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 AnsongoPhonology
Vowels
The Tamasheq language has sevenConsonants
Tamasheq has 33Accent
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-b疆mb疆ra'', which means Bambara, has its primary accent on the antepenult syllable. A bisyllabic word ''h疆r疆t'', which is glossed as 'thing,' has its accent on the initial syllable.Morphology
Tamasheq's two main morphological processes areDerivational morphology
Most of TamasheqNominal 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, varying between -''疆-/-, -a-, or -e-'' for the singular, and invariable ''i-'' in the plural. Some nouns entirely lack a vocalic prefix, e.g. ''dek矇'' ('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 ''-疆n'' or ''-t疆n'' is added. In some cases, a noun pluralizes by stem ablaut without suffixation; one example of unsuffixed plural ablaut is ''疆-氿ata'' ('crocodile'), which is pluralized to ''穫-氿ata''. The table below illustrates the idealized morphological rules of gender and number marking explained so far:Compounding
Tamasheq makes use of compounding to form nouns. Most noun-noun compounds necessitate a possessor preposition n in between the two morphemes, which can be analytically structured as _[n_Y_'X_of_Y.'_Depending_on_the_nouns,_n_may_become_unaccented,_as_shown_in_the_first_example_below.__Verbal_morphology_
Ablaut_distinguishes_the_three_basic_inflectable_verb_stems_in_Tamasheq:__Verbal_morphology_
Ablaut_distinguishes_the_three_basic_inflectable_verb_stems_in_Tamasheq: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 ...Particles
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 -\''dd''. Its allomorphic variation depends on postvocalic versus postconsonantal position (e.g. -\''d'' if , -\''dd'' after a, and -\''hdd'' 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 (-\''穩n'') 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, 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-獺lha-\hi'', with the clitic attached at the end of the verb 'to make weep' (獺lha). 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 -\''h'' 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' (''w疆t'').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 of VSO: erb(-\clitics) (subject) (object)...Verb phrases
As shown in the examples above, the verb precedes the object. Auxiliaries precede the verb phrase. Future particle has a form ''d'' in clause-initial position. For example: The clause-internal negative particle is ''w疆r'', though it is heard as 'wr''if it is directly before . For example:Noun phrases
In Tamashek, a NP starts with the head noun, followed by an adnominal 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 hasInterrogatives
In Tamashek, question particles precede the clause.Topicalization
Topicalization 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 , 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. K繹ppe Verlag, 2001.External link