ISSN 3062-262X

The Amazigh language in Algeria: a study of its origins and the challenges of its generalization

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Dr. ABBAD YOUCEF

Abstract

The establishment of the Amazigh language as an official language contributes to the development of national identity by putting an end to seditions that seek to destabilize the regime through the Amazigh language, which has become one of the most important topics of our time, because it constitutes the cultural heritage of Algeria. Consequently, the policy of establishing the Amazigh language was one of the most important policies affected by the 2016 constitutional revision, as it aims to establish political stability and unify the national identity, which had gone through crises. It was imperative for the state to take measures to resolve them, which was achieved after nearly 36 years, with the Amazigh language pleading for its recognition as an official language, despite the destructive attempts of the colonial school to sow doubt in our language, our identity and ethnic affiliation, and to sow conflict within the people over authenticity. However, our ancestors worked in a unified framework, despite the historical difficulties, proving that Amazigh is a language of thought and a unified civilization, spreading through its dialects over the past centuries, alongside other languages such as Arabic and French. No conflict occurred between them, but their overlap was only a simple complementarity, cross-over and exchange of roles and functions. In this article, we will shed light on the origins of the Amazigh language in Algeria and the challenges of its dissemination, focusing on classification theories and the origin of the name, the distribution areas of Amazigh and its linguistic characteristics, then on the main difficulties she faced.

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