Learn Tamazight Online or

In Fez, Morocco

Study Middle Atlas Tamazight to communicate with people from the Middle Atlas Region

What is Tamazight?

Tamazight is the name of the Amazigh/Berber dialect spoken in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The indigenous people of Morocco have spoken a local dialect of Berber/Amazigh for the last 2000 years. In Morocco, there are three main dialects of Amazigh: Tashelhit, Tamazight, and Tarifit. Though Amazigh dialects are on a continuum and generally considered mutually intelligible, the dialects of Amazigh can vary from town-to-town. Tamazight is also known as Central Atlas Tamazight, Middle Atlas Tamazight, or Central Morocco Tamazight.

Is it worthwhile to learn Tamazight?

While a high percentage of the population of Morocco speaks Moroccan Arabic, in Central Morocco, it is very helpful to know Tamazight. The region where Tamazight is spoken includes the cities of Khemissett, Meknès, Sefrou, Taza, Ifrane, Azrou, Khenifra, Beni Mellal, Azilal, Midelt, Rich, Imilchil, Errachidia, Merzouga, Goulmima, Tinjedad, Tineghir, Boulmane-Dadès, Skoura, Zagora, and all places in between. If you plan to spend a significant amount of time in one of these cities, you should consider learning Tamazight.

Learning Tamazight with Crossroads Cultural Exchange

Our core Tamazight course is called Abrid, which means "road" or "way" in Tamazight. The heart of this course is a practical and situational approach to the language. This makes the learning process faster and emphasizes the ability to communicate. Abrid is a comprehensive, practical course designed to help you speak (and understand!) the Tamazight dialect.

Scheduling your language study is flexible, but studying the entire Abrid course generally lasts nine months of studying in class 15 hours per week. When you complete all four levels of the course, you will have covered all the grammatical structures needed to say whatever you want to say in Tamazight. Study is facilitated through written course material as well as audio files to help you learn regardless of your learning style. You will explore both the language as well as cultural insights through dialogues, texts, proverbs, traditional riddles, and poems.

Student at a desk writing on a pice of paper

Try a language session for free. Please contact us to schedule a trial session or placement test online or in-person at our center in Fes.

Our Program

  • Mountain range with a donkey walking by

    Curious Explorer

    Experience our Curious Explorer course in Tamazight and become acquanted with Morocco’s original language. Spend three hours learning Moroccan greetings, common words, simple phrases, and cultural do’s and don’ts so that you can interact with people in their language during your time in Morocco. For groups, we will follow up your workshop with a traditional Moroccan meal.

    Curious Explorer Includes

    Three hours of instruction with one of our experienced teachers, either online or in-person at our center in Fes.

    A printed booklet and MP3 audio files to help you practice your new language skills.

    A traditional Moroccan meal (not available for individual classes).

    The Curious Explorer course is a good introduction to Central Moroccan Tamazight. For those who desire an even deeper contact with this noble people, consider our Serious Explorer course which offers all of the above and more ... like the Tifinagh alphabet.

  • A rustic house and mosque on the side of a mountain

    Serious Explorer

    Serious Explorer is geared towards the needs of a traveller in the Berber areas of central Morocco. Spend nine hours, spread over three days or a week, learning Moroccan greetings, cultural do’s and don’ts, and common words and phrases to help you take a taxi, ask for directions, book a hotel room, order your food and drinks at a restaurant, and buy items at a shop. You will also be able to distinguish the letters of the Tifinagh alphabet, an ancient alphabet that is being revitalized and used in various places in Morocco. For groups, we will finish the week with a traditional Moroccan meal.

    Serious Explorer Includes

    Nine hours of instruction with one of our experienced teachers, either online or in-person at our center in Fes.

    A printed booklet and MP3 audio files to help you practice your new language skills.

    A traditional Moroccan meal (not available for individual classes).

  • Houses made with mud bricks

    Abrid 1

    Abrid 1 is a five-week course covering greetings, pronunciation, everyday phrases, as well as writing. After finishing Abrid 1 you will be able to read and write Arabic letters without serious difficulty, answer most of the numerous greetings, tell people about yourself, and do shopping in Tamazight.

    There are 2 textbooks for the Abrid 1 course: a Student Book, covering all the material for each lesson, and a Workbook, filled with interesting review exercises and supplementary dialogues, texts, and proverbs that go with each lesson. Audio files are also provided to help with oral learning.

    At the end of Abrid 1, the serious student will have a solid foundation in Tamazight which can be expanded just by talking to others. Major portions of the grammar will be covered, as well as everyday vocabulary.

  • A man leads his donkey down a rocky path

    Abrid 2

    In Abrid 2, you will make great strides in communicating in Tamazight. You will use more verb tenses, ask questions, and begin speaking in small paragraphs. Refining your pronunciation is also an important element of this level.

    By the end of Abrid 2, you should be able to read and write Tamazight in Arabic script with little effort and handle your daily needs in Tamazight. You will also have learned the final pillar of the Tamazight verb, which will enable you to use all the "continuous" tenses of Tamazight.

  • A Berber living room with a wood table, carpets, and pillows on the ground against the wall

    Abrid 3

    Abrid 3 is very important for consolidating the final pillar of the Tamazight verb that you learned at the end of Abrid 2. This is necessary for you to improve your fluency. You will be able to discuss a wide variety of topics as you constantly increase your vocabulary. You've been already using a lot of prepositions, but Abrid 3 allows you to finally put them together in an practical way. You will also cover Tamazight's three types of adjectives and something that is peculiar to this language: direction particles. Tamazight is often concerned with whether a verb's action is happening toward the speaker or away from him. Abrid 3 will help you negotiate this difficult but foundational aspect of Tamazight. Abrid 3 ends with your being able to use causative, reciprocal, and passive verbs.

    By the end of Abrid 3, you will have covered the basic grammar of Tamazight. You will be able to communicate in Tamazight with confidence. And you will have expanded your vocabulary and will have the ability to speak about a wide variety of topics.

  • Clothes hanging on cliff faces to dry

    Abrid 4

    By the time you start Abrid 4 you will know the basic grammar of Tamazight, but you will still need more practice with sentence structure (as things tend to move around a lot in Tamazight sentences) and the more complicated tenses. Don't short-change yourself by skipping Abrid 4. There are still important things you haven't learned yet! The essential element of this level concerns participles and linking words that enable you to smoothly connect sentences and paragraphs. There is also a special emphasis on common idioms and expressions. You will learn numerous ways to express a variety of emotions. Did you know that these emotional expressions often focus on the liver?

    In this level you will be exposed to traditional Tamazight riddles, in addition to proverbs, dialogues, and a number of texts and poems from Berber newspapers. This will allow you not only to increase what you can speak about, but your knowledge of Berber culture will greatly deepen, and you will be considered an "insider."

    By the end of Abrid 4, you will have covered all the grammar of Tamazight! You will have acquired the ability to contribute to a discussion between Imazighen people. They will be delighted with your ability to speak their language and will say that you really are "one of us." You will be also exposed to some of the main regional variations in Central Moroccan Tamazight, and this will allow you to adjust to the small changes that happen in the language as you go from one town to another.

Regular Schedule

Classes can be scheduled upon demand and can start at any time. Email us at hello@crossroadsculturalexchange.com to schedule your classes.

Because you must work harder to find language helpers and opportunities to practice Tamazight in the city, the recommended rate of study is at most 1 new lesson a day (90 minutes). Expect to spend out-of-class time in revision and practice. It is very important to find a language helper to increase your practice time, and it is highly recommended to take some trips to nearby Berber towns where you'll have more opportunities to put the language to use.

Proposed Schedule

  • Serious Explorer - 9 hours, one week

  • Abrid 1 - 25 lessons, five weeks

  • 26 lessons (39 hours), 5 or 6 weeks, with extra sessions added for drilling, additional conversation, and review.

  • 24 lessons (36 hours), 6 weeks, with extra sessions added for drilling, additional conversation, and review.

    Some of the lessons at this level may take longer than one session, depending on the student's rhythm. It is best not to rush through the material but take the time to practice and consolidate it.

  • 33 lessons. Due to the more complex nature of the material, many lessons take more than one class session. Thus, count on at least 50 sessions of 90 minutes (75 hours), best done spread out over a 10 week period. As with the other levels, it is possible to add extra sessions for drilling, additional conversation, and review.

 

Prices

Prices are per person in Moroccan Dirhams (MAD) for one 90-minute session.

All digital material is included in the class prices. This includes textbooks, audio files, and flashcards. Printed material, if desired, will be charged for an additional cost.

 

MAD 230

Individual Class

Personalized study one-on-one with a language teacher.

 

MAD 120

Three or more students

Classes will be constituted of students at a similar language level with the permission of the students.

*Price is per student

MAD 175

Two Students

Classes will be constituted of students at a similar language level with the permission of the students.

*Price is per student

 

MAD 350

Enrollment fee

One-time for all courses apart from the Curious and Serious Explorer courses.

A mountain village in Morocco where green trees are seen below houses and buildings, and above is a dry mountain.
  • Learn more about the Amazigh language here.

  • Learn more about our center in Fes where you can study Tamazight here.

  • Schedule a free trial session by contacting us here.

Contact Us