Notes on an Amazigh Argot: The tagnawt of the drummers of At Jennad (Western Kabylia, Algeria)

Authors

  • Massinissa Garaoun LLACAN/CNRS

Abstract

This note provides a brief introduction to Tagnawt, a argot used exclusively by drummers from the At Jennad confederation in western Kabylia (Algeria). The matrix of this slang is Taqbaylit, the Amazigh language with the largest number of speakers in Algeria. This paper presents some sociolinguistic and linguistic features of this slang, a number of lexical items, its pronominal system and a few sentences.

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Author Biography

Massinissa Garaoun, LLACAN/CNRS

Massinissa Garaoun is a linguist specialised in North African languages and affiliated to the LLACAN/CNRS (Villejuif). His doctoral thesis Tamazight and Arabic in the Babors Range (Eastern Kabylia, Algeria): an input to the linguistic contacts typology focused on the history of linguistic contacts between Arabic and Amazigh in eastern Kabylia (Algeria). Massinissa Garaoun is interested in language history and description, as well as ecolinguistic issues and contact typology. He has studied a number of community languages or argots with an Arabic matrix; this is his first contribution an argot with an Amazigh matrix.

Massinissa can be contacted at: massinissagaraoun@gmail.com

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Published

2025-01-20

Issue

Section

Notes and Squibs