Korandje, the language of Tabelbala in Algeria, belongs to the Songhay family of Mali and Niger - 1400 km to the south.

One of them must have moved, but which? Could Korandje's location be a sign that Songhay originated in the north? 1

https://twitter.com/lameensouag/status/1244215275341447168

Nature provides one answer.

If Korandje was spoken in Tabelbala since the days of hunting and gathering, then the terms for important plants and animals should often be indigenous to the oasis. If it arrived relatively recently, they should come from Berber or Arabic. 2

Leo Africanus tells us that in the 1500s they used to eat ostriches (asiyəd) and gazelles (azənkʷəḍ) - Berber names, with the telltale masculine a-. Both are gone now, but an ostrich egg still hangs from the ceiling of Sidi Bou Zekri's mausoleum. 3

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1047539/f675.image

In more recent times, they hunted fennecs (ạkʷạsi) and skinks (ạṣạnkri) on the sands of the erg - both with Berber names (< akursi, asrmkal)... 4

...and gundis (igiri) and dab-lizards (agərzəm) on the rocks of the hills - again with Berber names (< igiger?, agerzam) 5

The most important wild plant eaten in times of famine was the grass Stipagrostis pungens (tasiyya), whose grain is called alləl; the most valued was and is the desert truffle (tạṛfəs). All Berber names (< tasuyye, allul, tarfest) 6

In fact, only three wild species - and no plants - have specific, simplex Songhay names, all of them threats: kʷạṛa "hyena", zənɣu "jackal", gunzi "viper". 7

Just as the Algonquian nature terms in American English (chipmunk, raccoon, skunk...) remind us who got there first, so the Berber nature terms in Korandje confirm that Berber was spoken in Tabelbala before Korandje.

But in that case, how did Korandje get there? 8

Tune in next week for more, or read the long version:

https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/jpcl.30.2.01sou

Wildlife photo credits: Wikipedia, http://Teline.fr