Qualification and comparison in Berber. The verb-noun distinction and its fluctuations

Overview & Synopsis

The world's languages generally distinguish between nouns and verbs. However, many do not have a specific class of adjectives with its own significantly different grammatical properties to set it apart from nouns and verbs. This is true of Berber which, in this respect, differs from Arabic. That being said, if one looks at the details, there is wide variety across Berber languages. Most have both “verbal” adjectives and “nominal” adjectives, with more or less marked secondary properties. Some have a small adjective class for describing certain core properties. Historically, these could reflect an earlier phase of Berber.