Tamahaq : a snapshot into language loyalty and endangerment

الملخص EN

The current paper gauges the level of Tamahaq, an indigenous language spoken in Southern Algeria, endangerment with reference to only one basic criteria of UNESCO Language Vitality and Endangerment Framework.

The study thus aims to investigate the Tuareg community attitude onwards their mother tongue and gather more primary reliable information on the situation of Tamahaq and circumstances of endangerment.

The study draws on a case study approach wherein questionnaire, interviews and observation are utilized to gather data in relation with the posed research question.

The study reveals that Tamahaq is undergoing a gradual kind of loss where speakers, particularly children, shift to Dialectal Arabic use in informal domains and Standard Arabic in formal contexts.

Foreign languages mainly French and English are also gaining more grounds at the expense of Tamahaq.