Libyco-Berber alphabet

The Libyco-Berber alphabet was an abjad writing system used long ago, during the first thousand years before Christ, by many Berber people living in North Africa and the Canary Islands. They used it to write ancient versions of the Berber language, including something called the Numidian language.

Over time, this writing system stopped being used in the north when the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire came to power. But it traveled south into the Sahara desert, where it changed and became the Tuareg Tifinagh alphabet. Today, the Tuareg Berbers still use a version of this old writing.

Sometimes people call the Libyco-Berber alphabet the Numidian script or the Old Libyan script. This helps make sure we don’t wrongly think that the Numidian language is directly connected to any Berber languages spoken today.

Origin

The origin of the Libyco-Berber script is still debated. Some think it was a changed version of the Phoenician alphabet. Others believe it was a local invention inspired by it. One of the oldest known variants of the script was found in Dugga from Numidian times.

Description

Before, during, and after the ancient Berber kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania, many writings were made using the Libyco-Berber script. Most of these writings were simple marks on rocks or caves, but some were important or maybe for religious reasons.

The Libyco-Berber script was a special way of writing without vowels. It had letters for sounds like "w" and "y," and sometimes "h" might have stood for "a." The writing usually went from bottom to top, but sometimes it went from right to left. The letters looked different when written up and down compared to side to side, and they were mostly shaped like simple lines and shapes.

Libyco-Berber inventory (compared to equivalent Tifinagh letters by sound):

Transliteration	Eastern Libyco-Berber (Dougga)	Tifinagh (Ahaggar)	Neo-Tifinagh
b		ⵀ	ⴱ
g		ⴳ	ⴳ
d		ⴷ,ⴸ	ⴷ
h		ⵂ	ⵀ
w		ⵓ	ⵡ
z1		ⵋ	ⵊ
ṭ		ⵟ	ⵟ
y		ⵉ	ⵢ
k		ⴾ	ⴽ
l		ⵍ	ⵍ
m		ⵎ	ⵎ
n		ⵏ	ⵏ
s1			ⵚ
f		ⴼ	ⴼ
s2		ⵙ	ⵙ
q/ɣ?	?	ⵗ/ⵈ	ⵖ/ⵇ
r		ⵔ	ⵔ
s3		ⵛ	ⵛ
t		ⵜ	ⵜ
z2		ⵣ	ⵣ
s4
z3		ⵌ	ⵥ

Variations

There are many different forms of the Libyco-Berber script. Some studies split these into eastern and western groups.

The eastern form was used in areas that are now Constantine, Aurès, and Tunisia, and also in Kabylia. This form is the best understood because several writings in both Libyco-Berber and Punic were found (like KAI 100 and 101 at Dougga in Tunisia).

The western form was used along the Mediterranean coast from Kabylia to the Canary Islands. It had some extra letters. Much of this western form has not yet been understood.

Inscriptions

The Libyco-Berber script is seen on many stones in Morocco, northern Algeria, Tunisia, northern Libya, and the Canary Islands. Important examples are in the Massinissa Temple and the Prince Ateban Mausoleum in Dougga, northern Tunisia. Other notable inscriptions are at Azib N'Ikkis and Oukaimeden in the High-Atlas Mountains of Morocco.