Revue Des Sciences Humaines
Volume 35, Numéro 1, Pages 59-65
2024-06-10
Preserving Mzabi Dialect Vitality: The Case Study Of Mozabite Merchants In The City Of Constantine
Authors : Benlahrache Wafa Safinez .
Abstract
The Mozabite people constitute a well-known Berber ethnic group who have lived in Algeria for centuries. The Mzabi dialect is their native tongue and Arabic is spoken by many as a second language. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to look into certain parameters surrounding this case of bilingualism. It aims more precisely to check whether or not constant contact with dialectal Arabic in particular might have any effect on the use and maintenance of the Mzabi dialect and tries to figure out the underlying reasons behind it. Accordingly, data are mainly collected using structured interviews with a sample that consists of twenty-five Mozabite merchants in the city of Constantine. The investigation generated comparable results and reveals that Mozabites intentionally speak both dialects separately, depending on context and purpose. It also demonstrates that Mzabi resists change and attrition due to its speakers’ deep sense of belonging to a highly conservative community.
Keywords
Mzabi ; Spoken Arabic ; Language Contact ; Speech Community ; Language maintenance
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