Rif Berber: From Senhaja to Iznasen. A qualitative and quantitative approach to classification
Résumé
By combining qualitative (synchronic and diachronic) and quantitative (algorithmic)
approaches, this study examines the nature, structure, and dynamics of the linguistic
variation attested in Berber of the Rif area (North, Northwest, and Northeast Morocco). Based on a cross-level corpus of data obtained from the Atlas linguistique des
varieties berbères du Rif (Lafkioui 2007) and from numerous linguistic, sociolinguistic, and ethnographic fieldwork investigations in the area since 1992, this study shows
that these Berber varieties form a language continuum with the following five stable
core aggregates, which cut across administrative and political borders: Western Rif
Berber, West-Central Rif Berber, Central Rif Berber, East-Central Rif Berber, and
Eastern Rif Berber. Furthermore, data mining studies made it possible to objectively
identify the principal aggregate discriminators of the Rif Berber continuum, which
are dealt with in the study. A special focus in the article is put on the interplay between system-internal and system-external parameters for the selection, diffusion,
and transformation of variants in Rif Berber.