The East Zenati languages (Blench, 2006) or Tunisian and Zuwara (Kossmann, 2013) are a group of the Zenati Berber dialects spoken in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Maarten Kossmann Maarten Kossmann (born 5 February 1966 in Zuidlaren, Netherlands) is a Dutch linguist who specializes in Berber languages. He is currently professor of Berber studies at Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Publi ...

considers the easternmost varieties of Zenati dialects as transitional to Eastern Berber, but they are quite different from the neighboring Nafusi. According to Kossmann, the

dialect cluster A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

of Tunisian Berber and Zuwara is consisting of the varieties spoken in mainland Tunisia ( Sened (extinct), Matmata and

Douiret Douiret (Berber: Eddwirat or igherman, ) is a ruined Berber village in the Tataouine district in southern Tunisia. Located on a hilltop near a modern village of the same name, Douiret was a fortified granary, or ksar (plural ''ksour''.) Like oth ...

Jerba Djerba (; , ; ), also transliteration, transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. Administratively, it is part of Medenine Governorat ...

and Zuwara, but not Nafusi which is considered a dialect of Eastern Berber., p.24 Before Kossmann,

Roger Blench Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and is based in Cambridge, England. He researches, publishes, and work ...

(2006) considered East Zanati to be a

consisting of Sened (extinct, including Tmagurt), Djerbi, Matmata ( Tamezret, Zrawa & Taujjut), and Nafusi. AA list
Blench, ms, 2006

References

Berber languages Zenati languages East Zenati languages Berbers in Libya Berbers in Tunisia {{Berber-lang-stub