hiː hæd ɐ kˈaʊntɚvˌeɪlɪŋ ˈɪnfluːəns ˌɔn fɹˈɛntʃ hˌɪstoːɹɪˈɑːɡɹəfi ʌvðə fˈɜːst hˈæf ʌvðə twˈɛntiəθ sˈɛntʃɚɹi, wˌɪtʃ tˈɛndᵻd tə sˈiː ˈæɹəbz ænd ɪn pɚtˈɪkjʊlɚ ðɪ ɪnhˈæbɪtənts ʌv nˈɔːɹθ ˈæfɹɪkə æz ɐ lˈɛs ɐdvˈænst pˈiːpəl ɔːɹ pˈɔːnz əvə vɪktˈoːɹiəs fɹˈæns; bˈɜːk ˈɛmfɐsˌaɪzd ɪnstˈɛd ðə ɹˈɪtʃ ˈæɹəb kˈʌltʃɚɹəl hˈɛɹɪɾɪdʒ æɾə tˈaɪm wɛn hɪstˈɔːɹɪkəl əpˈɪniən wʌz ʃˈɑːɹpli dᵻvˈaɪdᵻd.
He had a countervailing influence on French historiography of the first half of the twentieth century, which tended to see Arabs and in particular the inhabitants of North Africa as a less advanced people or pawns of a victorious France; Berque emphasized instead the rich Arab cultural heritage at a time when historical opinion was sharply divided.