Lisan al-Gharbi

Lisan al-Gharbi
Native to	Formerly,Morocco
Region	Atlantic plains
Extinct	14th–16th century
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Berber Northern Atlas Lisan al-Gharbi
Writing system	Arabic
Official status
Official language in	Formerly,Tamesna
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None(mis)
Glottolog	None

Lisan al-Gharbi(Arabic:لسان الغربي,"Western dialect" ) is the name given to an extinctdialect of Berberthat was spoken over much of the Atlantic plains ofMorocco.It was closely related toTashelhit.The Lisan al-Gharbi was the official language of theBarghawata Confederacy,and the idiom used inSalih ibn Tarif's "indigenous Qur'an".

TheAtlanticplains were historically inhabitedBarghawatatribal group, however this area was largely destroyed and depopulated by theAlmoravidsin their war against the heretic Barghawata, and it was depopulated again by anAlmohad expeditionin 1149–1150 and again in 1197–1198 to suppress revolts against them in the region.

In the 12th century, theAlmohadrulerAbd al-Mu'minresettled the depopulated area with recentBedouinArabimmigrants such asBanu HilalandBanu Sulaymas part of theArab migrations to the Maghreb.The Almohads helped the Arab tribes to pass the barriers ofAtlas mountains,and accelerated their expansion to Morocco to complete the nomadic Bedouin predominance over the lowlands of the Maghreb as far as the Atlantic coastal plains, introducing a significant Arab element to the ethnic population of Morocco. With the decline of the Almohad army, the Arabs became the most powerful force in the Moroccan plains, and no ruler could have held authority there without their support.This led toArabicbecoming the dominant language and the extinction of the Lisan al-Gharbi and its former inhabitants by the 14th century.