Researchers discuss “Tifinagh” in the twenty years of official recognition
The Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture celebrated, on Friday evening, February 10, 2023, the twentieth anniversary of the official recognition of the “Tifinagh” alphabet for writing the Amazigh language in Morocco.
In a symposium under the slogan “Tifinagh from rock inscriptions to institutionalization” organized by the institute, the researchers dealt with the course and context of the official recognition of the Tifinagh letter since February 10, 2003, and the various aspects of this alphabet, both historical, linguistic and pedagogical.
Khaled Ansar, from the Center for Linguistic Preparation at the Institute, touched on the topic of “The Written System of the Amazigh Language Tifinagh” Acquisitions, Stakes and Prospects.
And he shed light on the various stations known by the Tifinagh alphabet, with the gains that have been reached, the bets that he faces, and the prospects that await him in the future.
He also reviewed the circumstances that contributed to the selection of the Tifinagh letter as the font of the Amazigh language, the standard over the other fonts, recalling the problem of the font that the Amazigh language faced with the presence of three competing practices (the Aramaic and Latin scripts and the Tifinagh alphabets).
He said that a technical study was carried out by the Institute's Linguistic Preparation Center; The choice elected by the Administrative Council of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture was evident in the fact that the Tifinagh alphabet is the perfect answer to the aforementioned question.
The researcher, Khaled Ansar, stressed that the best way to promote the Tifinagh script is to seriously activate the official character of the Amazigh language and enact a linguistic policy that cares about the Amazigh language in the same way it cares about other competing languages in Morocco. Noting that “the future generations that will be taught in the Amazigh language will be more able not only to use the Amazigh language, but also to use its written system, Tifinagh.
The researcher, Mahfouz Asmahar of the Center for Historical and Environmental Studies, dealt with the “historical origins of the Tifinagh letter.”
In his intervention, Ashar emphasized that the Tifinagh letter derives its legitimacy from the ancient history of North Africa, pointing out that “the ancient Libyan letter, which has been used in North Africa for centuries, has a relationship and letters similar to the Tifinagh used by the Tuareg Berbers, which is the same language on which the Royal Institute of Berber Culture relied, including Take some letters.
He said that this historical legitimacy confirms that the letter “Tifinagh Lerkam” has a historical link with the old Libyan script in which the Amazigh script was written in the past. Pointing out that the societal debate that questions the historical legitimacy of the Tifinagh letter is not based on scientific grounds, but rather on ideological grounds.
The speaker stressed the need to teach the historical dimension of the Tifinagh letter in historical Moroccan textbooks in general, and not only in the Amazigh book, so that the societal discussion is based on scientific foundations.
For his part, the researcher Mustafa Al-Saghir of the Didactic Research Center and Pedagogical Programs touched on the Tifinagh letter in the Moroccan school.
He talked about the initiation of teaching the Amazigh language in Moroccan schools since 2003 by employing the Tifinagh letter, writing textbooks and pedagogical easels, as well as including it in various means of modern technologies.
Al-Saghir also talked about the inclusion of Tamazight with its Tifinagh letter in some Moroccan textbooks.
Montassir ithri
Source : websites