Languages of Algeria

Arabic Languages

Language map (Arabic)

Arabic languages of North Africa


 

A - Hassaniya  B - Moroccan Arabic C - Algerian Arabic
D - Tunisian Arabic E - Western Libyan Arabic F - Eastern Libyan Arabic

 

 

Modern Standard Arabic is the language of education and the media.
There are several translations of the Bible into Modern Standard Arabic. The True Meaning translation is particularly intended to communicate well to Muslims. The New Testament in pdf format and audio recordings are available on the Prophet Stories website. Also recommended is the Sharif Bible. The Book of Life (Kitaab al-Hayaat), Today’s Arabic Version and the New Arabic Version are also good modern translations, particularly for Arabic-speaking Christians.
The Sharif Bible, and the Kitaab al-Hayaat are available as audio recordings from Faith Comes by Hearing on Bible.is.

Algerian Arabic, or Darja, is the main spoken language of Algeria.
There is an Algerian Arabic website, which has audio recordings of parts of the Old and New Testaments, as well as video stories of Abraham and Joseph, and the Magdalena film.
The Jesus Film, Magdalena and other video materials, can be found at jesusfilm.org/search.html?q=Algerian%20Arabic.
There are also some recordings on the Global Recordings website.

Berber Languages Language map (Berber)

Berber Languages of North Africa


 

A - Tachelhit  B - Tamazight  C - Riffi Tamazight (Tarifit)
D - Kabyle  E - Tasahlit F - Chaoui 
G - Touareg H - East Zenati I - Nafusi

Kabyle is probably the most well know Berber language in Algeria. It is spoken primarily in the north-east of Algeria, including the towns of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia. There are around 4 million speakers.
ACEB, the association of Berber-speaking Christians, has a website (www.aceb.net) with many video and audio Bible stories and other resources.
The Trans World Radio site, radiokabyle.com, has Kabyle Scriptures in text and audio formats, as well as a range of Bible stories and other resources.
The Berber website tamusni.org also has the Kabyle/French New Testament, along with a variety of other resources.
The Jesus Film and Magdalena are available at jesusfilm.org/search.html?q=Kabyle.
There are also some recordings on the Global Recordings website.

Tasahlit, also known as Lesser Kabyle, is spoken in a region near the coast of Algeria, to the north of the Kabyle region.
The Jesus Film and Magdalena are available at jesusfilm.org/search.html?q=Tasahlit.

Chaoui Berber, or Tachawit, is spoken in the Aurès mountains in north-eastern Algeria, including the cities of Batna and Biskra. There are around one million speakers of the language. The mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo, the early Christian theologian and philosopher, was a Chaoui Berber.
On the Injil Chaoui website you can find the Jesus Film, and videos of some psalms and the stories of several Old Testament prophets. Some of these are also available as audio recordings, or in text format.
The psalm videos are also on the YouTube channel ‘Psaumes en Chaoui’ .
The Jesus Film and Magdalena are available at jesusfilm.org/search.html?q=Tachawit.
There are also recordings on the Global Recordings website.

Tamahaq, the language of the Toureg in Algeria, is spoken in the south of Algeria, in the oases of the Sahara desert.

 

Other Berber Languages of Algeria : There are several smaller Berber languages spoken in Algeria, including Chenoua, Temacine, Tidikelt, Gourara, Mozabite and Wargla. As yet there are no known Scripture materials in these languages.

 

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