SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to carry out a phonemic analysis of a specific Berber dialect so as to be able to commit spoken material from this dialect to written form. The main aim therefore was to lay the foundations for a practical orthography for synchronic purposes. The dialect chosen for study is that of the investigator, namely of the village of Ajdir in the igyzannayan tribal area of North Eastern Morocco. In addition to the main body of lexical items based on the investigator's own experience as a native speaker, a quantity of taped material was also collected in the field and subjected to phonemic analysis in terms of the investigator's own idiolect. A description of the system was then carried out on the basis of minimal pairs. All lexical items used for the description of the sounds and for the establishment of minimal oppositions were tape-recorded and are reproduced on a cassette which accompanies the thesis.