Tamahaq language

The Tuareg write from right to left, like other abjads such as Hebrew and Arabic. The alphabet is called “Tifinagh” and contains 25 letters.^[3]

Tamahaq nouns belong to two noun classes, traditionally called masculine and feminine, each potentially inflecting for two numbers: singular and plural.^[5]

General rules of Thumb:

• Singular Masculine nouns begin with one of the vowel sounds : a, ă, e, i, u, o.^[5]
• Plural masculine nouns begin with the sound i.^[5]
• Feminine singular and plural nouns begin a t.^[5]

There are a few exceptions to these rules:^[6]

1. Certain masculine names, no matter whether plural or singular, begin with a consonant e.g. ⵢⵜ (ti) – father ^[6]
2. Some singular Masculine names begin with u and this sound follows through in the plural nouns too e.g. ⵓ (ul) - heart ^[6]
3. 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 (ălu) sing.- ⵏⵓⵍ (ălwăn). ^[6]
4. Some plural masculine names begin with the sound a: e.g. ⵏⵓⵔ (arăwăn) (new born babies) ^[6]
5. Some feminine names (plural or singular) don’t begin with a t: e.g. ⴰⵎⵜⵓ (wălătma) – sister / ⴰⵎ (ma)- mother ^[6]

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).^[6]

There are three main varieties of Tamahaq:^[7]

• 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.