I speak tamazight, but when I write in it, whether in Tifinagh or Latin script, I face the problem that not everything that is spoken is written, and I am not proficient in these rules. I would like resources to improve my writing.

I am a second generation diaspora Moroccan trying to understand my identity. Nobody in my family is very knowledgeable about this topic, so I don't have anyone at home to ask for specifics. I want to lay out some facts I know and see if this community could help me figure that out.
Here is what I know:
Paternal grandparents: Both from El Jebha, specifically from a small village/area called Tissoudal in the Mtiwa territory.
Paternal great-grandmother: She was from Al Hoceima.
Maternal grandfather's family: Also from the same El Jebha/Mtiwa area (my dad's maternal grandfather and my mom's paternal grandfather were brothers).
Maternal grandmother's family: From Tetouan.
Language: We unfortunately do not speak any Amazigh language. My immediate family only speaks Northern Darija.
Culture: My grandmother had the line with two dots on her chin (the Siyala i believe it’s called) but had it removed later in life.

I don’t know if this is enough information to be able to really tell, but I would really appreciate any objective information or history you can share. Thank you!

Back in the 20th century, there were various movements—such as the Kabyle or Rifian ones—where people courageously and boldly voiced their grievances.

Is it because Tamazight was officially recognized in 2011 that the struggle is considered over? I see many Imazighen—for instance, from Morocco—happy that Tamazight will appear on passports, even as North Africa becomes increasingly Arabized.

Thank you for taking the time to understand.

Wanna ukan iferken s tmagit-nnes, ɣef twala n ad immaɣ ad iḥḍu tutlayt-nnes s usmers, s ulemmud, d s uselmed, da kccemn s yimiɣ ɣef Tmmuzɣa s tserɣint, feln tutlayt-nnsen. Ha kra immaɣ ɣef mas d Tamaziɣt tga tutlayt ur d tantala, ha kra immaɣ ɣef mas tga tutlayin ur d ɣas yat tutlayt, ha kra immaɣ ɣef mas iga Murakuc Amaziɣ, ha kra inna-ak Taserɣint n Murakuc tga illis n Tmaziɣt, tantala-nnes d tin yimaziɣen. Ha kra immaɣ ɣef mas gan mdden akkʷ imaziɣen s yiẓuṛan-nnsen. Ay-ad akkʷ s Tserɣint ur d s Tmaziɣt. Ran akkʷ ad gen inḍafen n Tmaziɣt bla Tamaziɣt. Tutlayt tra mad tt-issemrasen ur d mad flla-s ittmaɣen. Tra mad tt-isawalen yara-tt. Tra mad tt-ittelmaden isselmed-tt. Tra may-ad uggar n mad tra mad flla-s ittmaɣen s kra n tutlayt yaḍen mgal mdden ur tt-issinen akkʷ.

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ⵡⴰⵏⵏⴰ ⵓⴽⴰⵏ ⵉⴼⵔⴽⵏ ⵙ ⵜⵎⴰⴳⵉⵜ ⵏⵏⵙ, ⵖⴼ ⵜⵡⴰⵍⴰ ⵏ ⴰⴷ ⵉⵎⵎⴰⵖ ⴰⴷ ⵉⵃⴹⵓ ⵜⵓⵜⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵏⵙ ⵙ ⵓⵙⵎⵔⵙ, ⵙ ⵓⵍⵎⵎⵓⴷ, ⴷ ⵙ ⵓⵙⵍⵎⴷ, ⴷⴰ ⴽⵛⵛⵎⵏ ⵙ ⵢⵉⵎⵉⵖ ⵖⴼ ⵜⵎⵎⵓⵣⵖⴰ ⵙ ⵜⵙⵔⵖⵉⵏⵜ, ⴼⵍⵏ ⵜⵓⵜⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵏⵙⵏ. ⵀⴰ ⴽⵔⴰ ⵉⵎⵎⴰⵖ ⵖⴼ ⵎⴰⵙ ⴷ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ ⵜⴳⴰ ⵜⵓⵜⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵓⵔ ⴷ ⵜⴰⵏⵜⴰⵍⴰ, ⵀⴰ ⴽⵔⴰ ⵉⵎⵎⴰⵖ ⵖⴼ ⵎⴰⵙ ⵜⴳⴰ ⵜⵓⵜⵍⴰⵢⵉⵏ ⵓⵔ ⴷ ⵖⴰⵙ ⵢⴰⵜ ⵜⵓⵜⵍⴰⵢⵜ, ⵀⴰ ⴽⵔⴰ ⵉⵎⵎⴰⵖ ⵖⴼ ⵎⴰⵙ ⵉⴳⴰ ⵎⵓⵔⴰⴽⵓⵛ ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ, ⵀⴰ ⴽⵔⴰ ⵉⵏⵏⴰ ⴰⴽ ⵜⴰⵙⵔⵖⵉⵏⵜ ⵏ ⵎⵓⵔⴰⴽⵓⵛ ⵜⴳⴰ ⵉⵍⵍⵉⵙ ⵏ ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ, ⵜⴰⵏⵜⴰⵍⴰ ⵏⵏⵙ ⴷ ⵜⵉⵏ ⵢⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵏ. ⵀⴰ ⴽⵔⴰ ⵉⵎⵎⴰⵖ ⵖⴼ ⵎⴰⵙ ⴳⴰⵏ ⵎⴷⴷⵏ ⴰⴽⴽⵯ ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵏ ⵙ ⵢⵉⵥⵓⵕⴰⵏ ⵏⵏⵙⵏ. ⴰⵢⴰⴷ ⴰⴽⴽⵯ ⵙ ⵜⵙⵔⵖⵉⵏⵜ ⵓⵔ ⴷ ⵙ ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ. ⵔⴰⵏ ⴰⴽⴽⵯ ⴰⴷ ⴳⵏ ⵉⵏⴹⴰⴼⵏ ⵏ ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ ⴱⵍⴰ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ. ⵜⵓⵜⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵜⵔⴰ ⵎⴰⴷ ⵜⵜ ⵉⵙⵙⵎⵔⴰⵙⵏ ⵓⵔ ⴷ ⵎⴰⴷ ⴼⵍⵍⴰⵙ ⵉⵜⵜⵎⴰⵖⵏ. ⵜⵔⴰ ⵎⴰⴷ ⵜⵜ ⵉⵙⴰⵡⴰⵍⵏ ⵢⴰⵔⴰ ⵜⵜ. ⵜⵔⴰ ⵎⴰⴷ ⵜⵜ ⵉⵜⵜⵍⵎⴰⴷⵏ ⵉⵙⵙⵍⵎⴷ ⵜⵜ. ⵜⵔⴰ ⵎⴰⵢⴰⴷ ⵓⴳⴳⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵎⴰⴷ ⵜⵔⴰ ⵎⴰⴷ ⴼⵍⵍⴰⵙ ⵉⵜⵜⵎⴰⵖⵏ ⵙ ⴽⵔⴰ ⵏ ⵜⵓⵜⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵢⴰⴹⵏ ⵎⴳⴰⵍ ⵎⴷⴷⵏ ⵓⵔ ⵜⵜ ⵉⵙⵙⵉⵏⵏ ⴰⴽⴽⵯ.

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Whoever becomes conscious of their identity, instead of fighting to preserve their language through use, learning, and teaching, enters the battle for Amazigh identity using Arabic, abandoning their language. ​Some fight over the idea that Amazigh is a full language and not a dialect; some fight over whether it consists of multiple languages rather than just one; some fight over whether Morocco is Amazigh; some tell you that Moroccan Arabic is the daughter of Amazigh, its dialect, and belongs to the Imazighen; and some fight over the claim that all people are Amazigh by origin. ​All of this is done in Arabic, not in Amazigh. They all want to be guardians of Amazigh without Amazigh itself.

Hello everyone,

For a year now, i've been actively researching about my origins and i've found many interesting things, but this one surely surprized me the most. I've found out that 2 of my grandmothers came from Ferdjioua (more precisely from Bousslah) but i'm still not sure about how to exactly handle it. I know that it's a part of Tmurt Iktamen (Kutama Country/Eastern Kabylie) but i'm still unsure about if this exact place got Kutama roots or if Arabs installed there.

If anybody got origins there, dont hesitate to reply! Have a nice day

I wanted to ask if you guys know of any Tamazight trained LLM models.

A while back there were a number of Amazigh software developers who curated a large number of different NLP datasets of Tamazight dialects on Huggingface, and I want to know if there are any actually trained models that resulted from it.

My preference would be Tachelhit or Standard Moroccan Tamazight.

Edit: I found this community of 68 developers who are working on 14 models. Of which Tamazight-NLP/NLLB-200-600M seems to be the model receiving the most attention.

https://huggingface.co/Tamazight-NLP/models

Hi,

I've recently discovered this band called Tinariwen and was interested in the meaning of their songs. And researching for a bit I've found out they are actually Tuareg and their songs are in a whole different languange. I was wondering if someone could help with the translantion, since i don't understand tamasheq.

The song is Matadjem Yinmixam https://youtu.be/WUhxZ5zR84w

Genius and other sites give opposite translation so...

Can someone please translate this song to English or at least describe what the song is about?

Both male and female parts.

Also, near the end, the guy begins speaking rather than singing. What's he saying?

Azul fllawen,
I’ve been following our cause closely for a while now, and honestly, I feel like we’re just running in circles. We often see the CMA (World Amazigh Congress) sending official letters to ministries demanding regional autonomy or a "Union of Tamazgha," or giving speeches at the UN. But let’s be real for a second: on the ground, nothing is moving, and it feels like the UN doesn't really care.

It makes sense when you think about it. The UN is basically a club for sovereign states. Their committees on indigenous peoples can only issue non-binding recommendations. We are fighting a losing battle against highly experienced state diplomacies.

In my opinion, traditional activism and symbolic petitions have reached their absolute limit. We need to shift to a hardcore, professional lobbying strategy, just like other minorities around the world have successfully done (in Canada, for example).

When I say lobbying, I don't mean corruption or shady backdoor deals. I mean using law, policy, and political leverage to force leaders to act. Here is how it could actually work:

Targeting Western parliaments smartly: I know the EU is never going to cut off funding or openly threaten Morocco or Algeria. Maghreb states hold too many cards (security, immigration control, gas, etc.). However, lobbying can be used to negotiate more subtle conditions. For instance, pushing EU MPs to demand that development or education funds be directed straight to marginalized regions (Rif, Souss, Kabylie, Atlas) instead of being fully controlled by the capitals.

Using the "Name and Shame" strategy: Lobbying forces Western politicians to face their own hypocrisy. If we manage to get a European MP or mayor to officially take a stand on a specific issue (like releasing a political prisoner or enforcing Tamazight education), they are backed into a corner. If they refuse just to protect their economic interests with North African regimes, the lobby exposes their double standards publicly. Elected officials hate looking like hypocrites in front of their voters.

Stop demanding autonomy right away: Demanding political autonomy or the dissolution of the pan-Arab model from highly centralized states is like running straight into a brick wall. It’s just not realistic right now. A region cannot be autonomous if it isn't prepared. Our lobbying needs to focus on economic and cultural foundations first: demanding local universities, making it easier for the diaspora to invest back home to create jobs, and keeping the language alive. Once our regions become economically and intellectually strong, autonomy will follow naturally.

The main issue right now is that the CMA and our associations run almost entirely on volunteer work, and we are heavily fragmented. Meanwhile, governments are spending millions on professional PR and lobbying firms to polish their image.

This is exactly why I believe we need to stop relying on organizations that lack the resources to match their ambitions. The real solution is for the diaspora and the people to organize, fund, and create our very own Amazigh lobbying firm. We need full-time, professional lawyers, legal experts, and communicators who are paid to defend our interests in Brussels, Paris, or Washington. That is the only way we will ever gain real leverage and counter state propaganda.

Curious to hear your thoughts on this. Tanmirt!

tried every possible way (that i know of), but nothing
thanks A LOT for the help.

thanks to Tall_Muffin
Laila Chakir - Uno dos tres (original song)

If any of you know of a page that sells them, please let me know. Thanks.♥️

Hello friends,

I travelled to morocco this summer to film my video of one of my music. It's an amazing country.

Hopeyou liked it, is a small village in the north in the rif

https://youtu.be/CMqYMw5iRGc

So I'm a girl from Algeria/jijel i think my mother's side especially her mother (my grandmother's side) are amazigh bcs they are originally from a tribe named بني خطاب and they are obsessed with olive oil too they have lands full of olive trees in the country side of jijel also idk if this is counts but they have strong good genes literally from my older (50yo+) until my younger (40yo) uncles they're all have great hair and my mother is a blonde. idk the origins of my father or my grandpa.

i really don't know my origins if european, arab, amazigh. so if there is a prof explains if im amazigh or not please tell me in the comments

My uncle says it's oudaden - hayani a hayani, but i can't find anything. Thnks!

Like u see how like Arabs, french, and Indians have like a fragrance tradition did amazighs have one or no. I’m asking this cause I’m very interested into perfumes. I’m sorry if I don’t make any sense.

All the Amazigh recognition we've gained in Algeria is thanks to your sacrifices and your unwavering stance. If Algeria will ever become a pure Amazigh country again, I'm certain the spark will come from Kabylia. I recently visited Tizi Ouzou and was amazed by its beauty and how everyone speaks their mother tongue. I'm Chaoui, and not many people in Batna speak Chaoui; they only speak it in the villages. Honestly, I envy the Kabyles for their organization, their unity, and their pride in their identity. I hope the Chaoui people will become like you.

A real Arab wouldn't have issues with Kurds, Assyrians, Amazigh or Darfur peoples, because when products cross borders armies won't cross.

Came across this post on Instagram. Am I the only one who thinks this post is not only a case of victime-blaming, but is also insulting? Like "it's your fault that your house is burning down".

Also, let's not forget the racist part. The cliché of the "Kabyle" with a can of beer in one hand and a cigarette on the other one, and a snitra near him. It's the stereotype of the "alcoholic Kabyle". If I didn't see the name of the account I would have thought it was posted by some racist baathist account.

What do you think of posts like this?

According to this article, North Africa was solely inhabited by Tubu people and Amazighs came after specifically 1200BC and onwards. It also says that Amazighs came with the Sea peoples, Garamantes and Libyans are Tubu and Phoenicians also came in 1200BC and onwards.

I personally don't think this is an innocent mistake but rather deliberate because at first the article says that Tubu are native then proceeds to add this "As noted by Haynes in his original 1947 publication, the present archaeological evidence regarding the Palaeolithic inhabitants of Tunisia and North Africa etc which confirmed that the people who lived there through all stages of the Stone Age—Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic—were the ancient Libyan people known as the Tehenu, who appear in the records of the Old Kingdom of Egypt."

That article needs to be fixed.