Spoken mainly in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia for the most part), Berber is actually a whole group of languages.  It has what is often referred to as a dialect continuum; Berber languages close to each other in the continuum are mutually intelligible, but languages far apart may not be. Around one third of Moroccans and one quarter of Algerians speak it as a native language.

‘Berber’ is a French word for the language, and shares a root with the word ‘barbarian’.  As such, it is not used to refer to the language(s) by native speakers.  They generally refer to their language as ‘Amazigh’, ‘Tamazigh’ or by the specific language/dialect spoken.

Algeria and Morocco were colonized by the French.  When they gained their independence, both countries began a period of ‘Arabisation’, rejecting the language of the colonizers in favor of using Arabic in government, official television, and as the language of instruction in schools.  Berber speakers were indignant and upset at their own language not being given similar consideration and status.  This is still an issue.  It is also worth noting that the Berber population pre-dates the Arabs in North Africa, and is thought to have originated in the Nile Valley and traveled west to the ‘maghreb’, or Western North Africa.  Historically, there has been significant tension between Arabs and Berbers, though both are mostly Muslim.