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The NafusiLanguage is an EastZenatiLanguage of Libya. SIL code: JBN. ISO 639-2: ber. Population: 141,000 in Libya (1998). Population total both countries: 167,000. Region: Tripolitania, western Libya, isolated area around the towns of Nalut and Yafran, Jabal Nafusah region, coastal area around Zuara, west of Tripoli. Alternate names: DJERBI, NEFUSI, JABAL NAFUSI, JEBEL NEFUSI, JBEL NAFUSI. Dialects: ZUARA (ZOUARA, ZUWARAH, ZWARA, ZURAA), TAMEZRET (DUWINNA), JERBI (JERBA). Comments: Zuara dialect well known in Jebel Nafusa area and in Jerba Tunisia. Some visit Zuara, but not vice versa. Dialect of Matmata and Tatawine area less well understood by speakers in Jerba or Zuara. Speakers in Zuara and Jebel areas understand Jerba stories well. Pre-school children are monolingual in Nafusi. In Nafusi villages they speak Nafusi among themselves. In towns they speak it among friends and families, most exclusively at home. All ages. They are not ashamed of Nafusi. Most live apart from Arabized inhabitants of the region. They built dams and terraces for cultivation. Semi-arid. Ibadite Muslim. Also spoken in: Tunisia. (Language name: DJERBI.) Population: 26,000 in Tunisia (1998). Alternate names: NAFUSI, JABAL NAFUSI. Dialects: TAMEZRET (DUWINNA), JERBA (DJERBA, GUELILI). Comments: Spoken only in the home. Many people from Chenini sell newspapers in Tunis. Muslim.(extract from http://www.ethnologue.com/)
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