Sara Erryfy, 19, still cannot decipher the ancient symbols that her native language uses, which hardly resemble Arabic and conjure only fleeting similarities to English. But she is determined to speak and teach her ancestral tongue, Tamazight, for generations to come
“I will teach Tamazight to my children and grandchildren just like my mother and grandmother did,” Erryfy said.
Tamazight is a main dialect of the Berber, or Amazigh, people. The Amazigh are the original inhabitants of Morocco and have had a significant impact on the culture. Sixty percent of Moroccans claim some degree of Amazigh heritage, according to a BBC article.