A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

1.2 Literature on non-Tamashek Tuareg 3

I will use the term Tamashek in this fashion, i.e. for the Malian varieties

except for the Tawellemett of Menaka. However, the term is often used in Mali

as a general term for all Tuareg varieties in the country, including the

Tawellemmett of Menaka. To distinguish the two major types of "Tamashek"

in this official usage, the terms in (5) are in use.

(5) Malian Tuareg

a. Taneslemt (t-a-n-astam-t)

Tanastaramt (t-a-nass-täeram-t)

Tadghaqq (t-adraq-q)

Timbuktu (also Gao, Kidal)

Timbuktu

Adrar (and Kidal)

d. Tawellemmett (t-a-walBmmst-t) Menaka

Taneslemt, which can be extended to cover the non-Tawellemmett dialects

of Mali, corresponds roughly to "Tamashek" as I use the latter term.

"Taneslemt" is based on a root meaning 'Muslim', on the ground that in the

old days the Iwellemmeden were not especially pious, whereas other Malian

Tuaregs included some devout maraboutistic clans. Tanastaramt is based on a

cpd noun a-naes-tasram 'westerner', while Tadghaqq is based on d-draT

'rock; mountain' (cf. "Adrar").

There is a traditional Tuareg syllabary known as t-i-fincnr. It did not seem

to be in active use in the areas where I did my fieldwork (e.g. Timbuktu, Gao).

My impression is that it is chiefly used in parts of Algeria. Its existence,

however, is well-known locally and it is a source of some ethnic pride.

1.2 Literature on non-Tamashek Tuareg

For Tamahak (Algeria), the major work is the great Dictionnaire touareg-
frangais (abbreviation DTF) of the famous (and famously assassinated) French
officer and later missionary Charles de Foucauld (lived 1858-1916). DTF was
published posthumously in four volumes (1951-52). It is now somewhat
difficult to use because of its rarity, its great physical size (the handwritten
manuscript was published by photography), and its not very modern
orthography ("ou" for w, "i" for y, "r" for Y, etc.). Foucauld had a hard time
hearing the distinction between the two short vowels, and did not understand
the accent system. Nevertheless, his dictionary is monumental, and its entries
contain rich semantic detail with abundant exemplification, and not a little
ethnographic material. Foucauld also made a serious effort to identify natural
species. It is one of the greatest of all missionary dictionaries of its era.
For Tamajak (Republic of Niger), the major work is the Lexique touareg-
frangais of Prasse et al. (2nd ed., 1998), which carefully distinguishes
Tawellemett ("W") from Tayert ("Y") items throughout. This dictionary is of a
high standard, uses a modern phonemic orthography, and has the necessary
morphological data for each stem. Two shortcomings that will hopefully be