LSAAL 24: Moroccan Secret Languages

Moroccan Secret Languages

Evidence from the ġuş

Nasser Berjaoui
Ibn Tofail University, Kénitra, Morocco

The present work, the eighths of a series of books on Moroccan secret languages (the ġuş) of the Tafilalet (TSLs), the south-east of Morocco, thoroughly investigates three broad categories of the languages in question. These are the x...xәrxәllәC, the x…Ca and the x…ŗaCi families. Each of these involves more than thirty varieties. In the x...xәrxәllәC category, a consonant of the word is substituted by the consonant of the variety under usage (x). Then the new word is followed by a second copy of the consonant of the variety (x) , the syllable "әr" , a third copy of the same consonant (x), the fragment "әllә" and the substituted consonant (that of the word), that is "C" . Thus, the final encoding strategy shows the fragment: x...xәrxәllәC.

For instance, the word "mat" (die) is encoded in one variety of the x...xәrxәllәC family as "sat sәrsәllәm" and as "wat wәrwәllәm" in another one. In the x…Ca category, a consonant of the word is substituted by the consonant of the variety under usage (x). Then the new word is followed by the substituted consonant (that of the word, "C") and the vowel "a". For instance, the word "ktab" (a book) is encoded in one variety of the x…Ca type as "stab ka" and as "wtab ka" in another one. In the x…ŗaCi family, a consonant of the word is changed by the consonant of the variety under usage (x). Then the newly created word is followed by the constant disguise syllable "ŗa", the substituted consonant (that of the word, "C") and the vowel "i". For example, the word "sarut" (a key) is secretised in one variety of the x…ŗaCi family as "warut ŗasi" and as "karut ŗasi" in another one. The present book contains three parts, with each separately investigating one family of the TSLs. This work addresses linguistic areas of main concern to graduate and post-graduate students, linguists, phonologists, morphologists, sociolinguists, arabicists, and sociologists, among others.

ISBN 9783895861796. Moroccan Arabic Secret Languages 08. LINCOM Studies in Afroasiatic Linguistics 24. 433pp. 2008.