chelha/shelha
by Ramdane TouatiAbstract:
Celḥa/Acluḥ (Tamaziɣt)
Deg umagrad-a, ad d-meslyeɣ ɣef yiwen n wawal i yettwassexdamen i wsemmi n tutlayin, tantalwin, tiqbilin d iɣerfan, s tmaziɣt, taɛrabt d tefransist, ama di Lmaruk, di Lezzayer neɣ di Tunes. Yiwen-is, xas ulama tettbeddil talɣa-s seg tutlayt ɣer tayeḍ : celḥa s taɛrabt, tacelḥit/acluḥ s tmaziɣt. Ma nekkes anẓul n Lmaruk, awal-a qqaren-t s uɣenzu. Wid yettmeslayen taɛrabt ttɣunzun yis-s timnaḍin timaziɣin, Leqbayel d Aɛraben i wumi qqaren Iclaḥ. Ula di tefransist, s unamek-a n uɣunzu i t-id-wwin seg Lmaruk, qqaren-t i Walimaniyen. Wid iwumi ttɣunzun iles s wawal-a, zemren ula d nutni ad t-ssxedmen ma meslayen-d s tutlayt n wid i ten-iɣunzan, maca ur t-qqaren ara mi ara ilin ttmeslen s tutlayt yellan d ayla-nsen. Tutlayin ttwaḥqarent s yismawen i sent-ttaken wiyiḍ, am wawal-n n celḥa. Imawlan-nsent am akken qqeblen anect-a ma refden-t.
Chelha/Chleuh (Français)
Cette notice a pour but de présenter un mot servant à désigner des langues, des dialectes et parfois des groupes ethniques, utilisé en tamazight (berbère), en arabe et en français, surtout au Maroc, en Algérie et en Tunisie. Il présente des variations morphologiques selon la langue : chelha en arabe dialectal, tachelhit en tamazight, etc. Ce mot, sous ces différentes formes, est, sauf au sud du Maroc et dans la localité Tabelbala, dans le sud-ouest algérien, désigne l'autre, notamment sa langue et souvent dans un sens péjoratif. L'arabophone utilise cette dénomination pour nommer tamazight et d'autres langues. Certains groupes amazighophones l'emploient pour désigner des arabophones, tandis que d'autres l'utilisent pour nommer certaines autres amazighophones. Et c'est dans ce sens péjoratif et indiquant l'altérité qu'elle a été introduite, à partir de ces mêmes langues, en français. Des locuteurs de langues ainsi désignées l'emploient, en parlant dans la langue de ceux qui l'utilisent contre eux, alors qu'ils s'auto-désignent différemment dans leur propre langue. Il réfère souvent non à une langue, mais à une catégorie de langues. Chelha est synonyme de la langue subalterne, " la langue" qui n'en est pas une, au regard d'autrui. C'est un exonyme qui fait partie des mécanismes de subordination. Il indique l'intégration de la domination par les locuteurs quand eux-mêmes l'utilisent.
Shelha/Shelh (English)
This article examines the term shelha used in Tamazight (Berber), Arabic, and French to refer to languages and ethnic groups. In most contexts, aside from southern Morocco, the term signifies alterity—particularly concerning language—and often carries a pejorative connotation. Chelha specifically refers to a subaltern language that lacks recognition and legitimacy from others.
Etymology:
Determining the etymology of the term is difficult. Its root √šlḥ ([ʃlħ]) appears in several languages of the Afroasiatic family. Within the Tamazight (Berber) macro-language, depending on the variety, derivatives of this root may mean “to cut superficially,” “to scar,” “torn fabric,” “(old) burnous,” “camel-hair tent,” “nomadic Arab,” or “sedentary Amazigh of the Anti-Atlas,” among others. The consonant ḥ is often an expressive derivational element, suggesting that the original root may be √šl, associated with meanings such as “to wander” or “to roam.” Other words formed from this root, with additional expressive consonants (f, ḍ[dˤ], b, x), convey meanings such as “malformation,” “distortion,” or “something poorly made.”
Within the same language family, in Ancient Egyptian, the lexical root √šlḥ refers to fear (“to frighten”). In Arabic, both classical and modern sources across different regions derive from this root various terms expressing meanings such as “to rob,” “to rip off,” or “to strip" (https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/875486, in: Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae).
Problematization:
Across these languages, periods, and regions, words derived from the root √šlḥ tend to carry pejorative connotations, often used to denigrate languages, social groups, or ethnic communities. However, to fully grasp the scope of this term, one must consider who names whom.
Endonyms [names for places or groups used within that place or group] and endoglossonyms [the name of a language given by its own speakers] are generally ameliorative, unlike exonyms [names for places or groups used outside that place or group] and exoglossonyms [the name of a language given by outsiders] —a pattern observed across many languages worldwide, as illustrated by the Greco-Latin barbarian, with equivalents in Tamazight (agnaw) and Arabic (ʿajam: عجم).
In this Youtube video by the group Beni Snous Imazighen, one can hear Othmane Aylesse speaking with Abdelkader Ayelesse, who is introduced as the last proficient speaker of a variety of Tamazight from western Algeria, originating from the village of Ait Zidaz. Notably, he uses the glossonym tamazight when speaking in Tamazight, and the glossonym chelha when speaking in Arabic. |
What, then, characterizes the exonyms and exoglossonyms derived from the root √šlḥ? Are they determined solely by altering relations that frame them negatively, in contrast to endogenous, ameliorative perspectives? The reception of such exonyms constitutes the second dimension of this entry. Various configurations may arise, including oppositions and structured glossonymic and ethnonymic fields. How are these terms used, and how do they coexist with endonyms, endoglossonyms, and other existing, invented, or reinvented naming systems?
Communication strategies:
European sources, especially Francophone literature on North Africa, frequently employ the glossonym and ethnonym 'Chleuh' (with various orthographic iterations) to denote Amazigh populations or macro-language, primarily in Morocco but occasionally in Algeria and Tunisia: Chleuh, Chelleuh, Chelh(a), Chellu, Shelh(a), Shallah, Shilh(a), Shelluh, Shuluh), etc.
French borrowed the term in the 1930s (chleuh, or its Germanized form schleue), using it to refer to Alsatian, Franc-Comtois, or German speakers. The term was brought back to France by soldiers who had fought in Morocco and later used it to label fellow French citizens whose language they did not understand. It was also introduced into modern Hebrew, where, as noted in the literature, it acquired a pejorative meaning, eventually becoming slang for a “simpleton” (Cf. Schroeter, 1997).
.png) by Pierre Dac | The word ‘chleuh’ was used by the French when they establish the protectorate of Morocco to designate the Berber warriors who resisted the French army. In 1936, the term was extended to designate a foreigner who could not speak French. Before and during World War II, the term ‘chleuh’ was also used to designate the German soldiers and occupiers, as in the song composed by the anti-nazi French comedian Pierre Dac. |
Beyond written sources, in everyday oral usage outside academic classifications, the glossonym Shelha/Tashelhit has been widespread across North Africa, though often loosely defined. Its use appears to be structured by the opposition between endogenous and exogenous perspectives. In dialectal Arabic, it primarily designates varieties of Tamazight, but not uniformly across all Amazigh-speaking groups. While dominant in Morocco, it is not used in Algeria for major groups such as Kabyle, Chaoui, Tuareg, or Mozabite. Instead, it applies to smaller or more isolated groups, particularly in the Sahara and western Algeria.
This appears to be a long-standing phenomenon, as noted by De Colombo (1860) regarding a region in southern Algeria. Here, one variety of Tamazight is elevated to the status of a 'language', while another is relegated to that of a 'patois':
"In Tidikelt, many men speak the Tuareg language, while some stammer a few idioms from the Sudan. Furthermore, wherever Shelha is spoken, Arabic is used simultaneously; it is noteworthy that the latter serves as the official and refined tongue, whereas Shelha is merely a patois of the common people" [my translation. The original quote goes: «A Tidikelt on trouve beaucoup d'hommes qui parlent la langue des Touareg, et quelques-uns qui ânonnent quelques, idiomes du Soudan. Partout, du reste, où l'on parle la chelha, on se sert en même temps de l'arabe, et il est à remarquer même que c'est la langue officielle et élégante ; la chelha n'est qu'un patois du peuple» (de Colomb,1860, p. 29)].
Even these "idioms of the Sudan" (as the author termed them at the time) may be referred to as Shelha. I have observed this regarding Koria and Kwarandzyey (Korandje). The former is now extinct, having previously been spoken by Black populations across various North African regions—communities largely of sub-Saharan origin via the trans-Saharan slave trade. Today, it survives within the liturgical chants of the Oulad Diwan in Algeria (equivalent to the Gnawa in Morocco) and was identified to us as 'Shelha' in the city of Saida. Regarding the latter, spoken in the Tabelbala region, although its endoglossonym is Korandje (Kwarandzyey) and it coexists with a small Amazigh-speaking group who refer to their language as Tashelhit, both varieties are uniformly designated in Arabic as 'Shelha'.
This glossonym is applicable to all ethnolinguistic groups characterized by low numerical density and a near-total absence of language revitalization movements. Its application may further exhibit intra-regional variation; my empirical evidence suggests that its use is restricted to the most sociolinguistically vulnerable areas.
The use of this glossonym—specifically in its Amazigh form, Tashelhit—is restricted to the southern regions of Morocco and the aforementioned border locality. Even there, its diffusion may be explained by hierarchical relations between groups. For instance, among the Aït Atta, Shleuh designates sedentary Anti-Atlas populations viewed as socially inferior. As reported by R. Agrour (2012, p. 778), this may explain its diffusion:
"Thus, for the Aït Atta (Berber-speaking nomads of the "median group"), Shleuh refers to the Berber-speaking populations of the Anti-Atlas valleys (sedentary populations of the "southern group") from whom they regularly levied tribute in exchange for protection. This resulted in a certain condescension toward these sedentary groups, perceived as weak and, moreover, as speaking of what the Aït Atta considered an incorrect form of Berber" [« Ainsi, pour les Aït Atta (nomades berbérophones du «groupe médian»), Chleuh désigne les populations berbérophones des vallées de l’Anti-Atlas (sédentaires du groupe du Sud) sur lesquelles ils prélèvent régulièrement des tributs en échange de leur protection. D’où une certaine condescendance pour ces faibles sédentaires qui, en outre, parlent un berbère incorrect à leurs yeux» (Agrour, 2012, p. 778).
Similarly, it has been noted:
"'They [the Aït Atta] consider themselves a superior caste, an aristocracy. They despise the Berbers of the mountains, whom they nickname Shleuh because of—as they put it—their way of speaking" [«Ils -les Aït Atta- se considèrent comme une caste supérieure, une aristocratie. Ils méprisent les Berbères de la montagne, auxquels ils donnent le surnom de chleuh, parce que, disent-ils, leur façon de parler » (de Segonzac 1910, p. 492)].
Even in such cases, where Shelha is adopted by a group, the term remains close in meaning to 'patois'. When speakers seek to valorize their language, endoglossonyms such as tamazight re-emerge.
Morphological shifts (of the word) and the adoption of Tashelhit as an endoglossonym serve only to mitigate the pejorative connotations and subaltern status associated with its exoglossonymic equivalent, Shelha. Mindful of the stigma embedded in the initial exonymic form, the Tashelhit speaker reappropriates the ancient endoglossonym tamazight to divest themselves of the inferior position imposed by an external gaze. Consequently, revitalization movements in Shleuh regions increasingly reclaim tamazight, the name also prioritized during its promotion in education and the media.
On the social media, there are several examples of videos that contest the use of chelha, chleuh. In Morococcan dialectal Arabic, the influencer Mertmilitaire مرت العسكري (the soldier's wife) vindicates that "we are amazighs, and not chleuh" – which means ‘bandits’.
This stigmatizing exoglossonymy is not confined to the language itself but belongs to a broader discourse targeting the entire ethnic group. As Boukous notes: "Shelh is presented as a crude and wild being; his idiom is denied the status of a language.' Furthermore, Arabic proverbs and expressions of this nature regarding the Amazigh (and vice-versa) are abundant, such as the one recorded in Morocco by the same author: 'lecsid′a ma hiya tcam u shshelha ma hya klam' ('Just as porridge is a poor pittance, Shelha is a poor language’), (Boukous, 1999, pp 20- 21). | .png) |
In common usage, particularly in Morocco, where it is most widespread, shelha functions as a synonym for the word 'Berber'—as pronounced in Arabic, 'البربر' and 'barbarian' are morphologically and semantically identical. While not as generalized in Algeria, certain expressions like those mentioned above are nonetheless attested. I personally observed, in the depths of the Algerian Sahara, a version comparing shelha to a food product of very poor quality. This was formulated by an elderly speaker of a Tamazight variety who used this comparison to evaluate his own language while speaking in Arabic. Yet, when prompted to speak in his own tamazight variety, he exhibited markedly positive attitudes. Like many other speakers of endangered Amazigh varieties in Algeria, this tamazight speaker from Tidikelt consistently uses the local endoglossonym tagshurt, or sometimes the more global tamazight, but never shelha when speaking his native tongue. This discourse, which may be characterized as auto-odi (self-hatred), is internalized in many instances; however, it remains most audible when the speaker employs the language of the 'Other' who inculcated it.
In southern Morocco, during the diffusion of the exoglossonym while the endoglossonym had not yet disappeared, a stratification emerged. This same stratification was also noted in the Gourara (north of Tidikelt, in Algeria) by Deporter:
"They refer to the dialect they speak as Shelha, and when they wish to express themselves with greater refinement, they designate it as Tamazirt [Tamazight]. This term is grammatically feminine; its masculine form, Amazir, denotes a noble person, a free man" [«Ils donnent au dialecte qu'ils parlent le nom de Chelha, et lorsqu'ils s'expriment avec élégance ils le désignent par le nom de Tamazirt: ce mot est du genre féminin, la forme masculine Amazir, signifie noble, homme libre.»], (Deporter, 1891, p.16).
Subversion:
The meaning and usage of the term depend on whether it is framed from an external or internal perspective. Apparent inconsistencies in its use across scholarly descriptions of North African linguistic landscapes often stem from neglecting this distinction, particularly the speakers’ perspective.
Many authors rely primarily on exonyms, either disregarding the speaker’s viewpoint or conducting research in languages other than those described. Field observations show that speakers may refer to their language as tamazight when speaking it, but as shelha when speaking Arabic—thus adopting an external perspective even about their own language.
Such practices risk reproducing orientalist biases (Said, 1978), whereby the the purpose of this entry is to investigate how a language is redefined through external frameworks. A language described through the perspective of another language ultimately reflects more about the latter than the former, as it reveals which historical and political factors have construed (and still construe) hierarchical systems between languages.
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This is an excerpt by the rapper Ninho +971 where he associates ferocity, violence, and chleuh (...) "J'ai caché le hasch' là-haut (là-haut) (...) |
The glossonym shelha and its variants do not designate a specific language but rather a category of languages. On the one hand, they consistently refer to vernacular, minoritized, and non-standardized languages. On the other hand, as exonyms, they ignore speakers’ self-designations and position these languages within a hierarchy of subordination.
This form of naming can be understood as an act of domination. Conversely, the term tends to disappear when the language gains recognition, institutional support, or prestige.
The external, often negative perspective serves to assign the named object a specific position. It constitutes a form of linguistic—and more broadly political—intervention. The process begins with the attribution of a denigrating exonym by centers of power and may culminate in its internalization by subordinated groups.
Indeed, domination is most effective when subordinated groups internalize external perspectives and adopt the associated vocabulary.
By adopting this exoglossonym, the group—in a sense—accepts the status associated with it. Resistance, then, is expressed through its rejection and the reclamation of the ancestral autoglossonym, Tamazight.
Shelha is comparable to several other designations that have attained similar prominence in North Africa, including the glossonyms “Berber” (etymologically related to “barbarian”), “Kabyle” (particularly prevalent in northern Algeria; القبائل, “tribes”), and “Rif” (الريف), from which “Riffians” is derived, referring in Arabic to “the periphery” or “the countryside.” Like Shelha, these terms are employed in certain local contexts to denote linguistic varieties, including forms of spoken Arabic in North Africa (cf. Agrour, 2012 & Desparmet, 1931), and thus participate in broader systems of naming and power relations. However, once such varieties and languages undergo processes of standardization and institutionalization, they tend to escape these labels, no longer being categorized as Shelha, 'Berber' or 'patois'.
Discussion:
- Which are the forms of domination that construe vernacular, minoritized and non-standardized language as such?
- Shelha is regarded as a vernacular, minoritized and non-standardized language. Are there similar hyerarchic statuses of languages in your country, from which historical and political factors were they produced, and on the grounds of which elements do they still (re)produce Otheness?
- Are there denigrating exonyms and exoglossonyms in your country? Who uses them in reagards to whom?
- Which is the position that the speakers of a vernacular, minoritized and non-standardized language are assigned, and which is the position they vindicate (or not) for themselves – e.g., are there the same phenomena of an internalized ‘self-hatred’ as discussed above for ‘Chelha/Shelha’?
References/Further Readings:
Agrour, R. (2012). « Contribution à l’étude d’un mot voyageur : Chleuh », Cahiers d’études africaines, n° 208.
Alén Garabato, C. & Colonna, R. (2016). Auto-odi. La « haine de soi » en sociolinguistique. Paris : L’Harmattan.
Boukous, A. (1999). Essai sur les enjeux symboliques au Maroc. Casablanca : Le Fennec.
Cunninghame Graham, R. B. (1898). Mogreb el Acksa. London : Heinemann.
De Colomb, L. (1860). Notice sur les oasis du Sahara et les routes qui y conduisent. Paris : Imprimerie de Ch. Lahure et Cie.
De Segonzac, R. (1910). Au cœur de l’Atlas : mission au Maroc (1904-1905). Paris : Larose.
Deporter, V. (1891). La Question du Touat. Sahara algérien Gourara, Touat, Tidikelt, caravanes et Transsaharien : Deux conférences du commandant Deporter. Alger : Imprimerie P. Fontana et Compagnie.
Desparmet, J. (1931). « La réaction linguistique en Algérie », Bulletin de la Société de Géographie d’Alger, 1er trimestre, p. 1-33.
Kibbee, D. A. (2001). « Le patois dans l'histoire de la langue française selon le dictionnaire de Littré », L'Information Grammaticale, n° 90, p. 68-72.
Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. New York : Pantheon Books.
Schroeter, D. J. (1997). « La découverte des Juifs berbères », in M. Abitbol (dir.), Relations Judéo-Musulmanes au Maroc : perceptions et réalités. Paris : Stavit, p. 169-187.
Schweitzer, S. D. & Sinclair, A. (2026). « šlḥ » (Lemma ID 875486), in T. S. Richter & D. A. Werning (éd.), Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae, version 2.4. https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/875486
Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271–313). University of Illinois Press.
Tabouret-Keller, A. (éd.) (1997). Le nom des langues I – Les enjeux de la nomination des langues. Louvain-La-Neuve : Peeters.
Touati, R. (2025). Atlas de tamazight en Algérie, à la lumière de l’AML de l’UNESCO. Alger : ENAG.
How to cite this entry:
Touati, R. (2026). Chelha/shelha. In Other Words. A Contextualized Dictionary to Problematize Otherness. Published: 12 April 2026. [https://www.iowdictionary.org/word/chelha, accessed: 17 April 2026]