts with glosses and English translation Awjila Blog Libyan security authorities to prevent the publication of the official poster for the festival traditional costume Pkpau Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Awjila language amp oldid 1182669417, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
