Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 27, 2026

Nafusi language

Nafusi is a Berber language spoken in the Nafusa Mountains, a large area in northwestern Libya. Its primary speakers are the Ibadi Muslim communities around Jadu, Nalut, and Yafran.

Last revised
Jul 27, 2026
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Nafusi
Ažbali;1 Mazoɣ / Maziɣ2 (Nafusi)
Native toLibya
RegionNafusa Mountains
Native speakers
300,000 (2020)3
Dialects
  • Jerbi
  • Zuwara
  • Tamezret
Arabic script
Language codes
ISO 639-3jbn
Glottolognafu1238

Nafusi (also spelt Nefusi; in Nafusi: Ažbali or Maziɣ / Mazoɣ) is a Berber language spoken in the Nafusa Mountains (Adrar 'n Infusen), a large area in northwestern Libya. Its primary speakers are the Ibadi Muslim communities around Jadu, Nalut (Lalut), and Yafran.3

The dialect of Yefren in the east differs somewhat from that of Nalut and Jadu in the west.4 Old Nafusi phrases appear in Ibadite manuscripts as early as the 12th century.56

The dialect of Jadu is described in some detail in Beguinot (1931).7 Motylinski (1898) describes the dialect of Jadu and Nalut as spoken by a student from Yefren.8

Nafusi shares several innovations with the Zenati languages, but unlike these Berber varieties, it preserves the initial vowel in words where Zenati has dropped it. For example: ufəs "hand" < *afus, rather than Zenati fus. It appears especially closely related to the Sokna and Siwi languages to its east.9

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i u
Mid ɛ ə ɔ
Low a
  • Vowels may also be shortened /ĭ, ɛ̆, ă, ɔ̆, ŭ/ or lengthened as /iː, ɛː, aː, ɔː, uː/.
  • /a/ can also be heard as [æ, ɒ] and /u/ as [ʊ] in different environments.10

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Post-alv./
Palatal 		Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
plain phar. plain phar.
Plosive voiceless t tˤ k q ʔ
voiced b d dˤ g
Affricate voiceless ts tʃ
voiced dz dzˤ dʒ
Fricative voiceless f s sˤ ʃ χ ħ h
voiced z zˤ ʒ ʒˤ ʁ ʕ
Nasal m n
Lateral l ɫ
Trill r rˤ
Approximant w j
References

References

Works cited

Works cited

  • Basset, André (1934). "Note additionnelle". Revue des études islamiques. VIII.
  • Beguinot, F. (1931). Il berbero Nefûsi di Fassâṭo. Grammatica. Testi raccolti dalla viva voce. Vocabolarietti. Roma: Istituto per l'Oriente.
  • de Calassanti-Motylinski, A. (1898). Le Djebel Nefousa: transcription, traduction française et notes, avec une étude grammaticale. Paris: Ernest Leroux.
  • Di Tolla, Anna Maria; Shinnib, Mohamed (2020). Grammatica di berbero nefusi. Ulrico Hoepli Editore. ISBN 9788820391836.
  • Kossmann, Maarten (1999). Essai sur la phonologie du proto-berbère. Köln: Köppe. ISBN 9783896450357.
  • Lewicki, Tadeusz (1934). "De quelques textes inédits en vieux berbère provenant d'une chronique ibāḍite anonyme". Revue des études islamiques. VIII.
  • Provasi, Elio (1973). "Testi berberi di Žâdo (Tripolitania)". Annali dell'Istituto Orientale di Napoli (23): 503.
External links