A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

168 4 Nominal and pronominal morphology

masculine form. The feminine stem variant is most likely archaic, preserving a

final semivowel or vowel that has disappeared in the masculine (cf. §3.1.1.9,

§3.1.2.3). The cases known to me are given in (143).

(143) Masculine and Feminine Stem Variants

masculine gloss feminine gloss or category

a. final y in feminine

ab-jola 'step-son' t-ae-jolay-t 'step-daughter'

se-koka 'doum-palm nut' t-se-kokay-t-t 'doum palm'

ά-waera 'baby camel' (male) t-a-waeray-t (female)

[FeSg also t-a-wsera-t-t]

ae-lata 'water lily leaf t-as-latay-t 'water lily leaf

b. final w in feminine

e-baeqr 'floodplain'

e-baye 'horse'

ά-jaeya 'great-grandson'

ekne 'male twin'

t-e-baeqraew-t (diminutive)

t-e-baejasw-t 'mare'

t-a-jaeyaw-t 'great-

granddaughter'

t-eknew-t 'female twin'

c. final i in feminine (with final CC cluster)

e-daegg

e-haett

ά-kart

e-laell

e-maenn

e-m-aerz

'place'

'Songhay man'

'male chick'

'noble man'

'fish'

'breaker-Ma'

t-e-dseggi-t-t

t-e-haeti-t-t

t-a-karti-t-t

t-e-Iaelli-t-t

t-e-maenni-t-t

t-e-m-aerzi-t-t

'small place'

'Songhay

woman'

'female chick'

'noble woman'

'carp (fish)'

'breaker-Fe'

(and other agentives of -vC(C)u- verbs)

d. final i in feminine (with final simple C)

e-daem 'male gazelle' t-e-daemi-t-t 'gazelle'

e. final i in feminine (with final geminate in Sg, but simple C in PI)

e-kaezz 'rooster' t-e-kszi-t-t 'hen'

Several further cases involve feminine verbal nouns with w before -t from

V-final verbs. Examples (among others): -anna- 'say' with verbal noun

t:inaw-t (alongside t-anna); -snda- 'collapse' with verbal noun t-a-nsddaw-t.