How many Moroccans consider Tamazight their mother tongue, and where do they live ?

Which Moroccan regions have the highest numbers of Amazigh native speakers among their populations, and where do Arabic (Darija) and Tamazight dominate ? Yabiladi analyzes the linguistic landscape of Morocco based on data from the 2024 General Census.

History : The first grammar book for Riffian Tamazight was written by a Spanish missionary

By the end of the 19th century, Spanish religious men in Morocco started to show interest in learning the Amazigh language, especially in the Rif region. The best example in this case is Pedro Hilarion Sarrionandia, a Franciscan priest who traveled to Morocco in an African mission. During his twenty-year stay in the Kingdom, he wrote a grammatical book for the Riffian language and a Spanish-Riffian dictionary.

«Tutlayt n ansagh», unveiling Morocco's whistled language tradition

In the Atlas Mountains, inhabitants created a complex whistling language, «tutlayt n ansagh», for communicating over long distances when shouting or messengers were impractical.

Jubantouja, a Moroccan rock band giving Tamazight a voice

Jubantouja is an Azilal-based rock band that makes music in Tamazight, a Moroccan language. The band has risen to fame during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Darija, a lingua franca influenced by both Arabic and Berber

Linguists believe that Darija is a lingua franca that helps Moroccans, with different cultural backgrounds, understand each other. The origins of this dialect, however, are influenced by Tamazight, Classical Arabic, and other sub-dialects that were once spoken in the Kingdom.