Tamahaq (''Tahaggart Tamahaq'', ''Tamahaq Tahaggart'') is the only known Northern Tuareg language, spoken in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

, western

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

and northern

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTuareg languages The Tuareg () languages constitute a group of closely related Berber languages and dialects. They are spoken by the Tuareg Berbers in large parts of Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso, with a few speakers, the ''Kinnin'', in Chad. ...

of the

Aïr Mountains The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif ( tmh, Ayăr; Hausa: Eastern ''Azbin'', Western ''Abzin'') is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara. Part of the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion, they ...

, Azawagh and Adagh. The differences mostly consist of sound substitutions, such as ''Tamahaq'' instead of ''Tamajaq'' or ''Tamasheq''.

Varieties

There are three main varieties of Tamahaq:
/ref> *''Tahaggart'', spoken around the

Ahaggar Mountains The Hoggar Mountains ( ar, جبال هقار, Berber: ''idurar n Ahaggar'') are a highland region in the central Sahara in southern Algeria, along the Tropic of Cancer. The mountains cover an area of approximately 550,000 km. Geography This ...

in southern Algeria by the

Kel Ahaggar Kel Ahaggar ( Berber: ⴾⵍ ⵂⴴⵔ) (trans: "People of Ahaggar") is a Tuareg confederation inhabiting the Hoggar Mountains (Ahaggar mountains) in Algeria. The confederation is believed to have been founded by the Tuareg matriarch Tin Hinan, ...

confederation *''Ajjer'', spoken by the

Kel Ajjer Kel Ajjer (also Kel Azjar, Kel Azjer) is a Tuareg confederation inhabiting western Libya and eastern Algeria. Their main stronghold was Ghat, followed by Ubari. The Kel Ajjer speak Tamahaq, or Northern Tuareg. See also *Azjar **Kel Adagh **Kel Ahag ...

confederation *''Ghat'', spoken around Djanet in southeast Algeria and

Ghat Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body o ...

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