Gurara language

Gurara (Gourara) is the Zenati Berber language of the Gourara (Tigurarin) region, an archipelago of oases surrounding Timimoun in southwestern Algeria. Ethnologue gives it the generic name Taznatit ('Zenati'), along with Tuwat to its south; however, Blench (2006) classifies Gurara as a dialect of Mzab–Wargla, and Tuwat as a dialect of the Riff cluster.

Characteristics

Gurara and Tuwat is the only Berber language to change r in certain coda positions to a laryngeal ħ; in other contexts it drops r, turning a preceding schwa into a.

There is inconclusive evidence for Songhay influence on Gurara.

Ahellil

The local tradition of ahellil poetry and music in Gurara, described in Mouloud Mammeri's L'Ahellil du Gourara, has been listed as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

References

Gurara

Gurara is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria, adjoining the Federal Capital Territory. Its headquarters are in the town of Gawu. Major inhabitants are the Gwari people. The Gurara Waterfalls is found here.

It has an area of 954 km² and a population of 90,974 at the 2006 census.

The postal code of the area is 910.

References