Rif Berber: From Senhaja to Iznasen. A qualitative and quantitative approach to classification

Résumé En

By combining qualitative (synchronic and diachronic) and quantitative (algorithmic)approaches, this study examines the nature, structure, and dynamics of the linguisticvariation attested in Berber of the Rif area (North, Northwest, and Northeast Morocco). Based on a cross-level corpus of data obtained from the Atlas linguistique desvarieties berbères du Rif (Lafkioui 2007) and from numerous linguistic, sociolinguistic, and ethnographic fieldwork investigations in the area since 1992, this study showsthat these Berber varieties form a language continuum with the following five stablecore aggregates, which cut across administrative and political borders: Western RifBerber, West-Central Rif Berber, Central Rif Berber, East-Central Rif Berber, andEastern Rif Berber. Furthermore, data mining studies made it possible to objectivelyidentify the principal aggregate discriminators of the Rif Berber continuum, whichare dealt with in the study. A special focus in the article is put on the interplay between system-internal and system-external parameters for the selection, diffusion,and transformation of variants in Rif Berber.