A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

5.2 Possession and compounding 259

(247) daer t-eje [t-ά [n 'ae-taeram]]
in Fe-direction [Fe-Dem.Sg [Poss Sg-west]]
'in the direction of the west (=westward)'

See also the compounds in §5.2.4.1, below. For η after the numeral ly-aen

'one.Ma', see §5.1.2.2.

5.2.2 Pronominal possessor suffixes

The pronominal suffixes used in ordinary possessives are those in (248).
Gender of pronominal possessor is distinguished only in 2Sg, 2P1, and 3P1.

(248) Pronominal Possessor Suffixes

category invariant postvocalic after η

ISg

1P1

2MaSg

2FeSg

2MaPl

2FePl

3Sg

3MaPl

3FePl

-naenaer

-naewaen

-naekmaet

-naesaen

-naesnaet

C)-nin

O-nnask

C)-nnaem

C)-nnet

O-nnes

O-in

after other C

O-in

O-nask -annask

C)-naem -annaem

O-net

C)-nes

-annet

-annes

Note that 3Sg fails to distinguish gender in this series (as in independent

pronouns). The 3Sg form ends in t in T-ka, in s in most other dialects (A-grm,

R, T-md).

Parenthesized Ο before an allomorph indicates that the preceding syllable

(the word penult) is accented, even with nouns that would otherwise be

accented on an earlier syllable. In other words, the possessor suffixes in

question force penultimate word accent; cf. §3.3.1.1. In full word

transcriptions, such a suffixally induced accent is written as v, where ν is any

vowel. Note that the invariant forms in the leftmost column also have marked

penultimate accent. However, the 2Sg and 3Sg postconsonantal variants

(-annaek, etc.), take default accents.

Examples showing the allomorphy are ISg mataji-nin 'my peanuts'

(mataji), e-hsen-nin 'my house' (e-haen), and alsibb-in 'my pocket' (slsibb);

and 3Sg matajl-nnet, e-hsen-net, and alsibb-annet. The postconsonantal forms

like 2MaSg -annask are used after any C other than n, including other

sonorants like {1 m r}, as in a-laemom-annaek 'your-MaSg young dama