Ethnos

Berber

The Berbers (also called Amazigh, "free men", pl. Imazighen) are the indigenous inhabitants of the Maghreb, a predominantly Caucasoid, predominantly Muslim ethnic group living in northern Africa. They speak the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. There are between 14 and 25 million speakers of Berber languages in North Africa.

Through the centuries Berbers have mixed with so many other ethnic groups, notably the Arabs, that they are now identified usually on a linguistic rather than a racial basis. Their languages, the Berber languages, form a branch of the Afroasiatic linguistic family comprising many closely related varieties, including Tachelhit, Central Atlas Tamazight, and Kabyle, with a total of roughly 14-25 million speakers. Many Berbers are bilingual in Arabic.

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