La posizione strategica del berbero di Zuara (Libia): classificazione e stato dell’arte

The aim of this contribution is to offer an overview of the studies on the Berber (or Amazigh) language spoken in Zwara, the only Berber-speaking area in Libya located on the Mediterranean coast. The material we have on Zwara is different from the one we have on other Libyan varieties spoken in areas with different ecosystems, such as Nafusi (Jabal Nafusa) or those spoken in the oases of Sokna, El Fogaha, Ghadames, Ghat and Awjila. After presenting the distribution of the Berber languages in Libya and the classification of the Berber of Zwara, I will present the state of the art of the studies concerning this variety, underlying the importance of the material collected for the Atlante Linguistico Mediterraneo.