The present issue on Berber Sociolinguistics consists of a collection of articles by academics who have common research interests in the sociology of language in general and in the sociolinguistics of Berber in particular.

    The aim of the present collection is twofold: (i) to offer university-level audiences a comprehensive and comprehensible overview on Berber language and sociolinguistic behaviour, and (ii) to familiarize the reader with the recent developments in language planning and attitudes toward Berber.

    The first article by Fatima Sadiqi deals with the status of Berber in the Maghreb. It is an overview of the historical, linguistic and cultural dimensions of Berber. The paper shows the important role of Berber in the countries where it is spoken despite the fact that it has been traditionally left out of the language planning policies there . Sadiqi also discusses the latest developments in the region concerning the possibility of the promotion of the Berber language.

    Moha Ennaji's article is concerned with the sociology of Berber, its populations, dialects, linguistic features and Maghrebi people's attitudes toward the language. The paper, which moves from sociological, to linguistic and political developments of Berber, explores the attitudes toward Berber among Moroccan university students, who in this respect may not be very different from the rest of the population. The outcome of the data analysis suggests that people tend to be favourable to the revival of Berber as an important component of the Maghrebi linguistic and cultural identity.

    Fatima Sadiqi's review article deals with the late Kaddour Cadi's book entitled Système Verbal Rifain: Forme et Sens. The review presents the content of the book, which is concerned with the sociolinguistic and syntactico-semantic aspects of the least studied Berber variety, Tarifit Berber. The author stresses that Cadi's book, which is among the scarce publications on this variety, is a valuable reference for any sociolinguistic investigation on Berber.