User:Tehenu/Tunisian Shilha

The Shilha (Arabic: شلحة; Berber: tashelhit) is a generic term applied in Tunisia to the country's Berber languages. In some regions it's also called jbali in Tunisian Arabic. Today, Berber-speaking Tunisians represent less than 0.5% of the population, or just over 50,000 people, and are mainly to be found in a few villages in south-eastern Tunisia - Tamezret, Zraoua and Taoujout to the west of Matmata; Chenini and Douiret to the west of Tataouine and in some villages on the southernmost tip of the island of Djerba (Guellala).

Alongside the Berber language of the town of Zouara in Libya, the Berber languages of Tunisia belong to the family of Eastern Zenet languages. This family of languages, although belonging to the Berber languages of the North, shares several characteristics with the Nefoussas language, which belongs to the family of eastern Berber languages. The Tunisian and Zouara languages thus form a transitional unit between the two families, as part of a dialectal continuum.