Eastern Morocco Zenati

Eastern Morocco Zenati dialects are a group of Berber dialects spoken in Morocco from Jerada Province to Berkane Province.

They belong to the Zenati dialectal group and are closely related to the main Riffian dialects,J. Bourrilly, Éléments d'éthnographie marocaine, p.42 (Larose, 1932) as well as to the Ait Snous dialect, spoken beside the border in Algeria.G. P. Murdock, African Cultural Summaries, Volume 10 (Human Relations Area Files, 1958) : "The Zekara (Zkara), with whom are grouped the neighboring Bekhti (Oulad Bekhti), Chebel (Beni Chebel), Yala (Beni Yaala, Beni Yala), and Zeggu (Beni Bou Zeggou) of eastern Morocco and the Snus (Beni Snous) across the border of Algeria, belong to the Zenata division of the Berber branch of the Hamito-Semitic linguistic stock."

Eastern Morocco Zenati is spoken among the Berber tribes of Beni Bouzegou, Haddiyin (Big Beni Bouzegou subtribe), Mgeder, Beni Ya'la, Zkara, Bekhata, Meharez, At Iznasen, and Rwaba'.P. Behnstedt, La frontera entre el bereber y el arabe en el Rif , p.14 (E.D.N.A, volume 6, 2002)note: P. Behnstedt (2002) cites Derawesh; the latter is actually a sub-tribe of Beni Bouzegou

Formerly, these dialects were also spoken in the area between Debdou and Taourirt (to the west of their current speaking area) by the tribes of Beni Koulal, Oulad Mahdi and Beni Chebel; these tribes are currently mainly Arabic-speakers.A. Bernard, Les confins algéro-marocains, p.30 (Larose, 1911)V. Picquet, Le peuple marocain: Le bloc Berbère, p.39 (Larose, 1925)

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