View source for Tifinagh

{{Short description|Script used for Berber languages}}
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Tifinagh
| languages   = [[Tuareg languages|Tuareg Berber language]]
| time        = 6th century BCE
| type        = [[Abjad]]
| fam1        = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]
| fam2        = [[Proto-Sinaitic script]]
| fam3        = [[Phoenician alphabet]]?<ref name="centrederechercheberbere.fr">[https://www.centrederechercheberbere.fr/lecriture-libyco-berbere.html L'ECRITURE LIBYCO-BERBERE: Etat des lieux et perspectives]</ref>
| fam4        = [[Libyco-Berber alphabet]]
| children    = Neo-Tifinagh (20th century)
| sample      = Kidal.jpg
| caption     = Entrance to the town of [[Kidal]]. The name is written in Tuareg Tifinagh ({{lang|tmh-Tfng|ⴾⴸⵍ}}, ''{{transliteration|Tfng|KDL}}'') and [[Latin script]].
| note        = none
| iso15924    = Tfng
| unicode     = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2D30.pdf U+2D30–U+2D7F] (with Neo-Tifinagh additions)
}}
'''Tifinagh''' ([[Tuareg languages|Tuareg Berber language]]: {{script|Tfng|ⵜⴼⵏⵗ}}; Neo-Tifinagh: {{script|Tfng|ⵜⵉⴼⵉⵏⴰⵖ}}; [[Berber Latin alphabet]]: {{lang|ber-Latn|Tifinaɣ}}; {{IPA|ber|tifinaɣ}}) is a script used to write the [[Berber languages]]. Tifinagh is descended from the ancient [[Libyco-Berber alphabet]].<ref>[http://www.institutum-canarium.org/lbi-project/script.php LBI LIBYCO-BERBER INSCRIPTIONS ONLINE DATABASE]</ref>  The traditional Tifinagh, sometimes called '''Tuareg Tifinagh''', is still favored by the [[Tuareg people]] of the [[Sahara]] desert in southern [[Algeria]], northeastern [[Mali]], northern [[Niger]], and northern [[Tuareg in Burkina Faso|Burkina Faso]] for writing the [[Tuareg languages]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Camps |first=G. |last2=Claudot-Hawad |first2=H. |last3=Chaker |first3=S. |last4=Abrous |first4=D. |date=1996-08-01 |title=Écriture |url=https://journals.openedition.org/encyclopedieberbere/2125 |journal=Encyclopédie berbère |language=fr |issue=17 |pages=2564–2585 |doi=10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2125 |issn=1015-7344}}</ref> '''Neo-Tifinagh''' is an alphabet developed by the [[Berber Academy]] by adopting Tuareg Tifinagh for use for [[Kabyle language|Kabyle]]; it has been since modified for use across North Africa.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=George L. |title=The Routledge handbook of scripts and alphabets |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge |others=Christopher Moseley |isbn=978-0-203-86548-4 |edition=2nd |location=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon |pages=58–59}}</ref><ref name=":9" />

Tifinagh is one of three major competing [[Berber orthography|Berber orthographies]] alongside the [[Berber Latin alphabet]] and the [[Berber Arabic alphabet|Arabic alphabet]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Soulaimani |first=Dris |date=2016-01-02 |title=Writing and rewriting Amazigh/Berber identity: Orthographies and language ideologies |journal=Writing Systems Research |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=2–5 |doi=10.1080/17586801.2015.1023176 |s2cid=144700140 |issn=1758-6801}}</ref> Tifinagh is the official script for [[Tamazight]], an official language of [[Morocco]] and [[Languages of Algeria|Algeria]]. Outside of symbolic cultural uses, Latin remains the dominant script for writing Berber languages throughout North Africa.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="choice" />

The ancient Libyco-Berber script<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mnamon.sns.it/index.php?page=Scrittura&id=47&lang=en |title=Libyco-Berber – 2nd (9th?) century BC-7th century AD |access-date=2022-06-04 |archive-date=2022-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605215520/http://mnamon.sns.it/index.php?page=Scrittura&id=47&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":10">[https://africanrockart.britishmuseum.org/thematic/written-in-stone/ Written in stone: the Libyco-Berber scripts]</ref> was used by the ancient northern Berbers known as [[Mazices|Libyco-Berbers]],<ref>[https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000070515 Libyco-Berber relations with ancient Egypt: the Tehenu in Egyptian records]</ref><ref name=":11">[https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlthkbFU1UC&dq=%22Libyco-Berber+people%22&pg=PA1189 History of Humanity: From the seventh to the sixteenth century. Edited by Sigfried J. de Laet]</ref> also known as [[Numidians]], [[Afri]], and [[Mauri|Mauretanians]], who inhabited the northern parts of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and the [[Canary Islands]].

==Etymology==
The word ''tifinagh'' (singular ''tafinəq'' < *ta-finəɣ-t) is thought by some scholars to be a Berberized feminine plural cognate or adaptation of the Latin word ''Punicus'' 'Punic, Phoenician' through the Berber feminine prefix ''ti-'' and the root '''√'''FNƔ < *'''√'''PNQ < Latin ''Punicus''; thus ''tifinagh'' could possibly mean 'the Phoenician (letters)'<ref name="centrederechercheberbere.fr">[https://www.centrederechercheberbere.fr/lecriture-libyco-berbere.html L'ECRITURE LIBYCO-BERBERE: Etat des lieux et perspectives]</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Penchoen|1973|p=3}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Harvcoltxt|O'Connor|2006|p=115}}</ref> or 'the Punic letters'. Others support an etymology involving the Tuareg verb ''efnegh'' 'to write'.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Africa's ancient scripts counter European ideas of literacy|url=https://aeon.co/essays/africas-ancient-scripts-counter-european-ideas-of-literacy|access-date=2021-06-24|website=Aeon|language=en|author = D. Vance Smith}}</ref>

==Libyco-Berber==
{{Main|Libyco-Berber alphabet}}
Before or during the existence of the ancient Berber kingdoms of [[Numidia]] (northern Algeria) and [[Mauretania]] (northern Morocco), between 202 BCE–25 BCE, many inscriptions were engraved using the [[Libyco-Berber script]], also known as Ancient Libyan ({{langx|fr|libyque}}). The Libyco-Berber script is found in thousands of stone inscriptions and engravings throughout Morocco, northern Algeria, Tunisia, northern Libya and the Canary Islands.

The exact evolution of both Libyco-Berber and Tifinagh is still unclear.<ref name="google60">{{cite book|title=Writing and Ancient Near East Society: Essays in Honor of Alan Millard|year=2005|publisher=T.& T.Clark Ltd|isbn=9780567026910|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hdNf33JBS8sC&q=%22Libyco-Berber%22+Tifinagh&pg=PA60|author=M.C.A. MacDonald|editor=Elizabeth A. Slater, C.B. Mee and Piotr Bienkowski|page=60}}</ref> The latter writing system was widely used in antiquity by speakers of the largely undeciphered [[Numidian language]], also called Old Libyan, throughout Africa and on the [[Canary Islands]]. The script's origin is uncertain, with some scholars suggesting it is related to, descended or developed from the [[Phoenician alphabet]]<ref name="centrederechercheberbere.fr"/> while others argue an independent conception with slight Phoenician influences.<ref name=":14">{{cite book|last=Suleiman|first=Yasir|title=Language and Identity in the Middle East and North Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1stXcN-v0JUC&pg=PA173|year=1996|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7007-0410-1|page=173}}</ref> Its first appearance is also uncertain, but it is no older than the first millennium BCE,<ref>Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, p. 129</ref> with the oldest remains likely originating from the 6th century BCE.<ref>Written Culture in a Colonial Context: Africa and the Americas 1500 – 1900, p. 11</ref> It disappeared in the northernmost areas of North Africa during the 8th century, after the [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|Arab conquest of the Maghreb]], Libyco-Berber along with Latin being replaced by the Arabic script.<ref name=":15">Landscapes, Sources and Intellectual Projects of the West African Past: Essays in Honour of Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias, p. 185</ref>

The Libyco-Berber script was a pure [[abjad]]; it had no vowels. [[Gemination]] was not marked. The writing was usually from the bottom to the top, although right-to-left, and even other orders, were also found. The letters took different forms when written vertically than when they were written horizontally.<ref name=ancient>{{cite web |url=http://www.ancientscripts.com/berber.html |title=Berber |publisher=Ancient Scripts |access-date=2017-10-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826045645/http://www.ancientscripts.com/berber.html |archive-date=2017-08-26 }}</ref>

This ''libyque'' script had two forms. The undeciphered Western form was used along the Mediterranean coast from Kabylia to Morocco and probably the Canary Islands. The Eastern form was used in Constantine, Aurès, and Tunisia. 22 out of 24 letters in the Eastern form have been deciphered thanks to Punic-Libyc bilingual inscriptions.<ref name=:0/>

== Saharan Tifinagh ==
Andries (2004) identifies an additional phase of evolution called "Saharan Tifinagh" ({{lang|fr|tifinaghe saharien}}). He reports that this variety is also known as Libyco-Berber ({{lang|fr|libyco-berbère}}) or Old Tuareg ({{lang|fr|touareg ancien}}); this would put into doubt the use of the term "Libyco-Berber" in the section above.<ref name=:0/>

This phase shows some new letters relative to ''libyque'', most notably a vertical line to denote the final vowel /a/. It was used to write Old Tuareg, but is not well-understood. The youngest inscriptions in this scheme are probably around 200 years old.<ref name=:0/>

Early uses of Tifinagh have been found on [[rock art]] and in various [[sepulchres]]. Among these are the 1,500 year old [[Tin Hinan Tomb|monumental tomb]] of the Tuareg matriarch [[Tin Hinan]], where vestiges of a Tifinagh inscription have been found on one of its walls.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Briggs|first1=L. Cabot|title=A Review of the Physical Anthropology of the Sahara and Its Prehistoric Implications|journal=Man|date=February 1957|volume=56|pages=20–23|doi=10.2307/2793877|jstor=2793877}}</ref>

==Tuareg Tifinagh==
The Saharan script branched into the Tuareg Tifinagh scripts which is used to this day<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lafkioui |first=Mena B. |date=2024 |title=Pluricentricity, iconisation, and instrumentalisation of language in North Africa and its diaspora. |url=https://pcl-press.org/publications/pluricentric-languages-in-africa-and-in-other-regions-of-the-world/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFClEZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYB2aAoQWuZ14JRBl0XaVoClhWx4rBgsTYiE4qxPvyl6J7-teVOwXfxiqw_aem_OVUqmWBMA48MRf4ogGRruA |website=PCL -Press |page=20}}</ref> to write the Berber [[Tuareg languages]], which belong to the Berber branch of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]] family. 
According to M. C. A. MacDonald, the Tuareg are "an entirely oral society in which memory and oral communication perform all the functions which reading and writing have in a literate society&nbsp;... The Tifinagh are used primarily for games and puzzles, short graffiti and brief messages."<ref name="google60"/>

Within Tuareg Tifinagh, there is some divergence in the shape and number of signs, but this difference is small enough to not impact mutual intelligibility.<ref name=:0/>

Occasionally, the script has been used to write other neighbouring languages such as [[Tagdal]], which belongs to a separate [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] family.

===Orthography===
Common forms of the letters are illustrated at left, including various ligatures of ''t'' and ''n''. [[Gemination]], though phonemic, is not indicated in Tifinagh. The letter ''t'', ⵜ, is often combined with a preceding letter to form a [[typographic ligature|ligature]]. Most of the letters have more than one common form, including mirror-images of the forms shown above.

When the letters ''l'' and ''n'' are adjacent to themselves or to each other, the second is offset, either by inclining, lowering, raising, or shortening it.  For example, since the letter ''l'' is a double line, <nowiki>||</nowiki>, and ''n'' a single line, <nowiki>|</nowiki>, the sequence ''nn'' may be written <nowiki>|/</nowiki> to differentiate it from ''l''.  Similarly, ''ln'' is <nowiki>||/</nowiki>, ''nl'' <nowiki>|//</nowiki>, ''ll'' <nowiki>||//</nowiki>, ''nnn'' <nowiki>|/|</nowiki>, etc.

Traditionally, the Tifinagh script does not indicate vowels except word-finally, where a single dot stands for any vowel (or ⵢ and ⵓ for -i and -u, respectively, in Ahaggar Tifinagh). In some areas, Arabic vowel diacritics are combined with Tifinagh letters to transcribe vowels, or ''y, w'' may be used for long ''ī'' and ''ū''.

==Neo-Tifinagh==
=== Development ===
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Neo-Tifinagh
| time        = 1970 to present
| type        = [[Alphabet]]
| languages   = [[Standard Moroccan Berber]] and other [[Northern Berber languages]]
| fam1        = ? [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]
| fam2        = ? [[Proto-Sinaitic script]]
| fam3        = ? [[Phoenician alphabet]]<ref name="centrederechercheberbere.fr">[https://www.centrederechercheberbere.fr/lecriture-libyco-berbere.html L'ECRITURE LIBYCO-BERBERE: Etat des lieux et perspectives]</ref>
| fam4        = [[Libyco-Berber alphabet]]
| fam5        = Tifinagh (Tuareg Tifinagh)
| sample      = Tifinagh Rendered.svg
| caption = "Tifinagh" written in Neo-Tifinagh.
}}

Neo-Tifinagh is the modern fully [[alphabet]]ic script developed by the [[Berber Academy]], based in Paris.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fazia Aïtel |title=We Are Imazighen |pages=115}}</ref>

Initially, the academy had to choose a script to transliterate the Berber language. The choice between Tifinagh and Latin scripts then sparked intense debate both within and outside the Academy.

[[Mohand Arav Bessaoud]], a founding member of the academy and strong Tifinagh advocate, recounted the resistance he faced from prominent figures like [[Mouloud Mammeri]] and Ramdane Achab, who argued that Tifinagh was archaic, obsolete, non-cursive, and impractical. Despite the criticism, Bessaoud persisted in promoting Tifinagh.<blockquote>"Achab Ramdane opposed my actions, calling it rekindling extinguished embers" - Said Bessaouad <ref>{{Cite book |last=Arav Bessaoud |first=Mohand |title=De petits gens pour une grande cause |pages=89–91}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Efforts to promote Tifinagh ===
In 1970, a meeting took place to decide on a system of writing. Influenced by Mahdjoubi Ahardane, Bessaoud opted for Tifinagh. Ahardane argued that Tifinagh was not merely a script but a testament to Berber history and identity. Further steps were taken afterwards regarding the standardization of the script.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boumekla |first=Madjid |title=Académie berbère - Genèse et question identitaire |pages=60}}</ref>

By 1973, [[Ammar Negadi]], a prominent [[Chaoui people|Chaoui]] writer and fervent advocate of the Tifinagh script, passionately defended the use of Tifinagh, he has been elected secretary general of the Berber Academy, now called Agraw Imazighen, in the Paris region. propagating the academy's publications and cultural activities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ammar Negadi, interview with Salim Guettouchi |url=http://aureschaouia.free.fr/hommage-negadi.htm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Who is Ammar Negadi? |url=https://www.asadlis-amazigh.com/fr/qui-est-ammar-negadi/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=L'interview de Ammar Negadi censurée par Liberté |date=2014 |url=https://amraw-amrir.blogspot.com/2014/11/linterview-de-ammar-negadi-censuree-par.html}}</ref>

Negadi reflected on his efforts: "I distributed all of Agraw Imazighen's writings throughout the [[Aurès Mountains|Aurès]] region starting in 1973. The goal wasn't regular correspondence but widespread dissemination of Tifinagh."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boukacem Sarah and Taleb Melissa |title=L'histoire de l'Académie berbère et son rôle pour la promotion de la langue et de la culture Amazighes |year=2023 |pages=41–42 |language=French}}</ref> Neo-Tifinagh was spread by the Berber Academy's active promotion of the script, including its usage in their bulletin, ''Imazighen'', which was widely read by Berber communities in Algeria and Morocco.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mohand Arav Bessaoud |title=De petits gens pour une grande cause |pages=89}}</ref>

The official activities of the Berber Academy ceased when Mohand Bessaoud Arav was imprisoned.

By 1980, Negadi founded his spin-off organization UPA (Amazigh People's Union), which published a bulletin in both Latin and Tifinagh, called ''Azaghen/Link''. He remained convinced that Tifinagh was the best graphical tool to express Berber language and culture, seeing it as part of the cultural heritage and identity to be defended.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web |title=Ammar Negadi, ce symbole amazigh de l'Aurès authentique |url=https://www.lematindz.net/news/13013-ammar-negadi-ce-symbole-amazigh-de-laures-authentique.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Boukacem Sarah and Taleb Melissa |title=L'histoire de l'Académie berbère et son rôle pour la promotion de la langue et de la culture Amazighes |year=2023 |pages=53 |language=French}}</ref>

The UPA bulletins continued to promote the Tifinagh alphabet, while activist [[Messaoud Nedjahi]] streamlined its characters from 50 to 26.<ref>{{Cite web |title=في الذكرى الأولى لرحيل مسعود نجاحي |url=https://elauresnews.dz/%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF-%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A4%D9%84%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%89/}}</ref> This process inspired the Afus Deg Fus association to create the first set of standardized Neo-Tifinagh fonts in 1993.<ref name=":19" />
[[File:Azaghen - Link.jpg|thumb|Publications of ''Azaghen/Link'' by Ammar Negadi - 1980]]
Neo-Tifinagh has since undergone further reform and is used in various contexts throughout North Africa.<ref name=":7" /> The [[Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture]] has standardized Neo-Tifinagh for use as the official orthography of [[Standard Moroccan Amazigh]], an official language of Morocco.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/892969053 |title=African Literacies: Ideologies |date=2014 |others=Abdelhay, Asfaha, Yonas Mesfun |isbn=978-1-4438-6826-6 |location=Newcastle upon Tyne |pages=151–152 |oclc=892969053}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Soulaimani |first=Dris |date=2016-01-02 |title=Writing and rewriting Amazigh/Berber identity: Orthographies and language ideologies |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17586801.2015.1023176 |journal=Writing Systems Research |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=12–14 |doi=10.1080/17586801.2015.1023176 |s2cid=144700140 |issn=1758-6801|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Political history ===
The promotion of Neo-Tifinagh by the Berber Academy and Ammar Negadi's UPA was part of the efforts to spread [[Berberism]] throughout the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Aïtel |first=Fazia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/895334326 |title=We are Imazigen : the development of Algerian Berber identity in twentieth-century literature and culture |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-8130-4895-6 |location=Gainesville, FL |pages=115–116 |oclc=895334326}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Maddy-Weitzman |first=Bruce |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/741751261 |title=The Berber identity movement and the challenge to North African states |date=2011 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-73478-4 |edition=1st |location=Austin |pages=75 |oclc=741751261}}</ref> The use of Neo-Tifinagh in their publications was influential in raising Berber consciousness; one reader has described its effect as being "the proof that we actually existed."<ref name=":02" />

The Moroccan state arrested and imprisoned people using Neo-Tifinagh during the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name=":17">{{cite web |title=Rapport sur le calvaire de l'écriture en Tifinagh au Maroc |url=http://www.amazighworld.org/studies/articles/rapport_sur_calvaire_ecriture_tifinaghe_maroc.php |access-date=2017-10-09 |publisher=Amazighworld.org |archive-date=2009-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503020104/http://www.amazighworld.org/studies/articles/rapport_sur_calvaire_ecriture_tifinaghe_maroc.php |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The [[Black Spring (Algeria)|Algerian Black Spring]] was also partly caused by this repression of [[Berber language]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-04-20 |title=Algérie: 10 ans après son " printemps noir ", la Kabylie réclame justice – Jeune Afrique |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/depeches/71488/politique/algerie-10-ans-apres-son-printemps-noir-la-kabylie-reclame-justice/ |access-date=2021-05-08 |website=JeuneAfrique.com |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

In the 1980s, the [[Berber flag]], which was designed in 1970 and uses the Tifinagh letter ''z'' (Tifinagh: ⵣ) from the root of ''Amazigh'', began being used in demonstrations.<ref name=":12">{{Citation |last=Fedele |first=Valentina |title=The Hirak. The Visual Performance of Diversity in Algerian Protests |journal=Partecipazione e Conflitto |date=2021 |volume=14 |issue=2 |url=http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/24253/20227 |pages=693 |publisher=University of Salento |language=en |doi=10.1285/i20356609v14i2p681 |access-date=2022-12-20}}</ref> The flag was adopted by the [[World Amazigh Congress]] in 1997.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ilahiane |first=Hsain |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/966314885 |title=Historical dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen) |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4422-8182-0 |edition=2nd |location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=29 |oclc=966314885}}</ref>

In Morocco, following the creation of Standard Moroccan Amazigh in 2001, the 2003 adoption of Neo-Tifinagh served as a way to compromise between the deeply split proponents of the [[Latin script]] versus the [[Arabic script]] as Amazigh's official orthography.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1249711011 |title=Writing through the visual and virtual: inscribing language, literature, and culture in Francophone Africa and the Caribbean |date=2015 |editor-first1=Renée Brenda |editor-last1=Larrier |editor-first2=Ousseina |editor-last2=Alidou |isbn=978-1-4985-0164-4 |location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=xii |oclc=1249711011}}</ref><ref name="choice" /><ref name=":6" /> This choice, however, has also resulted in backlash from many Amazigh activists, who find Tifinagh to be limiting when compared to the Latin script.<ref name=":8" /><ref name="choice">{{cite journal |last=Larbi |first=Hsen |year=2003 |title=Which Script for Tamazight, Whose Choice is it ? |url=http://www.tamazgha.fr/Which-Script-for-Tamazight-Whose-Choice-is-it,359.html |journal=Amazigh Voice (Taghect Tamazight) |location=New Jersey |publisher=Amazigh Cultural Association in America (ACAA) |volume=12 |issue=2 |accessdate=December 17, 2009 |archive-date=September 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907212936/http://www.tamazgha.fr/Which-Script-for-Tamazight-Whose-Choice-is-it,359.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Silverstein |first1=Paul |last2=Crawford |first2=David |date=2004 |title=Amazigh Activism and the Moroccan State |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1559451 |journal=Middle East Report |issue=233 |pages=46 |doi=10.2307/1559451 |jstor=1559451 |issn=0899-2851|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In Libya, the government of [[Muammar Gaddafi]] consistently banned Tifinagh from being used in public contexts such as store displays and banners.<ref name=":16">{{cite web | url=http://www.tawalt.com/?p=14122|script-title=ar:سلطات الامن الليبية تمنع نشر الملصق الرسمي لمهرجان الزي التقليدي بكباو|language=ar|trans-title=Libyan security authorities to prevent the publication of the official poster for the festival traditional costume Pkpau|publisher=TAWALT|year=2007 |title=Operations Automation Default Page }}</ref> After the [[First Libyan Civil War|Libyan Civil War]], the [[National Transitional Council]] has shown an openness towards the Berber language. The rebel [[Libya TV]], based in [[Qatar]], has included the Berber language and the Neo-Tifinagh alphabet in some of its programming.<ref>{{cite web |title=Libya TV – News in Berber |url=http://blip.tv/play/AYK4hyEC |access-date=2015-07-14 |publisher=Blip.tv}}{{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

Tifinagh continues to be used as "an emblem of distinctive Berber identity and nationhood."<ref name=":7"/>

=== Modern use ===
Due to the official adoption of Neo-Tifinagh in Morocco in 2003, the script has been adapted by the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture for modern digital use.<ref name=":4"/><ref name=":8"/> Government websites in Morocco may be displayed in Neo-Tifinagh.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-17 |title=ⴰⴷⵓⵙⵜⵓⵔ |url=https://www.maroc.ma/amz/node/93100 |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=Maroc.ma |archive-date=2022-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220013208/https://www.maroc.ma/amz/node/93100 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":18">{{cite web |url= http://www.ircam.ma/amz/index.php?soc=publi |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080421063850/http://www.ircam.ma/amz/index.php?soc=publi |url-status= dead |archive-date= April 21, 2008 |title= Institut Royal de la Culture Amazighe |publisher= Ircam.ma |access-date= 2015-07-14 }}</ref>

Starting in 2003, Neo-Tifinagh was used for a small duration of [[Morocco|Moroccan]] elementary school to teach Standard Moroccan Amazigh.<ref name=":8"/><ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Maddy-Weitzman |first=Bruce |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/741751261 |title=The Berber identity movement and the challenge to North African states |date=2011 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-73478-4 |edition=1st |location=Austin |pages=171–172 |oclc=741751261}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Maddy-Weitzman |first=Bruce |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/741751261 |title=The Berber identity movement and the challenge to North African states |date=2011 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-73478-4 |edition=1st |location=Austin |pages=193–195 |oclc=741751261}}</ref> However, practical use of Tifinagh in Morocco remains rare; one Amazigh activist has summarized the situation with the anecdote that he "[knows] that some books that were written in Tifinagh were read by only two people ... the one who wrote the book and the one who did the editing!"<ref name=":8"/> Public displays of Tifinagh in Morocco remains restricted primarily to signage and other culturally conspicuous uses.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 4, 2016 |title=Morocco draft law on official use of Berber language scrutinised |work=BBC Monitoring Middle East}}</ref>

Despite Neo-Tifinagh's Algerian origins through the Berber Academy and UPA, the Latin alphabet became the predominant used script. Debate in what script to use for Berber languages tends to view the Latin and Arabic scripts as the primary options.<ref name=":5"/>

As of 2012, Tifinagh is "not widely used in education or the media in any country."<ref name=":7"/>

== Other modifications ==
The Andries (2004) submission of Tifinagh (including Neo-Tifinagh) to the [[Unicode Consortium]] also notes that Neo-Tifinagh is not the only variant that tries to introduce vowels into Tifinagh. The other schemes include APT (a scheme of addiitonal signs), SIL, Hawad (a scheme of diacritics), Rissa Ixa, Arabic semi-vowels used among the Kel Antessar (Niger), Arabic diacritics used in Timbuktu, and "Latin-like" diacritics proposed by Chaker. None of these have enjoyed as much backing as Neo-tifinagh.<ref name=:0/>

==Letters==
=== Tuareg Tifinagh letters ===
There are not one, but several Tuareg scripts with slightly different assignments for each letter. The following is based on Mohamed Aghali-Zakara (1993), which was in turn quoted in both Andries (2004; Unicode Submission) and Casajus (2011):<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Casajus |first=Dominique |date=2011-02-01 |title=Déchiffrages. Quelques réflexions sur l'écriture libyco-berbère |url=https://journals.openedition.org/afriques/688?lang=en |journal=Afriques. Débats, méthodes et terrains d'histoire |language=fr |doi=10.4000/afriques.688 |issn=2108-6796|doi-access=free }}</ref>
{| 
|+ '''Tuareg scripts'''
|- style="vertical-align: top"
|
{|class="wikitable letters-blue letters-table" style="margin-right: 10px"
|-
!
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
![[Hoggar Mountains|Ahaggar]]
![[Ghat, Libya|Ghat]]
![[Aïr Mountains|Aïr]]
![[Azawagh]]
![[Adrar des Ifoghas|Adrar]]
|-
|''a''
|'''a'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴰ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴰ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴰ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴰ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴰ}}
|-
|''b''
|'''b'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵀ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵀ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵀ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵀ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵀ}}
|-
|''d''
|'''d'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴸ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴸ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴹ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴹ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴸ}}
|-
|''ḍ''
|'''dˤ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴹ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴹ}}
| 
|
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴹ}}
|-
|''f''
|'''f'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴼ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴼ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴼ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴼ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵊ}}
|-
|''g''
|'''ɡ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴳ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴶ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴶ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴶ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴶ}}
|-
|''ġ''
|'''ɟ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴶ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵊ}}
|
|
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵘ}}
|-
|''h''
|'''h'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵂ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵂ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵂ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵂ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵂ}}
|-
|''x''
|'''x'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵆ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵆ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵗ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵆ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵆ}}
|-
|''k''
|'''k'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴾ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴾ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴾ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴾ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⴾ}}
|-
|''l''
|'''l'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵍ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵍ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵍ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵍ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵍ}}
|-
|''m''
|'''m'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵎ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵎ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵎ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵎ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵎ}}
|-
|''n''
|'''n'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵏ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵏ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵏ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵏ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵏ}}
|-
|''ñ''
|'''ɲ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵐ}}
|
|
|
|
|}
|
{|class="wikitable letters-blue letters-table"
|-
!
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
![[Hoggar Mountains|Ahaggar]]
![[Ghat, Libya|Ghat]]
![[Aïr Mountains|Aïr]]
![[Azawagh]]
![[Adrar des Ifoghas|Adrar]]
|-
|''ng''
|'''ŋ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵑ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
|''q''
|'''q'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵈ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵈ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵗ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵆ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵈ}}
|-
|''ɣ/gh''
|'''ɣ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵗ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵗ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵘ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵗ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵗ}}
|-
|''r''
|'''r'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵔ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵔ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵔ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵔ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵔ}}
|-
|''s''
|'''s'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵙ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵙ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵙ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵙ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵙ}}
|-
|''š''
|'''ʃ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵛ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵛ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵛ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵛ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=𐌚}}
|-
|''t''
|'''t'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵜ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵜ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵜ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵜ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵜ}}
|-
|''ṭ''
|'''tˤ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵟ}}
|
|
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵟ}}
|
|-
|''w''
|'''w'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵓ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵓ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵓ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵓ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵓ}}
|-
|''y''
|'''y'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵢ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵉ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵉ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵢ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵉ}}
|-
|''z''
|'''z'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵣ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵌ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵣ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵣ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵋ}}
|-
|''ẓ''
|'''zˤ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵌ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵣ}}
|
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵣ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵌ}}
|-
|''ž/j''
|'''ʒ'''
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵋ}}
|
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵌ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵌ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|ch=ⵣ}}
|}
|}

=== Neo-Tifinagh letters ===

The following are the letters of Neo-Tifinagh, as listed in an 2004 submission to the [[Unicode Consortium]]:<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Andries|first1=PA|url=http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n2739.pdf |title=Proposition d'ajout de l'écriture tifinaghe. Organisation internationale de normalisation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001220302/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n2739.pdf |archive-date=2006-10-01 }}, Jeu universel des caractères codés sur octets (JUC). ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 2 WG, vol.2, p.2739R, 2004.</ref>

{| class="wikitable letters-blue"
|+IRCAM Neo-Tifinagh alphabet
|-
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴰ|iso=a|ipa=æ|top=ya}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴱ|iso=b|ipa=b|top=yab}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴳ|iso=g|ipa=ɡ|top=yag}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴳⵯ|iso=gw|ipa=ɡʷ|top=yag}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴷ|iso=d|ipa=d|top=yad}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴹ|iso=ḍ|ipa=dˤ|top=yaḍ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴻ|iso=e|ipa=ə|top=yey}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴼ|iso=f|ipa=f|top=yaf}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴽ|iso=k|ipa=k|top=yak}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⴽⵯ|iso=kw|ipa=kʷ|top=yak}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵀ|iso=h|ipa=h|top=yah}}
|-
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵃ|iso=ḥ|ipa=ħ|top=yaḥ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵄ|iso=ʕ (o) |ipa=ʕ|top=yaʕ (yaɛ)}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵅ|iso=kh|ipa=χ|top=yax}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵇ|iso=q|ipa=q|top=yaq}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵉ|iso=i|ipa=i|top=yi}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵊ|iso=j|ipa=ʒ|top=yaj}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵍ|iso=l|ipa=l|top=yal}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵎ|iso=m|ipa=m|top=yam}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵏ|iso=n|ipa=n|top=yan}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵓ|iso=u|ipa=w|top=yu}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵔ|iso=r|ipa=r|top=yar}}
|-
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵕ|iso=ṛ|ipa=rˤ|top=yaṛ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵖ|iso=gh|ipa=ɣ|top=yaɣ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵙ|iso=s|ipa=s|top=yas}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵚ|iso=ṣ|ipa=sˤ|top=yaṣ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵛ|iso=c |ipa=ʃ|top=yaš}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵜ|iso=t|ipa=t|top=yat}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵟ|iso=ṭ|ipa=tˤ|top=yaṭ}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵡ|iso=w|ipa=w|top=yaw}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵢ|iso=y|ipa=j|top=yay}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵣ|iso=z|ipa=z|top=yaz}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=kab|ch=ⵥ|iso=ẓ|ipa=zˤ|top=yaẓ}}
|}

{| class="wikitable letters-blue"
|+IRCAM extended Tifinagh letters
|-
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⴲ|iso=b|ipa=β|top=yab|note=fricative}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⴴ|iso=g|ipa=ʝ|top=yag|note=fricative}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⴺ|iso=ḍ|ipa=ðˤ|top=yaḍ|note=fricative}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⴿ|iso=k|ipa=x|top=yak|note=fricative}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⵒ|iso=p|ipa=p|top=yap}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⵝ|iso=t|ipa=θ|top=yat|note=fricative}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⵠ|iso=v|ipa=v|top=yav}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⴵ|iso=dj, ǧ|ipa=d͡ʒ|top= yadj|note={{noteTag|name=ba|group=other|Berber Academy}}}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⵁ|iso=h|ipa=h|top=yah|note={{noteTag|name=ba|group=other}}}}
|{{letter|s=Tfng|l=ber|ch=ⵞ|iso=ch, č|ipa=t͡ʃ|top=yatš}}
|}

{{noteFoot|group=tuareg}}
{{noteFoot|group=other}}

===Unicode===
{{Main|Tifinagh (Unicode block)}}

Tifinagh was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in March 2005, with the release of version 4.1.

The Unicode block range for Tifinagh is U+2D30–U+2D7F:

{{Unicode chart Tifinagh}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Aghali-Zakara, Mohamed (1994). Graphèmes berbères et dilemme de diffusion: Interaction des alphabets {{lang|fr|latin}}, ajami et tifinagh. ''Etudes et Documents Berbères'' 11, 107–121.
*Aghali-Zakara, Mohamed; and Drouin, Jeanine (1977). Recherches sur les Tifinaghs- Eléments graphiques et sociolinguistiques. ''Comptes-rendus du Groupe Linguistique des Etudes Chamito-Sémitiques'' (GLECS).
*Ameur, Meftaha (1994). Diversité des transcriptions : pour une notation usuelle et normalisée de la langue berbère. ''Etudes et Documents Berbères'' 11, 25–28.
*Boukous, Ahmed (1997). Situation sociolinguistique de l’Amazigh. ''International Journal of the Sociology of Language'' 123, 41–60.
*Chaker, Salem (1994). Pour une notation usuelle à base Tifinagh. ''Etudes et Documents Berbères'' 11, 31–42.
*Chaker, Salem (1996). Propositions pour la notation usuelle à base {{lang|fr|latine}} du berbère. ''Etudes et Documents Berbères'' 14, 239–253.
*Chaker, Salem (1997). La Kabylie: un processus de développement linguistique autonome. ''International Journal of the Sociology of Language'' 123, 81–99.
*Durand, O. (1994). Promotion du berbère : problèmes de standardisation et d’orthographe. Expériences européennes. ''Etudes et Documents Berbères'' 11, 7–11.
*{{cite book|last=O’Connor|first= Michael |date=1996|chapter= The Berber scripts|title= The World's Writing Systems |editor1= William Bright |editor2= Peter Daniels|pages= 112–116|location= New York|publisher= Oxford University Press |ref={{Harvid|O'Connor|2006}} }}
*{{cite book|title=Tamazight of the Ayt Ndhir|last=Penchoen|first=Thomas G.|year=1973|publisher=Undena Publications|location=Los Angeles}}
*Savage, Andrew. 2008. Writing Tuareg – the three script options. ''International Journal of the Sociology of Language'' 192: 5–14
*{{cite web |last=Souag |first=Lameen |year=2004 |title=Writing Berber Languages: a quick summary |archive-date=2004-12-05 |via=[[GeoCities]] |access-date=28 June 2014 |url=http://www.geocities.com/lameens/tifinagh/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205195808/http://www.geocities.com/lameens/tifinagh/index.html |url-status=dead}}
* ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', ''s.v.'' Tifinagh.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160216202109/http://lbi-project.org/lbi-db.php lbi-project.org], a database of Libyco-Berber inscriptions with images and information
*[https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Libyco-berber_Inscriptions?page=1 Academic papers on the Libyco-Berber inscriptions]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170826045645/http://www.ancientscripts.com/berber.html ancientscripts.com – Berber], a fact file on Tifinagh and a legend of characters
*[https://tawalt.tinussan.com/ artistic Tifinagh fonts]

{{Berber languages|state=collapsed}}
{{list of writing systems}}

[[Category:Alphabets]]
[[Category:Tuareg]]
[[Category:Writing systems of Africa]]
[[Category:Berberism]]
[[Category:Berber history]]
[[Category:Berber languages]]