further distances Riffian from neighbouring dialects such as Atlas-Tamazight and Shilha. Writing system Like other Berber languages, Riffian has been written with several different systems over the years. Unlike the nearby Tashelhit (Shilha), Riffian Berber has little written literature before the twentieth century. The first written examples of Riffian berber start appearing just before the colonial period. Texts like R. Basset (1897) and S. Biarnay (1917) are transcribed in the Latin alphabet but they are transcribed in a rather deficient way. Most recently (since 2003), Tifinagh has become official throughout Morocco. The Arabic script is not used anymore for writing Riffian Berber. The Berber Latin alphabet continues to be the most used writing system online and in most publications in Morocco and abroad. Lexicon Basic vocabulary Loanwords Tarifit has loaned a fair amount of its vocabulary from Arabic, Spanish and French. Around 51.7% of the vocabulary of Tarifit is estimated to have been borrowed (56.1% of nouns and 44.1% of verbs). All loaned verbs follow Riffian conjugations, and some loaned nouns are Berberized as well. A lot of loans are not recognizable because of sound shifts that have undergone, e.g. ǧiřet 'night' (Arabic: al-layla), hřec 'sick' (Arabic: halaka). Examples of words loaned from Classical/Moroccan Arabic ddenya: 'world' (orig. al-dunyā ) tayezzaat: 'island' (orig. jazīra ) řebḥaa: 'ocean' (orig. al-baḥr ) lwalidin: 'parents' (orig. al-wālidayn ) ḥseb: 'to count' (orig. ḥasaba ) Examples of words loaned from Spanish familiya: 'family' (orig. familia) tpabut: 'duck' (orig. pabo) ṣpiṭạạ: 'hospital' (orig. hospital) pṛubaa: 'to try' (orig. probar) arrimaa: 'to land' (orig. arrimar) Examples of words loaned from French maamiṭa: 'pot' (orig. marmite) furciṭa: 'fork' (orig. fourchette) ṣuṣis: 'sausage' (orig. saucisse) fumaḍa: 'cream' (orig. pommade) jjarḍa: 'garden' (orig. jardin) Examples of words loaned from Latin faacu: 'eagle' (orig. falco) aqninni: 'rabbit' (orig. cuniculus) fiřu: 'thread' (orig. filum) aɣaṛṛabu: 'boat' (orig. carabus) asnus: 'donkey foal' (orig. asinus) Sample Text From 'An introduction to Tarifiyt Berber (Nador, Morocc)' by Khalid Mourigh and Maarten Kossmann: Sirkuḷasyun (trafic) AS: annexed state FS: free state AD: the particle 'a(d)' "non-realized" References Sources Biarnay, Samuel. 1911. Etude sur le dialecte des Bet't'ioua du Vieil-Arzeu. Alger: Carbonel. Biarnay, Samuel. 1917. Etude sur les dialectes berbères du Rif. Paris: Leroux. Cadi, Kaddour. 1987. Système verbal rifain. Forme et sens. Paris: Peeters. Colin, Georges Séraphin. 1929. "Le parler berbère des Gmara." Hespéris 9: 43–58. Kossmann, Maarten. 2000. Esquisse grammaticale du rifain oriental. Paris: