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Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of
Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Alg ...
, a Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North Africa in
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
,
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
,
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBurkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others being Tamajaq and
Tamahaq Tamahaq (''Tahaggart Tamahaq'', ''Tamahaq Tahaggart'') is the only known Northern Tuareg language, spoken in Algeria, western Libya and northern Niger. It varies little from the Southern Tuareg languages of the Aïr Mountains, Azawagh and Adagh ...
. Tamashek is spoken mostly in Mali, especially in its central region including
Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...
,
Kidal Kidal ( Tuareg Berber: ⴾⴸⵍ, KDL, Kidal) is a town and commune in the desert region of northern Mali. The town lies northeast of Gao and is the capital of the Kidal Cercle and the Kidal Region. The commune has an area of about and incl ...
, and
Gao Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
. It is also spoken by a smaller population in Burkina Faso. As of 2014, approximately 500,000 people speak Tamashek, 378,000 of whom are Malian. The livelihood of the Tuareg people has been under threat in the last century, due to climate change and a series of political conflicts, notably the Arab-Tuareg rebellion of 1990–1995 in Mali which resulted in ethnic cleansing of the Tuareg in the form of reprisal killings and exile. Tamashek is currently classified as a developing language (5), partly due to the Malian government's active promotion of the language; it is currently taught in public education, from primary schools to adult literacy classes. Tamashek is often understood in Mali as a term that denotes all Tuareg varieties. Other alternative names for Tamashek include Tamachen, Tamashekin, and Tomacheck.


Dialect divisions of Malian Tamashek

There are divergent views regarding Tamashek's dialect divisions. Some report two main dialects, named Timbuktu and Tadhaq. Others take there to be roughly three main divisions of Malian Tamashek: # Kal Ansar dialects around Timbuktu (denoted 'T-Ka') # "mainstream" Tamashek dialects spoken in Kidal, Tessalit, the Gao area, and the non-Kal Ansar groups around Timbuktu # dialects spoken by certain groups in the Gourma of Gao and Ansongo


Phonology


Vowels

The Tamasheq language has seven
vowels A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (len ...
in total: two frontal vowels /i/, /æ/; three central vowels /ə/, /æ/, /a/; and two back vowels /u/ /o/. There are two
short vowels In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived length of a vowel sound: the corresponding physical measurement is duration. In some languages vowel length is an important phonemic factor, meaning vowel length can change the meaning of the word, ...
, /ə/ and /æ/, and the rest are full vowels. There are no
diphthongs A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...
. While all vowels occur word-initially and word-medially, only full vowels occur word-finally.


Consonants

Tamasheq has 33
consonants In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wit ...
, featuring six manners of articulation and eight places of articulation. There are no non-pulmonic consonants. The consonants are detailed in the table below. The table places the two laryngeal consonants, and /h/ and /ʔ/, according to the IPA chart (the source did not specify their manners of articulation). Consonants in a single parenthesis are of marginal use, "confined largely to loanwords." Consonants of Arabic origins -- /sˤ/, /ɫ/, /ħ/, /ʕ/, and /ʔ/ -- occur in Arabic loanwords. The glottal stop /ʔ/ is already largely absent in local Arabic dialects, is thus only found in unassimilated Islamic vocabulary. Consonants in a double parenthesis occur mostly as geminated versions of other consonants. A uvular stop /q/ principally occurs in the geminated form /qq/, which can be interpreted as the "phonetic realization of geminated /ɣɣ/.


Accent

Accent is an "important feature of Tamasheq". The role of accent is "very different" for verbs and nouns. For nouns and other non-verb stems, accent is lexically determined. This is not the case for verbs. According to the rule called "default accentuation," the accent falls on the antepenult or on the leftmost syllable of verbs. The exception to the rule is resultative and long imperfect positive stems. For example, ''a-bæ̀mbæra'', which means Bambara, has its primary accent on the antepenult syllable. A bisyllabic word ''hæ̀ræt'', which is glossed as 'thing,' has its accent on the initial syllable.


Morphology

Tamasheq's two main morphological processes are
ablaut In linguistics, the Indo-European ablaut (, from German '' Ablaut'' ) is a system of apophony (regular vowel variations) in the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE). An example of ablaut in English is the strong verb ''sing, sang, sung'' and its ...
and
affixation In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They ...
, with the former permeating the language. Many processes also undergo a combination of the two.


Derivational morphology

Most of Tamasheq
nouns A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, ...
are underived, although some are derived by "some combination of ablaut and prefixation." For example, the noun ''t-æ-s-ȁnan-t'', which means 'oxpecker,' is prefixally derived from the causative verb ''æ̀ss-onæn'' 'tame, break in animal' with its ''-s-'' prefix. In Tamasheq, nearly all "modifying adjectives" are participles of inflected intransitive verbs. For example, the verb 'to ripe' is ''əŋŋá'', and it is inflected into participles such as ''i-ŋŋá-n'' (MaSg) or ''t-əŋŋá-t'' (FeSg). These resultative participles are used with "adjectival" sense, adjectivalized into the word 'ripened'.


Nominal morphology


Gender and number

Gender and number are mainly marked using affixation, though in many cases they use ablaut or a combination of both. Most nouns, regardless of gender, have vocalic
prefixes A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy''. Particu ...
, varying between -''æ-/-ə, -a-, or -e-'' for the singular, and invariable ''i-'' in the plural. Some nouns entirely lack a vocalic prefix, e.g. ''deké'' ('basket'). Feminine nouns are additionally marked by the Fe inineprefix ''t-''. For feminine singular nouns, suffix ''-t'' is required to denote singularity, thus we see a circumfix ''t-...-t.'' In cases where the stem ends in a vowel, however, an additional inner Fe suffix ''-t-'' is added before the outer suffix, thus the affix frame becomes ''t-...-t-t''. In addition to the plural vocalic prefix ''-i-'', pluralization of nouns requires gender-based suffixation: for feminine plural nouns, suffix ''-en'' or ''-ten'' is added, while for masculine nouns Ma culinesuffix ''-æn'' or ''-tæn'' is added. In some cases, a noun pluralizes by stem ablaut without suffixation; one example of unsuffixed plural ablaut is ''æ̀-ɣata'' ('crocodile'), which is pluralized to ''ì-ɣata''. The table below illustrates the idealized morphological rules of gender and number marking explained so far:


Compounding

Tamasheq makes use of
compounding In the field of pharmacy, compounding (performed in compounding pharmacies) is preparation of a custom formulation of a medication to fit a unique need of a patient that cannot be met with commercially available products. This may be done for me ...
to form nouns. Most noun-noun compounds necessitate a possessor preposition ə̀n in between the two morphemes, which can be analytically structured as _[ə̀n_Y_'X_of_Y.'_Depending_on_the_nouns,_ə̀n_may_become_unaccented,_as_shown_in_the_first_example_below.


__Verbal_morphology_

Ablaut_distinguishes_the_three_basic_inflectable_verb_stems_in_Tamasheq: #
_[ə̀n_Y_'X_of_Y.'_Depending_on_the_nouns,_ə̀n_may_become_unaccented,_as_shown_in_the_first_example_below.


__Verbal_morphology_

Ablaut_distinguishes_the_three_basic_inflectable_verb_stems_in_Tamasheq: #Perfective_aspect">perfective_ The_perfective_aspect_(_abbreviated_),_sometimes_called_the_aoristic_aspect,_is_a_grammatical_aspect_that_describes_an_action_viewed_as_a_simple_whole;_i.e.,_a_unit_without_interior_composition._The_perfective_aspect_is_distinguished_from_the__i_...
#short_Imperfective_aspect.html" "title="Perfective_aspect.html" "title="̀n_Y.html" ;"title=" [ə̀n Y"> [ə̀n Y 'X of Y.' Depending on the nouns, ə̀n may become unaccented, as shown in the first example below.


Verbal morphology

Ablaut distinguishes the three basic inflectable verb stems in Tamasheq: #Perfective aspect">perfective The perfective aspect ( abbreviated ), sometimes called the aoristic aspect, is a grammatical aspect that describes an action viewed as a simple whole; i.e., a unit without interior composition. The perfective aspect is distinguished from the i ...
#short Imperfective aspect">imperfective The imperfective (abbreviated or more ambiguously ) is a grammatical aspect used to describe ongoing, habitual, repeated, or similar semantic roles, whether that situation occurs in the past, present, or future. Although many languages have a g ...
# long imperfective Ablaut can change a perfect present stem to a resultative stem. For example, the perfect present stem of the verb 'to run' is ''òšæl'', and its resultative stem is ''òšál''. Note the vowel change from /æ/ to /á/. Ablaut also creates perfective negative stems; for example, the perfect negative stem of ''əhlæk'', the perfect present stem of 'destroy,' is ''ə̀hlek''. Affixation is also a morphological tool for Tamasheq verbs. One category of verbal affixation is pronominal subject affixes. For example, pronominal subject marking in positive imperatives uses suffixation. The table demonstrates second person subject affixes in imperatives with the example of the verb ''ə̀jjəš'' ('enter'). Suffixation is responsible for
hortative In linguistics, hortative modalities (; abbreviated ) are verbal expressions used by the speaker to encourage or discourage an action. Different hortatives can be used to express greater or lesser intensity, or the speaker's attitude, for or a ...
stems. The hortative suffix ''-et'' can be added to short imperfective stems. For example:


Particles

Particles In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. They vary greatly in size or quantity, from s ...
exist in Tamasheq. One type of particle is preposition-like, and these particles precede noun phrases or independent pronouns. For example: Many categories of discourse-functional particles exist as well. For example, ''ɣás'' is an "extremely common" phrase-final particle that means 'only': Another example, though less common, is a clause-final particle ''yá'', which emphasizes on the truth of a statement:


Clitics

In terms of structure, clitics are "normally realized at the end of the first word" in the clause. There are many types of clitics, including directionals, object and dative pronominals, pronominal prepositional phrases, etc. Below, clitics are indicated by the symbol "-\".


Directional clitics

There are two directional clitics -- "centripetal" clitics and "centrifugal" clitics -- and they cannot co-occur. The directional clitics are attached to the pronominal clitics hosted by the same word, and are usually accented. The centripetal clitic's rudimentary form is -\''ə̀dd''. Its allomorphic variation depends on postvocalic versus postconsonantal position (e.g. -\''ə̀d'' if , -\''dd'' after a, and -\''hə̀dd'' after high V). This clitic can be best understood as 'here,' as it specifies a direction toward "the deictic center." If the verb is non-motion, then the clitic suggests that the action was directed toward 'here' or was carried out in 'this direction'. On the other hand, the centrifugal clitic (-\''ín'') indicates direction away from the deictic center, and is best translated to 'away' or 'there' in English.


Pronominal clitics


= Object clitics

= Pronominal object clitics are attached at the end of a simple
transitive verb A transitive verb is a verb that accepts one or more objects, for example, 'cleaned' in ''Donald cleaned the window''. This contrasts with intransitive verbs, which do not have objects, for example, 'panicked' in ''Donald panicked''. Transiti ...
, or a preverbal particle if relevant. Pronominal clitics show wide allomorphic variation mainly depending on point of view and plurality. Allomorphs differ both syntactically and phonologically. The table below shows first person object clitics found in Kal Ansar dialects (T-ka). As seen in the table, the T-ka first-person singular object clitic attached to a preverbal particle is ''-\hi''. The phrase 'he makes me weep' translates to ''i-s-álha-\hi'', with the clitic attached at the end of the verb 'to make weep' (álha). The table below shows second and third person object clitics for T-ka dialects. The column designated for post-a variants also occasionally applies for post-i variants.


= Dative clitics

= Tamasheq also makes use of pronominal dative clitics. The basic dative morpheme is -\''ha''-, and it gets reduced to -\''a''\ or -\''hə'' in certain contexts. 1Sg and 1Pl object and dative clitics are identical. This example shows the first-person dative clitic -\''a-hi'', which follows the verb 'hit' (''wæt'').


Ordering of clitics

The basic ordering of clitics is as follows: # host word # cliticized preposition # objective and/or dative # directional # pronominal prepositional phrase For example:


Syntax


Word order

Tamashek's simple main clauses have the
word order In linguistics, word order (also known as linear order) is the order of the syntactic constituents of a language. Word order typology studies it from a cross-linguistic perspective, and examines how different languages employ different orders. C ...
of VSO: erb(-\clitics) (subject) (object)...


Verb phrases

As shown in the examples above, the verb precedes the object.
Auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, ...
precede the verb phrase. Future particle has a form ''àd'' in clause-initial position. For example: The clause-internal negative particle is ''wæ̀r'', though it is heard as 'wər''if it is directly before . For example:


Noun phrases

In Tamashek, a NP starts with the head noun, followed by an
adnominal In linguistics, an adjunct is an optional, or ''structurally dispensable'', part of a sentence, clause, or phrase that, if removed or discarded, will not structurally affect the remainder of the sentence. Example: In the sentence ''John helped Bill ...
complement such as a demonstrative, a possessor, or a relative clause. Tamashek does not have definiteness marking. A few chief examples of NP are given below:


Demonstrative NP


Relative clause NP


Possessor NP


Numeral NP

Unlike the above three types where the NP starts with the head noun, numerals normally precede the head noun. One exception is when the numeral 'one' functions as an indefinite determiner, rather than as an actual number.


Adpositional phrases

Tamashek has
prepositions Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in traditional grammar, simply prepositions), are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in'', ''under'', ''towards'', ''before'') or mark various ...
.


Interrogatives

In Tamashek, question particles precede the clause.


Topicalization

Topicalization Topicalization is a mechanism of syntax that establishes an expression as the sentence or clause topic by having it appear at the front of the sentence or clause (as opposed to in a canonical position further to the right). This involves a phrasa ...
is present in Tamashek, and a topicalized constituent may appear "before the clause proper." For example:


Focalization

Focalization is present in Tamashek. The focalized constituted is "fronted to sentence-initial position." The morpheme à, best understood as a minimal demonstrative form, usually follows the focus. For example:


References


Further reading

* Sudlow, David. ''The Tamasheq of North-East Burkina Faso: notes on grammar and syntax including a key vocabulary''. Vol. 1. R. Köppe Verlag, 2001.


External link


Daily phrases in Tamasheq
{{Berber languages
POS:positive CENTRIPETAL:centripetal SH:short LO:Long
Berbers in Burkina Faso Berbers in Mali Languages of Burkina Faso Languages of Mali Tuareg languages br:Tamajekeg hr:Tayart Tamajeq (jezik) sh:Tayart Tamajeq (jezik)