The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: JBN
ISO 639-2: ber
| Population | 141,000 in Libya (1998). Population total both countries 167,000. |
| Region | Tripolitania, western Libya, isolated area around the towns of Nalut and Yafran, Jabal Nafusah region, coastal area around Zuara, west of Tripoli. Also spoken in Tunisia. |
| Alternate names | DJERBI, NEFUSI, JABAL NAFUSI, JEBEL NEFUSI, JBEL NAFUSI |
| Dialects | ZUARA (ZOUARA, ZUWARAH, ZWARA, ZURAA), TAMEZRET (DUWINNA), JERBI (JERBA). |
| Classification | Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern, Zenati, East. |
| Comments | Zuara dialect well known in Jebel Nafusa area and in Jerba Tunisia. Some visit Zuara, but not vice versa. Dialect of Matmata and Tatawine area less well understood by speakers in Jerba or Zuara. Speakers in Zuara and Jebel areas understand Jerba stories well. Pre-school children are monolingual in Nafusi. In Nafusi villages they speak Nafusi among themselves. In towns they speak it among friends and families, most exclusively at home. All ages. They are not ashamed of Nafusi. Most live apart from Arabized inhabitants of the region. They built dams and terraces for cultivation. Semi-arid. Ibadite Muslim. |
| Tunisia |
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