Shilha

Shilha, also known as Tashelhit or Tachelhit, is a Berber language of the Amazigh group within the Afroasiatic language family. The name Shilha is used in some sources, though some speakers regard it as outdated or pejorative. It is spoken mainly in southwestern Morocco by the Shilha (Chleuh) communities in the Souss-Moussoul region and surrounding areas. Estimates place the number of speakers in the several millions, making it one of the most widely spoken Berber languages in the country.

Shilha is part of the Berber (Amazigh) branch of Afroasiatic and comprises several regional varieties. Collectively, these varieties are referred to as Tashelhit, with mutual intelligibility varying across dialects. The language is most strongly associated with the Souss region, but it has dialectal differences that appear in neighboring areas as well.

In terms writing systems, Shilha has been traditionally associated with the Tifinagh script. In modern contexts, it is frequently written using Latin scripts, and Tifinagh is used in education, media, and public signage as part of broader Amazigh language promotion in Morocco and beyond.

Status and distribution: Morocco recognizes Amazigh languages as official alongside Arabic since the 2011 constitution, and Shilha is taught and promoted in education, media, and cultural initiatives in its region. There are also Shilha-speaking communities in diaspora populations in Europe, where the language is used in family and community networks as well as in cultural programs.