Zahra's Tongue

The story

The Kabyle people define themselves first and foremost through the spoken word. Every gesture, every moment of their daily lives can give rise to a language of verse, metaphors, and proverbs. After all, isn't it said that in the mountain foothills they call home, verbal dueling was a common pastime? It is a reality difficult to visualize when one looks at the immigrant society where these men and women—often illiterate—are relegated solely to the roles of manual laborers and housewives; one can hardly imagine the eloquent orators they become when they return to their native tongue.

• #algeria
• #djazair
• #amazigh culture
• #language history
• #kabyle
• #algerian diaspora
• #immigration
• #amazigh language