# Shilha language

**Shilha** (endonym *Taclḥiyt*, ⵜⴰⵛⵍⵃⵉⵜ; also spelled Tashelhiyt, Tachelhit, or Tashlhiyt) is a Berber (Amazigh) language spoken by the Shilha (Chleuh) people of southwestern Morocco<sup>[1](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)</sup>. It is the most widely spoken Amazigh variety in Morocco, and it is written in Arabic, Latin, and Tifinagh scripts<sup>[1](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)</sup>. In English-language linguistics the spelling Tashelhiyt (or a variant) is generally preferred, while French usage favors Tachelhit; the name Shilha comes from the [Moroccan Arabic](https://www.edgepedia.org/moroccan-arabic) *Šəlḥa* and is the form preferred by many anthropologists and historians<sup>[1](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://arc.dbs.org/data/languages/shi/)</sup>.

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Endonym and names | Taclḥiyt (ⵜⴰⵛⵍⵃⵉⵜ); also Tashelhiyt, Tachelhit, Shilha, Tasoussit<sup>[1](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/tach1250)</sup>  |
| Classification | Afro-Asiatic > Berber > Northern > Atlas<sup>[4](https://asjp.clld.org/languages/TASHELHIT_IDA_USEMLAL)</sup> |
| Speakers | About 5.8 million native speakers (2020 estimate); other counts give 5.2 million (2024) and 5,118,000<sup>[1](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://arc.dbs.org/data/languages/shi/)</sup> |
| Writing | Arabic script (long literary tradition), Latin, and Tifinagh<sup>[1](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://langmaps.com/ar/wordmap/shi)</sup>  |
| Codes | ISO 639-3 `shi`; Glottocode `tach1250`<sup>[3](https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/tach1250)</sup> |
| Vitality | Not endangered; Ethnologue status 5, "Developing"<sup>[3](https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/tach1250)</sup> |

## Geographic distribution

The Shilha-speaking area forms a continuous block in southern Morocco. A description by the linguists François Dell and Mohamed Elmedlaoui, authors of a monograph on Tashlhiyt phonology, describes it as a roughly four-sided polygon bounded by the [Atlantic Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-ocean) to the west, the northern slopes of the Haut Atlas to the north, and the southern slopes of the [Anti-Atlas](https://www.edgepedia.org/anti-atlas) to the south, with its eastern side lying east of the city of [Ouarzazate](https://www.edgepedia.org/ouarzazate); on its northeastern boundary Shilha gradually shades into Central Atlas Tamazight<sup>[6](https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/Dell2002.pdf)</sup>. Glottolog also lists Algeria among the countries where the language is recorded<sup>[3](https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/tach1250)</sup>.

## Classification and relationship to other Amazigh varieties

Shilha belongs to the Atlas branch of Northern Berber within the Afro-Asiatic family<sup>[4](https://asjp.clld.org/languages/TASHELHIT_IDA_USEMLAL)</sup>. Moroccan public debate often frames it as one of three historical Amazigh varieties in the country, alongside Central Atlas Tamazight (tamazight) and Tarifit (Riffian)<sup>[7](https://www.gouvernement-ouvert.ma/docs/PAN3_vAr_27062024-2TI9i.pdf)</sup>. How these varieties relate is contested. Some commentators hold that their shared roots and largely identical grammar make them dialects of one Amazigh language, with differences concentrated in intonation and some word pronunciations<sup>[8](https://philarchive.org/archive/QONCGN)</sup>. Others argue the opposite: because a Tarifit speaker and a Shilha speaker typically cannot hold a conversation in their own languages, each variety fulfills the communicative function of a language in its own right, and Moroccan Darija (colloquial Arabic) serves as the lingua franca between Amazigh speakers of different varieties<sup>[9](https://www.akhbarona.com/writers/5111.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[10](https://atinternational.org/forums/forum/language-forums/arabic-language-forum/arabic-dialects-forum/1775-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9)</sup>. A Shilha speaker's own account of meeting a Tarifit-speaking fellow student, recorded in a Moroccan legal-knowledge publication, ends with both switching to Darija after finding their two Amazigh varieties mutually unintelligible<sup>[11](https://espaceconnaissancejuridique.com/2025/02/24/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%BA%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%A9/)</sup>.

## Linguistic structure

**Phonology.** Shilha has a comparatively simple vowel inventory, and its consonant system allows heavy gemination (doubling of consonant sounds in a word): a stem may contain up to two geminates and a word up to three<sup>[1](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)</sup>. The language is well known in theoretical phonology for its syllable structure; Dell and Elmedlaui's work on Tashlhiyt syllables and prosodic domains is a standard reference in the field<sup>[6](https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/Dell2002.pdf)</sup>. A grammar synopsis by John Alderete (professor of linguistics at [Simon Fraser University](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-fraser-university)) and colleagues covers segmental and prosodic phonology, clitics and preverbs, noun and verb morphology, and relative clauses, cross-referenced with the research literature<sup>[12](https://www.sfu.ca/~alderete/datasets/aldereteEtal2015_tashlhiytGrammarSynopsis.pdf)</sup>.

**Morphology and lexicon.** Nouns inflect for gender and number, with feminine forms typically marked by a circumfix, as in the pair *argaz* (man) and *tamghart* (woman, wife) alongside *irgazn* (men)<sup>[13](https://www.amazigh.online/map/tachelhit)</sup>. Basic vocabulary is largely shared across Berber: numerals run *yan, sin, kraḍ, kkuẓ, smmus* for one through five<sup>[13](https://www.amazigh.online/map/tachelhit)</sup>. A lexical study of the Yefren variety places Shilha together with Central Atlas Tamazight in a central Moroccan cluster within Northern (Zenatic-adjacent) Berber<sup>[14](https://tamazight.edu.ly/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/illughem_2976.pdf)</sup>.

## Writing and literature

Shilha has one of the longer written traditions among Berber varieties. Arabic-script writing in the language goes back to at least the twelfth century, and eighteenth-century Shilha manuscripts in [Arabic script](https://www.edgepedia.org/arabic-script) survive; a modern neo-Tifinagh standard also exists<sup>[5](https://langmaps.com/ar/wordmap/shi)</sup>. The three current scripts are Arabic, Latin, and Tifinagh<sup>[1](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)</sup>. A doctoral thesis on the structure of the verbal-noun compound in Shilha of the Souss region was defended at Mohammed First University in Oujda in 2003, part of a small but growing body of Amazigh linguistics research in Moroccan universities<sup>[15](https://www.ircam.ma/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/Revue_asinag/revue_asinag_document/Asinag%20N-3.pdf)</sup>.

## Status and official use

Amazigh became an official language of Morocco with the 2011 constitution, and Organic Law 26.16 sets out the stages for implementing its official character and its integration into education and priority areas of public life<sup>[7](https://www.gouvernement-ouvert.ma/docs/PAN3_vAr_27062024-2TI9i.pdf)</sup>. Under that framework the Moroccan government has committed to extending public-service reception in the three Amazigh varieties, including Tashelhit, across central and decentralized administrations<sup>[7](https://www.gouvernement-ouvert.ma/docs/PAN3_vAr_27062024-2TI9i.pdf)</sup>. The Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) has standardized the language's grammar and continues work to anchor the standard linguistically and sociolinguistically<sup>[16](https://biblio.ircam.ma/pmb/uploads/publications/77.pdf)</sup>.

Despite institutional support, everyday use remains concentrated in its home region. National survey data from Morocco's High Commission for Planning show that use of the three Amazigh varieties stands at 24.8 percent nationally but 10.8 percent in the [Casablanca-Settat](https://www.edgepedia.org/casablanca-settat) region, where Moroccan Darija dominates at 95.7 percent<sup>[17](https://www.hcp.ma/reg-casablanca/docs/docs/Note%20Casa%20Anfa.pdf)</sup>. Glottolog classifies Tachelhit as not endangered, with [Ethnologue](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethnologue) assigning it EGIDS level 5 (Developing), meaning the language is in vigorous use but not yet institutionalized across all domains<sup>[3](https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/tach1250)</sup>.

## References

1. [Tachelhit, Amazigh Wiki](https://wiki.amazigh.com/index.php?section=1&title=Tachelhit)
2. [Tachelhit (shi), ARC Language Database](https://arc.dbs.org/data/languages/shi/)
3. [Glottolog 5.3 – Tachelhit](https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/tach1250)
4. [ASJP Database – Wordlist Tashelhit Ida Usemlal](https://asjp.clld.org/languages/TASHELHIT_IDA_USEMLAL)
5. [الشلحية (Tashelḥit) — Word Map](https://langmaps.com/ar/wordmap/shi)
6. [Dell, F. & Elmedlaui, M. Syllables in Tashlhiyt Berber](https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/Dell2002.pdf)
7. [المخطط الوطني المفتوح، حكومة المغرب (Law 26.16 implementation)](https://www.gouvernement-ouvert.ma/docs/PAN3_vAr_27062024-2TI9i.pdf)
8. [في نقد الأيدولوجيا التلهيجية (philarchive excerpt)](https://philarchive.org/archive/QONCGN)
9. [الوضع اللغوي بالمغرب ودسترة الأمازيغية، أخبارونا](https://www.akhbarona.com/writers/5111.html)
10. [الازدواجيات اللسانية في المغرب، الجمعية الدولية لمترجمي العربية](https://atinternational.org/forums/forum/language-forums/arabic-language-forum/arabic-dialects-forum/1775-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9)
11. [الأمازيغية المعيارية بين اختلاق لغة، espace connaissance juridique](https://espaceconnaissancejuridique.com/2025/02/24/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%BA%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%A9/)
12. [Alderete, Jebbour, Kachoub & Wilbee. Tashlhiyt Berber grammar synopsis, Simon Fraser University](https://www.sfu.ca/~alderete/datasets/aldereteEtal2015_tashlhiytGrammarSynopsis.pdf)
13. [Tachelhit (ⵜⴰⵛⵍⵃⵉⵜ), Amawal Linguistic Atlas](https://www.amazigh.online/map/tachelhit)
14. [مجلة اللسانيات (يفرن variety study), tamazight.edu.ly](https://tamazight.edu.ly/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/illughem_2976.pdf)
15. [Asinag N°3, IRCAM](https://www.ircam.ma/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/Revue_asinag/revue_asinag_document/Asinag%20N-3.pdf)
16. [askkil 01, IRCAM publications](https://biblio.ircam.ma/pmb/uploads/publications/77.pdf)
17. [القراءة والكتابة حسب اللغات، المندوبية السامية للتخطيط – جهة الدار البيضاء-سطات](https://www.hcp.ma/reg-casablanca/docs/docs/Note%20Casa%20Anfa.pdf)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Languages and dialects › Named languages by region › Languages of Africa*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

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