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Tuareg languages |
| Tuareg language(s) Tamasheq, Tamajaq, Tamahaq |
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| Spoken in: | Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, Niger | |
| Region: | Sahara | |
| Total speakers: | about 7 million (Ethnologue) | |
| Language family: | Afro-Asiatic Berber languages Tuareg language(s) |
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| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | tmh | |
| ISO 639-3: | variously: tmh – Tamashaq (generic) thv – Tahaggart Tamahaq taq – Tamasheq ttq – Tawallammat Tamajaq thz – Tayart Tamajeq |
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| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Tuareg (or Tamasheq/Tamajaq/Tamahaq) is a Berber language or family of closely related languages spoken by the Tuareg, in many parts of Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso (with a few speakers, the Kinnin, even in Chad[1].)
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Other Berber languages and Tamashaq are quite mutually comprehensible, and are commonly regarded as a single language (as for instance by Karl Prasse); they are distinguished mainly by a few sound shifts (notably affecting the pronunciation of original z and h). They are unusually conservative in some respects; they retain two short vowels where northern Berber languages have one or none, and have a much lower proportion of Arabic loanwords than most Berber languages. They are traditionally written in the indigenous Tifinagh alphabet; however, the Arabic alphabet is commonly used in some areas (and has been since medieval times), while the Latin alphabet is official in Mali and Niger.
The basic word order in Tuareg is Verb Subject Object. Verbs can be grouped into 19 morphological classes; some of these classes can be defined semantically. Verbs carry information on the subject of the sentence in the form of pronominal marking. No simple adjectives exist in the Tuareg languages; adjectival concepts are expressed using a relative verb form traditionally called 'participle'. The Tuareg languages have very heavily influenced Northern Songhay languages such as Tasawaq, whose speakers are culturally Tuareg but speak Songhay varieties; this influence includes points of phonology and sometimes grammar as well as extensive loanwords.
Although dialects differ in their inventories, David Sudlow describes Tamasheq as containing two short vowels, and five long vowels (two of which can be made emphatic), as well as the semi-vowels /w/ and /y/ (Sudlow 25). The consonant inventory largely resembles Arabic: differentiated voicing; uvulars, phyangeals (traditionally referred to as emphatics) /t/, /l/, /s/, /d/, /z/ (transcribed as /T/, /D/, etc. here); requiring the pharynx muscles to contract and influencing the pronunciation of the following vowel (Sudlow 26-7). The glottal stop is not written as in Arabic, nor articulated anywhere but at the end of some phrases where it cuts short the final long /a/, and more commonly as the necessary consonant liaison for a vowel beginning a word, thus allowing retention of the syllable structure CV, CVC, and CVCC (occasionally) (Sudlow 27). Contrastive gemination is possible in Tamasheq, although // has a tendency to shift to /qq/, /ww/ to /gg/, and /DD/ to /TT/ (28). Assimilation occurs with consecutive voiced or voiceless consonants assimilating the voicing of the preceding (eDkareTkar); sounds with articulations difficult to perform separately also assimilate to become geminated consonant, i.e. [-gt][-kk], [-t][qq] (29).
Tamasheq prefers VSO order; however it resembles Japanese in that the emphasized concept can be placed first, be it the subject or object, the latter giving an effect somewhat like the English passive. (Sudlow, 46). Sudlow uses the following examples, all expressing the concept “Men don’t cook porridge” (e denotes Sudlow’s schwa):
| meddæn wær sekediwæn æsink | SVO |
| wær sekediwæn meddæn æsink | VSO |
| æsinkwær ti-sekediwæn meddæn | ‘Porridge, men don’t cook it.’ |
| wædde meddæn a isakædawæn æsink | ‘It isn’t men who cook porridge.’ |
| meddæn a wæren isekediw æsink | ‘Men are not those who cook porridge.’ |
Again like Japanese, the “pronoun/particle ‘a’ is used with a following relative clause to bring a noun in a phrase to the beginning for emphasis,” a structure which can be used to emphasize even objects of prepositions (Sudlow 48). Sudlow’s example (s denotes voiceless palato-alveolar fricative):
| essensæ enæle | ‘I bought millet.’ |
| enæle a essensæ | ‘It was millet that I bought.’ |
A root-and-pattern, or templatic language, three-consonant bases are the most common in Tamasheq. Niels and Regula Christiansen use the root k-t-b (to write) to demonstrate past completed aspect conjugation:
ektaba ‘I wrote’
tektabad ‘You (2s) wrote’
iktab ‘He wrote’
tektab ‘She wrote’
nektab ‘We wrote’
tektabam ‘You (2p/m) wrote’
tektabmat ‘You (2p/f) wrote’
ektaban ‘They (3p/m) wrote’
ektabnat ‘They (3/p/f) wrote’
(Christiansen).
The verbal correspondence with Japanese continues with the use of aspect; Tamasheq uses four, as delineated by Sudlow:
1) Perfective/simple perfect: complete actions
izgær ‘He went out’
ibdæd ‘He stood up’
ekke hebu ‘I went to market’
2) Stative/intensive perfect: “lasting states as the ongoing results of a completed action.”
izgær ‘He has gone out’
ibdæd ‘He stood up (and so he is standing up)’
ekkê hebu ‘I am going to market’
3) Imperfective/simple perfect: future or possible actions, “often used following a verb expressing emotion, decision or thought,” it can be marked with “’ad’” (shortened to “’a-‘” with prepositions).
ad elmedæ Tæmasæq ‘I will learn Tamasheq’
a-dd-as asekka ‘He will arrive (here) tomorrow’
4) Cursive/intensive imperfect: ongoing actions, often habitual ones.
lammædæ Tæmasæq ‘I am learning Tamasheq’
iwan tattænæt alemmoZ ‘Cows eat straw’
æru tasæalæ siha ‘I used to work over there’
Commands are expressed in the imperative mood, which tends to be a form of the imperfective aspect, unless the action is to be repeated or continued, in which case the cursive aspect is preferred (Sudlow 57).
With a lifestyle so dependent on their animals, the Tuareg have a massive lexicon with which to discuss them, particularly camels. Goats are discussed by their age, physical characteristics such as ears and horns, and markings—both color and placement; separate terms exist for the male and female goat who is only black, black with white markings on the legs, a white blaze, or white ears, and so on (Nicolaisen 83). An even more exhaustive set of descriptions is used for camels (a variety of colors is considered desirable in a herd for aesthetic value), and some of these terms bleed into social categories as well—the term for the two- or three-year-old camels paid as bridewealth among noble families (masc. pl. ilusan fem. pl. tilusin) is also used to refer to one’s brother- or sister-in-law (Nicolaisen 156). Tuareg poetry, be it martial or romantic, often refers to camels either symbolically or as examples of beauty. Kinship, thought of and discussed in anatomical terms, plays an integral in the close-knit Tuareg society; family relations are characterized by formal systems of avoidance (nsib, nsiba) and “joking,” particularly with regards to in-laws and cross-cousins, respectively (Nicolaisen 615). Family is divided into three anatomically-named groups: aruri, ‘back,’ refers to “relatives of the father’s family or rather a group of patrilineally related men;” tèsa, ‘stomach’ to the maternal equivalent and tèGehè, ‘side,’ or ‘liver’ in some dialects to those descended from “’sisters and from their parallel female cousins in the maternal line’” (Nicolaisen 617). Maternal uncles are often referred to as “fathers,” and are thus “feared” or “respected” in much the same way, and take similar interest in their nephews and nieces (the latter to a lesser extent). The verb uksad or uksaD denotes a ‘fear’ or ‘respect’ for “relatives of ascending generations” including elder siblings or cousins as well as parents, grandparents, etc (Nicolaisen 657). The Nicolaisens describe avoidance, both partial and strict, as “play[ing] a considerable role in…kinship behavior” (662). Feelings of ‘shame’ (takrakiT or takrakit) form the basis for most avoidance patterns among relatives by blood and marriage; partial avoidance begins around the age of puberty, strengthening with marriage; relations with father-figures are more restricted than with mother-figures (664). Physical distance, lack of eye contact, and the extent of the face covered by the veil are all included in avoidance patterns as well as verbal restraints. Generally partial avoidance, characterized by takarit, is linked to subjects and terms with sexual connotations, with even mating behavior of stock constituting an awkward topic (664). Terms to be avoided by even third parties in a conversation include the ahal, “nightly gatherings of young men and women who come together to play music etc, because these gatherings are associated with courtship and sexual intercourse,” and the imZad, a single-stringed violin played by young women at the ahal and strongly connected to various forms of courtship (664). Strict avoidance is practiced by in-laws, most rigorously between opposite sexes. Conversation can be held between father- and son-in-law if both are veiled and distant, but each finds this an embarrassing experience; in contrast, mothers- and daughters-in-law have fairly free association. (666). The Tuareg consider the rigid mother- and son-in-law avoidance (the strongest) to be rooted in the amount of influence a mother continues to enjoy with her married daughter, influence “which may run contrary” to his own (667). ‘Joking’ (tehanDeZZit, possibly from the root “to laugh,” in southern dialects adèlen or irawayen) or teasing may occur between castes, but is most common among cross-cousins, who often grow up much like siblings (685). While girls tend to tease and insult each other verbally, boys often engage in tebbillant, ‘sham fights’ characterized by apparent hostility and yet constant laughter (686). Male and female cousins may roughhouse more gently with each other, or insult each other’s camels, skills, or intelligence (667-8). A cousin unwilling to participate in these games is rare and considered “morally ‘bad,’” while the games themselves provide entertainment for the entire camp (688).
The vowel system includes 5 long vowels, a e i o u, and two short, ə and ă. Karl Prasse argues that e and o generally derive from i and u, while comparative evidence proves that ə derives from a merger of proto-Berber *ĭ and *ŭ.
In the consonant system, pharyngealized consonants are widespread, particularly among the dentals. Gemination affects the quality of certain consonants, turning fricatives into stops; in particular, geminated γ becomes qq.
Different dialects have slightly different consonant inventories. Some of these differences can be diachronically accounted for. For example, Proto-Berber *h is mostly lost in Ayer Tuareg, while it is maintained in almost every position in Mali Tuareg. The Iwellemmeden and Ahaggar Tuareg dialects are midway between these positions (Prasse 1969, Kossmann 1999). The Proto-Berber consonant *z comes out differently in different dialects, a development that is to some degree reflected in the dialect names. It is realized as h in Tamahaq (Tahaggart), as š in Tamasheq and as simple z in the Tamajaq dialects Tawallammat and Tayart. In the latter two, *z is realised as ž before palatal vowels, explaining the form Tamajaq. In Tawallammat and especially Tayart, this kind of palatalization actually does not confine itself to z. In these dialects, dentals in general are palatalized before i and y (palatal vowel and approximant, respectively). For example, tidət is pronounced tidʲət in Tayart. (Prasse e.a. 2003:xiv) Other differences can easily be traced back to borrowing. For example, the Arabic pharyngeals ħ and ʕ have been borrowed along with Arabic loanwords by dialects specialized in Islamic (Maraboutic) learning. Other dialects substitute ħ and ʕ respectively with x and ɣ.
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