Zenati languages

The Zenati languages are a branch of the Northern Berber language family of North Africa, named for the medieval Zenata Berber tribal confederation. They were first identified as a distinct branch by the French linguist Edmond Destaing in works published between 1915 and 1923. Zenati dialects are spoken across the central Maghreb, from northeastern Morocco to just west of Algiers, and across the northern Sahara from southwestern Algeria to Zuwara in Libya. The most widely spoken Zenati languages are Tarifit of the Rif region in northern Morocco and Tashawit in northeastern Algeria, each with more than three million speakers.