The Berbers in Tunisia: Mistaken Identity Amid Contentious Politics in Post-Arab Spring Tunisia

Contenu

Titre

The Berbers in Tunisia: Mistaken Identity Amid Contentious Politics in Post-Arab Spring Tunisia

Créateur

Gabsi, Zouhir Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

Date

2024

Dans

The Handbook of Berber Linguistics Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

Résumé

The Berbers of Tunisia form a small minority group inhabiting southern Tunisia with its rich and indelible history. They are ethnically and linguistically distinguishable from the rest of the population despite attempts by local governments, past and present, to describe them as jbāliyye “inhabitants of the mountains” with no reference to their linguistic and Berber heritage. It is a case of “mistaken identity.” They are not Arabs despite their bilingual situation, as there are no more Berber monolinguals in Tunisia. With Ben Ali’s fall in January 2011, there are renewed and emerging local and international voices that call to recognize this group as an ethnically and linguistically diverse group with new demands to teach the Berber language and hear it spoken in schools. However, these calls create a sense of division within the country, which drives the narrative that supporting the Berber cause may be regarded as treason. This debate is part and parcel of what is referred to as contentious politics. The chapter aims to discuss some of the issues related to the Berber case in Tunisia, and attempts to find solutions to safeguard this heritage without recourse to violence. In doing so, the chapter attempts to answer three fundamental questions: First, what is the Berbers’ current situation today? Second, why do the Berbers feel crushed between their desire to maintain their language and culture – and to succumb to a separatist call ideology? Third, how can the Berbers in Tunisia restore their mistaken identity within the government language policy and demand to be recognized for their linguistic heritage?

Editeur

Springer Nature Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

Place

Singapore

Langue

eng

rédacteur

Korangy, Alireza Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

Bensoukas, Karim Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

pages

255-269

ISBN

978-981-9956-90-6

Titre abrégé

The Berbers in Tunisia

uri

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5690-6_12

Gabsi, Zouhir, “The Berbers in Tunisia: Mistaken Identity Amid Contentious Politics in Post-Arab Spring Tunisia”, Springer Nature, 2024, bibliographie, consulté le 18 septembre 2024, https://ibadica.org/s/bibliographie/item/23886