ALGERIAN DARJA.

An online grammar of Algerian Darja by Lameen Souag: “Darja is the term most commonly used in North Africa to refer to the local dialect of Arabic/language developed from Arabic (depending on your political viewpoint).” A well-done site for a fascinating dialect (or language); the section on Evolution from Classical to Darja begins with a list of specific changes (“Daad becomes Daa’,” “Final and initial short vowels disappear,” &c.) and ends:

A lot of the sound changes can be summarized as: pronounce Fusha in a Berber accent (or at least a non-Kabyle Berber accent), which is presumably how Darja originated. The phonological inventories of Darja and many Berber dialects are practically identical, in particular the vowel system and the labialization, although the spirantization typical of Berber does not appear.

He also has a useful User’s Guide to Algeria’s Languages. Thanks to Lameen for the information, and to Jackson Ninly at The Melon Colonie for the link.

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