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| Chaoui θšawiθ |
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|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Algeria | |
| Region: | Aurès ( Batna, Khenchela, Sétif, Constantine, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa) | |
| Total speakers: | 2,000,000 | |
| Language family: | Afro-Asiatic Berber Northern Chaoui |
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| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | ber | |
| ISO 639-3: | shy | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Chaouia (Chaouia θšawiθ or Hšawiθ) is the eponymous Berber language spoken by the Chaoui people of eastern Algeria around Batna, Khenchela, Sétif, Constantine, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa and the north part of Biskra. It has over two million speakers.
Known alternative spellings are "Shawia", "Shawiya", "Tachawit", "Thachawith", "Tachaouith", and "Thchèwith". In Chaouia, the leading [t] phoneme - pronounced θ in that phonetic environment - is often reduced to an /h/, so the native name is often heard as Hšawiθ.
Chaouia is not a written language and based on the fact that it is not taught in schools, it may soon become extinct. Being that the Chaouia are predominantly rural and secluded, speakers often code-switch to Arabic, French or even English to discuss non-traditional technology and sociological concerns.
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