A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

258 5 Noun phrase structure

(246) a. ae-kall [an 't-a-m-azzuq-q-nasnasr]

Sg-place [Poss Fe-Sg-0-dwell.VblN-FeSg-lPlPoss]

'a place of our living' (=for us to live in)

b. t-orhannaw-en [an O-razzej-aen-naesaen]

Fe-disease-FePl [Poss Pl-livestock-MaPl-3MaPlPoss]

'diseases of their livestock animals'

c. ozz ly-aen [an kael "t-ae-masaeq-q]

proverb one-MaSg [Poss people.of Fe-Sg-Tuareg-FeSg]

'a proverb of the Tuareg people' (lit. "of people of Tamashek

language")

d. i-s-~idasrha£n-\add

3MaSgS-Caus-desire-\Centrip

liral [an "t-a-msar-annet

go.back.VblN [Poss Fe-Pl-old.camp-3SgPoss

t-i η dat a-w-a]

Fe-Dem.Pl Poss in.front.of Dem-Ma-Dem.Sg]

'It desires its return (=wants to return) to its old camping

grounds of (=from) beforehand '

e. t-e-ksgkaen-t [an t-esam-t lasbds-ast]

Fe-Sg-saltlick-FeSg [Poss Fe-salt-FeSg be.bad-Partpl.FeSg]

'a saltlick (salty earth) of poor-quality salt'

f. e-msetaem an t-esam-t

Sg-taste Poss Fe-salt-FeSg

'a taste (=a pinch) of salt' [K]

g. assin bütal-«n η udi

two.Ma bottle-MaPl Poss butter

'two bottles (full) of butter.'

(246.d) ends with a second instance of n, in [t-i η dat a-w-a] 'of

beforehand' Here the possessed element is a PP, literally 'in front of this', but

it denotes an earlier time and so is noun-like logically.

The possessed noun may be extended by, or replaced by, a demonstrative,

usually of the same unmarked demonstrative series used as heads of definite

relatives clauses (MaSg w-ά, MaPl w-ί, FeSg t-ά, FePl t-ί). Note FePl t-i in the

phrase in (246.d) just discussed. Likewise, in (247), t-ά is appositional to t-eje,

and t-d functions as the immediate syntactic head to which the possessor PP is

attached.