Algeria Languages

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Algeria

Languages

Description

The official languages of Algeria are Arabic and Tamazight or Berber, as specified in its constitution since 1963 for the former and since 2016 for the latter. Berber has been recognized as a "national language" by constitutional amendment since 8 May 2002. In February, 2016, a constitutional resolution was passed making Berber an official language alongside Arabic. Algerian Arabic and Berber are the native languages of over 99% of Algerians, with Algerian Arabic spoken by about 72% and Berber by 27.4%. French, though it has no official status, is widely used in government, culture, media (newspapers) and education (from primary school), due to Algeria's colonial history. Kabyle, the most spoken Berber language in the country, is taught and partially co-official (with a few restrictions) in parts of Kabylie, which is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria.

Word List(s)

Arabic

• Arabic Genealogical Word List
• 353 Words And Phrases In Algerian Arabic (Or Dardja) at Auto Lingual
• Useful Algerian Phrases And Words

Berber

• Berber Phrasebook at Wikivoyage

French

• French Genealogical Word List

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Arabic

• Arabic script at Wikipedia
• Algerian Arabic Alphabet and Pronunciation at Omniglot

Berber

• Berber Alpabet and Pronunciation at Wikipedia
• Tifinagh Alphabet and Pronunciation at Omniglot
• Kabyle Alphabet and Pronunciation at Omniglot

French

• French Alphabet and Pronunciation at Wikipedia
• French Alphabet and Pronunciation at Omniglot

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Arabic

• Arabic Dictionary at Lexilogos
• Arabic-Overview at Mustgo
• Learn To Speak Algerian Arabic at Talk in Arabic

Berber

• Berber Dictionary
• Berber in Kabyle Dictionary at Glosbe
• Tamazight to English Dictionary

French

• French Handwriting
• French Letter Writing Guide
• French Languages
• French to English Dictionary at Cambridge Dictionary
• French Dictionary at Lexilogos

Additional Resources

• African : phrase book : 12 key languages spoken across Africa : Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zaire, Zimbabwe... Princeton NJ: Berlitz, 1997. Available at: WorldCat.
• Dunwoodie, Peter. Writing French Algeria. Available at WorldCat
• Dunwoodie, Peter. Writing French Algeria. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. Available at: WorldCat.