Douiret
NativenameChninni
StatesTunisia
FamilycolorAfro-Asiatic
Fam 2Berber
Fam 3Northern
Fam 4Zenati
Fam 5East
Glottodoui1234
Iso 3None

Douiret (also called Douiri) is a Berber language variety spoken in Douiret in the southern part of mainland Tunisia.[1][2][3] Like all other varieties of Tunisian Berber, it is also referred to as Shilha. It is closely related to the Berber variety of Chenini.[1]

Phonology

Consonants

LabialDentalAlveolarPost-alv./
Palatal
VelarUvularPharyn-
geal
Glottal
plainphar.plainphar.plainphar.plainlab.
Plosive/
Affricate
voicelesstk()q
voicedbdg(ɡʷ)
Fricativevoicelessfθsʃxħh
voicedððˤzʒɣ(ɣʷ)ʕ
Nasalmn
Laterall
Trillr
Approximantjw
  • Most consonant sounds may also have geminated variants as [Cː].
  • Pharyngeal sounds /fˤ, mˤ, dˤ, zˤ, rˤ, nˤ, lˤ/ are mostly heard as allophonic variants of /f, m, d, z, r, n, l/ within intervocalic and pharyngeal positions.
  • Sounds /t, k/ may have aspirated allophones of [tʰ, kʰ] when in word-final and pre-consonantal positions.
  • /k, ɡ, ɣ/ may also have labialized allophones as [kʷ, ɡʷ, ɣʷ].[1]
FrontBack
Highiu
Mid(e)(o)
Lowa
PhonemeAllophonesRules
/i/[i]elsewhere
[iː]in word-final position or within monosyllabic words
[ɪ]when preceding geminated consonants
/a/[a]elsewhere
[aː]in word-initial position when preceding a consonant
[æ]in word-initial position or when following pharyngealized consonants
[e]when preceding geminated consonants
[eː]when following pharyngealized consonants in word-final positions
/u/[u]elsewhere
[uː]in word-final position or within monosyllabic words
[ʊ]when preceding geminated consonants
[o]when preceding pharyngealized consonants
[oː]when following pharyngealized consonants in word-final positions

References

  1. ^ Gabsi, Zouhir (2003). An outline of the Shilha (Berber) vernacular of Douiret (Southern Tunisia). Sydney: University of Western Sydney.
  2. ^ Gabsi, Zouhir (2011). "Attrition and maintenance of the Berber language in Tunisia". Journal International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 2011 (211): 135–164. doi:10.1515/ijsl.2011.041
  3. ^ Mughal, Muhammad Aurang Zeb (2013). "Tunisia". Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures, and Contemporary Issues. Steven Danver (ed.). Routledge. pp. 688–689.