ABSTRACT
Set in the far north of Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia - formerly the Roman Ifriqya (Hourani, 1991:26) – is the country that gave its name to the whole continent. Its position, at the crossroads between Europe, Africa and the Middle East, made it very important strategically and provided Tunisia with its rich ethnolinguistic heritage. The original inhabitants, the Berbers, have seen a variety of invading forces, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Turks and French, leave their mark to a greater or lesser extent.
