Tarifit/Nouns
Tarifit noun basics
In Tarifit, nouns can be divided into three types based on their structure:
- Class 1 – Nouns with typical Berber noun patterns.
- This is the largest group. It includes most native Berber words, as well as many Arabic and European loanwords.
- Class 2 – Nouns that follow Arabic noun patterns.
- These are mostly borrowed from Arabic and some from European languages.
- Class 3 – Nouns without any special word patterns (no clear affixes).
- This small group includes basic kinship terms (like mother, brother, etc.) and a few other nouns.
Features of tarifit nouns
Tarifit nouns have three main features:
- Gender: masculine or feminine
- Number: singular or plural
- State: whether the noun is in a free or annexed form (used in certain sentence contexts)
Adjectives and verbs match the noun in gender and number, but not in state.
What this chapter covers
First, we’ll look at the three features found in nouns: gender, number, and state. Then, we’ll explore how each feature is shown through word forms (morphology). When talking about the features themselves, we’ll look at all noun types together. But when talking about how these features are formed, we’ll keep the three noun classes separate.
Gender
Tarifit has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine.
Gender in countable nouns (Class 1)
In nouns that follow Berber word patterns (Class 1), gender is often marked by affixes. Typically, every masculine noun has a matching feminine form. The feminine is derived from the masculine form by adding an element /t̲-/ to the prefix, and a suffix /-t̲/.
For humans and higher animals, masculine and feminine mark their natural gender:
| Masculine | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aḥenjir | t̲aḥenjirt̲ | boy / girl |
| ayyaw | t̲ayyawt | grandson / granddaughter |
| asarḏun | t̲asarḏunt̲ | male mule / female mule |
| afunas | t̲afunast | ox / cow |
| akiḏar | t̲akiḏart̲ | horse / mare |
Irregular pairs (suppletive forms)
Some words have completely different forms for masculine and feminine:
| Masculine | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aryaz | t̲amɣart̲ | man / woman |
| amyan | t̲ɣaṭṭ | he-goat / she-goat |
| icarri | t̲ixsi | ram / ewe |
| yis | řɛawḏa | horse / mare |
This is also common with Class 3 nouns (basic terms like family members):
| Masculine | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| uma | učma | my brother / sister |
| b̲ab̲a | yemma | my father / mother |
| jeddi | ḥenna | grandfather / grandmother |
Gender in non-human nouns
For non-domesticated animals, inanimate objects, and body parts, gender can show size differences:
- Masculine often means bigger
- Feminine often means smaller
| Masculine | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aṭṭaw | t̲iṭṭ | big eye / normal eye |
| fus | t̲fust | normal hand / baby hand |
| aɣenja | t̲aɣenjact | ladle / spoon |
| akeccuḏ̣ | t̲akeccuṭṭ | big stick / toothpick |
| aqb̲uc | t̲aqb̲uct | big water jar / small jar |
Sometimes, especially with borrowed words (Class 2), the larger object has a masculine form, and the smaller one takes a feminine Berber form:
| Masculine | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| řmaqřa | t̲maqřat | big / small frying pan |
| řkas | t̲kasect | glass / small glass |
| marmiṭa | t̲marmiṭat | big / small cooking pan |
| řb̲it | t̲b̲itect | room / small room |
Feminine for language names and concepts
The feminine form is also used to name languages and sometimes abstract concepts or behaviors:
| Feminine Form | Related Masculine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| t̲maziɣt | amaziɣ | Berber language or Berber woman / Berber man |
| t̲aɛraft | aɛrab̲ | Arabic language or Arabic woman / Arabic man |
| t̲aṣpanyut | aṣpanyu | Spanish language or Spanish woman / Spanish man |
| t̲aryast | aryaz | courage / from "man" |
Number
In Tarifit, nouns can show differences in number — that is, whether something is singular or plural. There are also some special cases, like dual forms and collective nouns.
Singular and Plural
Most countable nouns in Tarifit have both a singular and a plural form.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aḥenjir | iḥenjiren | boy / boys |
| taḥenjirt | tiḥenjirin | girl / girls |
Some nouns use completely different words for the plural. These are called suppletive plurals:
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| uma | ayetma | my brother / my brothers |
| učma | istma | my sister / my sisters |
Mass Nouns
Some nouns that refer to substances (like liquids) can be either singular or plural, and the form they take depends on the word itself — not on a clear pattern:
| Number | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | aɣi | milk |
| Singular | řgiḥ | pus |
| Plural | aman | water |
| Plural | iḏammen | blood |
Dual Number (Arabic Borrowings)
Tarifit doesn’t normally have a dual form, but a few words borrowed from Moroccan Arabic do:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| nnhar | yumayen | iyyam | day / days |
| char | chrayen | chur | month / months |
| ɛam | ɛamayen | snin | year / years |
Collective and Unit Nouns
Some nouns have three related forms:
- A collective form – refers to a group as a whole (singular masculine)
- A unit noun (singular) – refers to a single item
- A unit noun (plural) – refers to multiple items
These are common in things like fruit, vegetables, plants, and objects. Usually:
- The collective form uses Class 2 (Arabic-style)
- The unit nouns use Class 1 (Berber-style)
| Collective | Unit (Singular) | Unit (Plural) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| řbacur | t̲b̲acurt̲ | t̲ib̲acurin | fig |
| řeb̲ṣeř | t̲ab̲ṣeč | t̲ib̲eṣřin | onion |
| řfeřfeř | t̲ifeřfeč | t̲ifeřfřin | paprika |
| ddelliɛ | t̲adelliḥt | t̲idelliɛin | watermelon |
| ṣṣabun | t̲ṣabunt | t̲iṣabunin | soap |
| tteffaḥ | t̲ateffaḥt | t̲iteffaḥin | apple |
| nnewwac | t̲anewwact | t̲inewwacin | plant |
| lleccin | t̲aleccint | tileccinin | orange |
| llajur | t̲lajurt̲ | tilajurin | brick |
| lbanan | t̲b̲anant | t̲ib̲ananin | banana |
| lfiras | t̲afirast | t̲ifrasin | pear |
| baṭaṭa | t̲b̲aṭaṭaṭ | tib̲aṭaṭat̲in | potato |
| mandarina | t̲mandarint | timandarinin | mandarin |
| ṭumaṭic | t̲ṭumaṭict | t̲iṭumaṭicin | tomato |
| xizzu | t̲xizzut | t̲ixizzut̲in | carrot |
Some words change slightly between the collective and unit forms:
| Collective | Unit (Singular) | Unit (Plural) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ccmeɛ | t̲cumɛett | t̲icumɛatin | candle |
| ccɛeř | t̲aceɛřect | – | matches |
States
Nouns with Class 1 Berber affixes change form depending on their role in a sentence.
These forms are called states. While they’re sometimes compared to “states” in Semitic languages, in Berber it’s more about sentence position—so they work more like grammatical cases.
There are two main forms:
- Free State (FS): the base or default form.
- Annexed State (AS): a slightly changed form used in specific sentence positions.
When to use the Free State
1. When the noun stands alone
→ aryaz (FS) = “man”
2. As subject or predicate in a sentence without a verb
→ aryaz-a ḏ ayyaw nnes = “this man is his grandson”
3. As a direct object
→ yessawař t̲aspanyut = “he speaks Spanish”
4. At the start of a sentence for emphasis (topic)
→ aryaz-nni, yeqqim ḏi b̲aṛṛa = “that man, he stayed outside”
5. After the prepositions ař (“until”) and břa (“without”)
→ yuzzeř ař aqiḏ̣un nnes = “he ran until his tent”
→ t̲us-d b̲řa aryaz nnes = “she came without her husband”
When to Use the Annexed State (AS)
1. When the noun comes after the verb as the subject
→ yeqqim waryaz ḏi b̲aṛṛa = “the man stayed outside”
2. After most prepositions (except ař and břa)
→ b̲ab̲a-s n waryaz = “the father of the man”
→ yeccuṛ-it̲ s waman = “he filled it with water”
3. After a sentence to explain something (post-topic)
→ ḏ asemmam, uɣi-ya = “it’s sour, this milk”
4. After some specific words placed before the noun
Only Class 1 nouns show this state change. When it comes to adjectives they always stay in the Free State, even if the noun they describe is in the Annexed State.
→ s uɣi asemmam = “with the sour milk” (noun = AS, adjective = FS)
→ n waryaz ameqqṛan = “of the big man” (noun = AS, adjective = FS)