Tamasheq
Language · official in 1 country
Tamasheq is traditionally written in tifinagh, though Mali and Niger have each created Latin alphabets for it. One of three main varieties of Tuareg, a Berber macrolanguage, it had about 900,000 speakers in 2022, some 590,000 of them in Mali, and Mali teaches it in public schools as one of its national languages.
The language on record
- ISO 639-3
- TAQ
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Berber
- Official in
- 1 country
Where Tamasheq is official
Mali is the only country where the record makes Tamasheq official, though it is also spoken in Algeria, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Official beside Tamasheq
About Tamasheq
Where Tamasheq is spoken
In Mali it is spoken mainly in the centre and east: around Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao, and in the eastern Sahara. Burkina Faso had 187,000 speakers in 2021. Tamajaq and Tamahaq are the other two main varieties of Tuareg. In Mali the name Tamasheq is often used for all Tuareg varieties.
Dialect divisions are disputed. Some describe two, Timbuktu and Tadhaq. Others see three: the Kal Ansar dialects around Timbuktu, a mainstream Tamasheq in Kidal, Tessalit and the Gao area, and the dialects of certain groups in the Gourma of Gao and Ansongo.
How vowels change a verb
Tamasheq builds words mostly through ablaut, changes of the stem vowel, and through affixes. A verb's three basic stems, the perfective and two imperfectives, differ by ablaut, and so do many plurals: æ̀-ɣata, crocodile, becomes ì-ɣata. Feminine nouns wrap the stem in t- and -t. Simple main clauses open with the verb, followed by its subject. Question particles come at the start of the clause.
Why it is described as developing
It is classed as a developing language, partly because Mali's government promotes it. It is taught in public education from primary school to adult literacy classes. The livelihood of the Tuareg has been under pressure from climate change and from conflict, including the rebellion of 1990 to 1995 in Mali.
Common questions
Questions about Tamasheq
What script is Tamasheq written in?
Traditionally in tifinagh. Mali and Niger have also created Latin alphabets for it.
Is Tamasheq the same as Tuareg?
It is one of three main varieties of Tuareg, beside Tamajaq and Tamahaq, although in Mali the name is often used for all of them.
What word order does Tamasheq use?
Verb, then subject, then object, in simple main clauses. Numerals come before the noun, while demonstratives, possessors and relative clauses follow it.