Awar n ArifWhat is Tarifit?
Tarifit is an Amazigh (Berber) language spoken natively in the Rif, a mountainous region in the north of the Kingdom of Morocco. It belongs to the Zenati branch of the Amazigh languages and so to the Afro-Asiatic language family, which also includes Arabic and Hebrew. Native speakers call themselves and their region Arif, hence “Riffian” in English.
Is Tarifit the same as Amazigh or Tamazight (Berber)?
No. Tarifit is one specific language within the larger family of Amazigh languages. We call ourselves Amazigh. The word “Berber” comes from outside and probably goes back to the Greek “barbaros”, meaning “barbarian”. That's why we don't like it and don't use it for ourselves. “Tamazight” means either the whole family or a standardized written language taught in schools. Tarifit, Tashelhit and Central Atlas Tamazight are three major Amazigh languages. A speaker of one does not automatically understand the others.
Where is Tarifit spoken?
Tarifit is spoken mainly in and around Nador, Al Hoceima, Driouch and Berkane. Melilla, too, lies in the Rif and is home to Tarifit: its long-established families are Riffian. Many more people in the diaspora have Tarifit as their family language. They often understand it well, but rarely read, write or speak it with confidence.
Does Tarifit have its own writing system?
Yes: Tifinagh, a very old North African script that stayed alive among the Tuareg of the Sahara. Today there is a standardized form, Neo-Tifinagh, which is taught in schools. Awar n Arif shows many words in Tifinagh, together with their Latin transcription and pronunciation.
How do you write a word in Tamazight? Try it yourself →
What are the dialects of Tarifit, and which one does Awar n Arif teach?
Tarifit itself has regional sub-varieties, commonly grouped as West-Riffian (around Al Hoceima), Central-Riffian (around Nador) and East-Riffian (around Berkane), close enough to understand each other, but different enough that word choice, pronunciation and small grammar points shift from town to town. Awar n Arif teaches Tamazight Tarifit specifically, recorded and checked sentence by sentence by a native speaker, not a generalized, averaged-out standard. Tarifit comes first. What we're building is meant to grow with the wider Amazigh community over time, not stay small.
Is Tarifit an official language?
Yes. Tamazight, which includes Tarifit, is one of the official languages of the Kingdom of Morocco and also appears on official documents. In everyday life, Tarifit is mainly a spoken language, passed on within the family. Learning material with the grammar written down has been scarce so far, and that is exactly what Awar n Arif is for.
Is Tarifit endangered?
Not in the sense of having few speakers left. Many people speak it natively today. The real risk is generational: in the diaspora especially, children of Riffian parents often grow up understanding Tarifit from hearing it at home, but never learning to read, write, or speak it back with confidence, because it was rarely written down and almost never taught formally outside the Rif itself. Awar n Arif exists for exactly that person: someone who understands more than they can say.
How can I learn Tarifit?
The Awar n Arif app, free to download, teaches Tarifit through real recordings from a native speaker, a structured grammar course, many words shown in Tifinagh, and a growing Tarifit dictionary, on iPhone and Android. A companion printed book covers the same grammar and dictionary in more depth, for anyone who wants to work through it away from a screen. See what's inside the course or try four real pieces of it right on this site.
