Riffian
The Berber variety of the Rif region in northern Morocco. Heavily distinct from other Tamazight varieties in phonology, including a strong final-vowel reduction.
Siwi
Also known as: Siwa Berber
The easternmost surviving Berber language, spoken in the Siwa Oasis of western Egypt. Heavily restructured by Arabic contact; the only Tamazight variety inside Egypt.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Siwi?
Siwi is a dialect of the Tamazight language.
Where is Siwi spoken?
Siwi is primarily spoken in Egypt.
Which region is Siwi associated with?
Siwi is part of the North Africa region on DialectAtlas.
Is Siwi known by other names?
Yes — Siwi is also referred to as Siwa Berber.
What are the other dialects of Tamazight?
Tamazight also includes Tarifit, Tashelhit, Kabyle, Tamasheq, Central Atlas Tamazight, Nafusi. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Tamazight dialects
See on the atlas →Shilha · Soussian Berber
The Berber variety of the southern Atlas and Souss valley in Morocco. The most numerous Tamazight variety, with a literary tradition going back centuries.
Taqbaylit
The Berber variety of the Kabylie region in northern Algeria. The most documented and standardised Algerian Tamazight, with a strong written literary tradition.
Tuareg Berber
The Berber variety of the Tuareg confederations across the central Sahara. Written historically in the Tifinagh script, which Tuareg communities have preserved continuously.
Tamazight · Beraber
The Berber variety of the Middle Atlas mountains in central Morocco. Roughly 2.5 million speakers; the basis of much of the standardised Moroccan Tamazight taught in schools.
Nafusi Berber · Jebel Nafusa
The Berber variety of the Nafusa mountains in north-western Libya. Around 200,000 speakers; one of the few surviving Berber languages inside Libya.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →561 km away
The codified supra-regional standard used across the Arab world in education, media, literature, and formal speech. Derived from Classical Arabic, it has no native speakers and no single regional home — it is acquired as a formal register layered above the spoken vernaculars. Cairo, as the historical center of Arabic publishing, broadcasting, and scholarship, serves as its conventional locus.
582 km away
The most widely understood Arabic dialect, carried across the region by cinema and music.
675 km away
The Arabic of Upper Egypt, from Beni Suef south to Aswan. Conservative relative to Cairene Egyptian Arabic, with retained interdentals and a distinct rural prestige.
684 km away
The Greek of Crete. The literary medium of the late-medieval Cretan Renaissance and the basis of a long oral and musical tradition.
688 km away
Dom communities across Egypt and Sudan, sometimes grouped under broader regional labels. Linguistic documentation remains limited.
919 km away
The only living descendant of ancient Doric Greek, spoken in a few villages of the Peloponnese around Leonidio. Critically endangered; structurally distinct from all other Greek varieties, which descend from Attic-Ionic.