Home > Author > Nico Van Den Boogert
1 " In the middle Ages, Berber was written in the Maghribi style of the Arabic script, in what is to all appearances a standardized orthography. The earliest known examples of the medieval Berber spelling date from the middle of the 10th century A.D., while the youngest examples date from the 14th century.Although there is some variation in the representation of a number of consonants, the orthography is remarkably consistent. In this respect it is quite unlike the early orthographies of the European vernaculars, where the same word is often written in different ways even within one line of text. This consistency implies that the Berber orthography was consciously designed, and that it was formally taught to berberophones. "MEDIEVAL BERBER ORTHOGRAPHY" - MELANGES OFFERTS A KARL-G. PRASSE (pp. 357-377). "
― Nico Van Den Boogert
2 " The most striking fact concerning the pharmacological manuals is that the majority of them were written in al-Andalus (az-ZahrawI, Ibn Beklaresh, Ibn ‘Abdun), or by writers of Andalusian birth working in the Middle East (Maimonides, Ibn al-Baitar). It is likely that a substantial body of speakers of a variety of Berber akin to Tashelhit lived in al-Andalus, and that al-Andalus is the place where this language was first committed to writing. [29] That there were indeed Berbers in Spain who spoke a Tashelhit-like language is shown by the fact that at the end of the 15th century, as a consequence of the reconquista, a group or groups of berberophones are known to have migrated from Spain to the Sous in southern Morocco, where they became known as the ‘people of the ship’ (ayt uyrrabu). One of them is Sa‘id al-Kurrami (Seid Ak'w'rramu, d. 882/1477-8), who is reputed to be the last surviving Berber scholar who had received his schooling in Granada.[30] The Andalusian Arabic loanwords which are still found in Tashelhit, such as Imri ‘mirror’, Ikiyd ‘paper’, lixrt ‘hereafter’, ssisit ‘bonnet’, etc., also point to a connection between Tashelhit and al-Andalus. 29. On Berbers in al-Andalus in general see de Felipe, 1993 and 1997. (DE Felipe, Helena. 1993. ‘Berbers in the Maghreb and al-Andalus: Settlements and Toponomy.’ The Maghreb Review XVIII, pp. 57-62. )30. Cf. Justinard, 1933, pp. 220-224. "MEDIEVAL BERBER ORTHOGRAPHY" - MELANGES OFFERTS A KARL-G. PRASSE (pp. 357-377). "
