Tamahaq also known as (''Tahaggart Tamahaq'' or ''Tamahaq Tahaggart'') is the only known
Northern Tuareg language, spoken in
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, western
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
and northern
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
. It varies little from the Southern
Tuareg languages
Tuareg (), also known as ''Tamasheq'' (), ''Tamajaq'' or ''Tamahaq'' (Tifinagh: ), is a group of closely related Berber languages, Berber Linguistic variety, varieties. They are spoken by the Tuareg people, Tuareg Berbers in large parts of Mali, ...
of the
Aïr Mountains
The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif (Air Tamajeq language, Tamajăq: ''Ayǝr''; Hausa language, Hausa: Eastern ''Azbin'', Western ''Abzin'') is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara. Part of the West Sa ...
,
Azawagh and
Adagh. The differences mostly consist of sound substitutions, such as ''Tamahaq'' instead of ''Tamajaq'' or ''Tamasheq''. This language is “one of the sister languages spoken by the inhabitants of many districts of the Atlas range of mountains from
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
to the Western shores of
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, and which are all included in the general term Berber.”
Orthography
The Tuareg write from right to left, like other abjads such as Hebrew and Arabic. The alphabet is called “Tifinagh” and contains 25 letters.
Phonology
Vowels
Consonants
Grammar
Nouns
Tamahaq nouns belong to two
noun classes, traditionally called ''masculine'' and ''feminine'', each potentially inflecting for two
numbers
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
: singular and plural.
General rules of Thumb:
* Singular Masculine nouns begin with one of the vowel sounds : a, ă, e, i, u, o.
* Plural masculine nouns begin with the sound i.
* Feminine singular and plural nouns begin a t.
There are a few exceptions to these rules:
# Certain masculine names, no matter whether plural or singular, begin with a consonant e.g.
ⵢⵜ (ti) –
father
# Some singular Masculine names begin with ''
u'' and this sound follows through in the plural nouns too e.g.
ⵓ (ul) - heart
# If a masculine singular noun begins with a
''short'' sound, it may be represented as ă, and this rule follows through to the plural: e.g.
ⵓ (ă
lu) ''sing.-'' ⵏⵓⵍ (ălwăn).
# Some plural masculine names begin with the sound a: e.g.
ⵏⵓⵔ (arăwăn) (new born babies)
# Some feminine names (plural or singular) don’t begin with a ''
t'': e.g.
ⴰⵎⵜⵓ (wălătma) – sister /
ⴰⵎ (ma)- mother
We can also obtain feminine names by adding a T to the beginning and end of a masculine name (although this is not always the case, there are exceptions).
Varieties
There are three main varieties of Tamahaq:
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*''Tahaggart'', spoken around the Ahaggar Mountains in southern Algeria by the Kel Ahaggar confederation
*''Ajjer'', spoken by the Kel Ajjer confederation
*''Ghat'', spoken around Djanet in southeast Algeria and Ghat in Libya.
According to Blench (2006), Tahaggart and Ghat are distinct Tuareg languages.
References
*
*
Tuareg languages
Berbers in Algeria
Berbers in Libya
Berbers in Niger
Languages of Algeria
Languages of Libya
Languages of Niger
{{Berber-lang-stub