Representations of the Berber Tongue and Its Circulation in Medieval Historical Chronicles

Abstract

This study tackles the intricate methodological problematic of the Berber tongue's transition from its orally circulated sphere into the scriptural molds of the Arabic language within medieval Maghribi historical sources. Rather than confine itself to a statistical inventory of Amazigh lexemes, the research adopts an analytical approach that scrutinizes the very mechanisms of historiographical writing—namely translation, Arabization, and the domestication of terminology—aiming to uncover the cultural underpinnings and methodological controls that shaped the formulation of this linguistic heritage within the written textual tradition.

The findings reveal that the Berber tongue was far more than a daily communicative tool; it evolved into a potent ideological channel for shaping and localizing alternative religious discourses, and the study further highlights the phenomenon of linguistic alternation between the Masmūda and Zanāta dialects, a shift that mirrors broader transformations in political centres of gravity.