Français – عربي – ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ – English
In Southern Mauritania, several thousand people still speak a language that predates the arrival of Arabic: Zenaga. While this language is now almost extinct, historical research shows it was the majority language in all Mauritania until the 17th Century. Many place names, while usually considered as being of Arabic origin, actually derive from Zenaga.
All through Mauritania, an abundance of place names of Zenaga origin can be found. For several place names, while the local population claim an Arabic origin, scientific linguists suggested a Zenaga etymology as more likely, which would mean that those toponyms predate the Arabisation of the region.
For example, it is often heard that the name Nouakchott, the national capital, comes from نوق الشط (nouq al-chatt, she-camels of the coast). A more likely origin is the Zenaga word wakshudh, literally “small ears”, a reference to the seashells that can be found on the beaches in the area. The prefix n- marks the possessive: n-wakchudh can be translated as “[place] of the seashells”. (The term akshud, meaning “wood” in other Amazigh dialects, doesn’t exist in Zenaga.) (Source)
The inhabitants of Nouadhibou, the second Mauritanian city, claim that their city’s name comes from نواح الذئب (nouah al-dhi’b, cry of the jackal; in Mauritania, الذئب more often means jackal than wolf). It more likely comes from yadhbah, the verb “go” or “leave” in Zenaga. Still with the prefix n-, Nouadhibou means “[place] of departure”. (Source)
Nouamghar, in the Banc d’Arguin, could also come from Zenaga. The term amghar, “chief” or “elder”, is common in several Amazigh languages. Nouamghar means “[place] of the chief/elder”. (Source)
Atar doesn’t come from the Bambara a taara (he left), but from the Zenaga adha’r (foot), a reference to the foot of the mountain.
Ouadane could hardly be the plural of واد (oued, valley): the Fosha Arabic form would be وديان (wadiyan), or وادين (wadayn) in Hassaniya. A Zenaga origin is more likely; one possibility would be wdjan, “salted land”. Chinguetti, however, doesn’t come from Zenaga, but from the Soninke sin gede (horse well).
Other cities, like Zouerat, have an authentically Arabic name: Zouerat is the plural of ازويرة (zwira), which means small dune in Hassaniya. The name of Boutilimit has a mixed origin: from the Arabic bu (the shortened form of abu, أبو, father), and tilimit, a deformation of the Zenaga tadjamut (millet).
And what about the Mauritanian regions? Three regions apparently have a Zenaga name: Adrar (mountain), Inchiri (camel herders’ camp), and Tagant (forest). Dakhlet Nouadhibou associates the Hassaniya word dakhlet داخلة (peninsula) and a Zenaga name (see above). As for Tiris Zemmour, tiris means “tear” in Zenaga, while Zemmour is the name of two mountain chains in the region. The origin of Zemmour is unclear: Azemmour/zemmour means “olive tree” in several Amazigh languages; while there certainly were no olive trees in this desert region, is could be a reference to a tribe, or to the shape of the mountains.
The French linguist Catherine Taine-Cheikh, who is married to the Mauritanian anthropologist Abdel Wedoud Ould Cheikh, is the author of a Zenaga-French dictionary and wrote other articles on the Zenaga language, including several on place names.
