Language/Standard-moroccan-tamazight/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

The Berber Alphabet

Welcome to our lesson on Berber languages pronunciation, focusing on the Standard-moroccan-tamazight alphabet and its pronunciation. The Berber languages, also known as Amazigh languages, Tamaziɣt, Tamazight, or Thamazight, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by the Berbers, who are indigenous to North Africa.

Traditionally, these languages were written with the ancient Libyco-Berber script, which has evolved into the modern Tifinagh script. In this lesson, you will learn how to write the different letters of the Berber alphabet and how to pronounce them using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Additionally, we will provide a video featuring the pronunciation of the letters by a native speaker to help you master the sounds.

At the end of this lesson, you will also find a virtual keyboard to practice typing each special character of the Standard-moroccan-tamazight language. Enjoy your journey into the fascinating world of Berber languages! 📚✨

Berber Alphabet and IPA Pronunciation

Berber-Latin		IRCAM's Tifinagh equivalent	Arabic equivalent	IPA equivalent	Similar English sound
1	A a	ⴰ	أ / ا / َ	æ	"a" like in the English word bad
2	B b	ⴱ	ب	β	like the Spanish intervocalic "b" or "v"
3	C c	ⵛ	ش	ʃ	the English "sh" in ship
4	Č č (tc)	ⵞ	تش	t͡ʃ	the English "ch" in China
5	D d	ⴷ	د / ذ	d or ð	English "d", and English "th" in this
6	Ḍ ḍ	ⴹ	ض	ðˤ	emphatic "d"
7	E e	ⴻ	none	ə	"a" in (unstressed) attack
8	Ɛ ɛ ( â)	ⵄ	ع	ʕ	like Arabic ع `ayn (no English equivalent)
9	F f	ⴼ	ف	f	like the English "f"
10	G g	ⴳ	(گ)	ɡ	"g" like in the words gate or Greek
11	Ǧ ǧ (dj)	ⴵ	(دج)	d͡ʒ	English "j" like in the words joke and James
12	Ɣ ɣ (gh)	ⵖ	غ	ɣ	like "g" in Spanish haga or Southern Dutch gaan
13	H h	ⵀ	هـ	h	"h" like in hello or high
14	Ḥ ḥ	ⵃ	ح	ħ	like in Arabic Muḥammad (no English equivalent)
15	I i	ⵉ	ي / ِ	i	English ee like in sheet
16	J j	ⵊ	ج	ʒ	like in confusion or television, French "j" in déjà vu.
17	K k	ⴽ	(ک)	k	English "k"
18	L l	ⵍ	ل	l or ɫ	non-emphatic "L" (like in German or French)
19	M m	ⵎ	م	m	m
20	N n	ⵏ	ن	n	n
21	Q q	ⵇ	ق	q, qʷ or ɢ	like Arabic ق "qaf" (no English equivalent)
22	R r	ⵔ	ر	r, rˤ	like a Spanish or Italian "r"
23	Ř ř	ⵔ / ⵍ	ر	r ~ l	A very light "R", pronounced like something between "R" and "L".
24	Ṛ ṛ	ⵕ	ر	rˤ	emphatic "r"
25	S s	ⵙ	س	s	s
26	Ṣ ṣ	ⵚ	ص	sˤ	emphatic "s"
27	T t	ⵜ	ت / ث	t or θ	English "t", and/or English "th" in three
28	Ṭ ṭ	ⵟ	ط	tˤ	emphatic "t"
29	U u	ⵓ	و / ُ	ʊ	English "u" like in put
30	W w	ⵡ	وْ	w	English "w" in water
31	X x	ⵅ	خ	χ	Spanish "j", German / Dutch "ch", Arabic "kh"
32	Y y	ⵢ	يْ	j	English "y" like in yes
33	Z z	ⵣ	ز	z	English "z" in zoo
34	Ẓ ẓ	ⵥ	(ژ)	zˤ	emphatic "z"

---

Berber Online Virtual Keyboard