A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

296 7 Verbal morphology

case of 2Sg (zero subject suffix) and 2FePl (C-initial suffix). However, the

presence of -t- is noteworthy in the case of 2MaPl (V-initial subject suffix).

(304) Imperatives of 'fly away'

2Sg furra-t

2MaPl furra-t-aet

2FePl furra-t-mast

The -t- in furra-t-aet might be taken as evidence that the 2MaPI and 2FePl

Imprt forms are directly based on the 2Sg Imprt.

The addition of a clitic, or the addition of Hortative suffix O-et, does not

affect the presence/absence of the augment -t-, and no special

(morpho-)phonological rules apply when these elements are added. Examples

are n-ahuska-t-et 'let's become beautiful' (hortative), i-bbüqqae-t-\taet 'he

burst it-Fe' (object clitic), i-bbuqqae-t-\a-s 'it burst for him/her' (dative clitic),

and i-bbüqqas-tAadd 'it burst coming this way' (directional clitic).

In participles, Augment -t- is absent from the singular forms (which have

V-initial suffixes, MaSg -aen and FeSg -aet), but it is present before the

C-initial PI suffix -nen (305). As with inflected verbs, the -t- has a shortening

effect on the stem-final V.

(305) Definite Participles of 'scrub'

a. Augment omitted before V-initial suffix

MaSg w-α i-ffuffaere-n

FeSg t-α t-affuffaere-t

b. Augment present before C-initial suffix

MaPl w-i affuffaerae-t-nen

[FePl has different demonstrative t-i, same Partpl form]

Augment -t- is absent from VblN forms (a-faffaru 'scrubbing', a-farru

'flying'). Their plurals do have a t (e.g. α-faffaru-taen), but this t is

interpretable as part of the postvocalic allomorph -taen of the MaPl suffix

(which is -aen after a C).

The VblN (and other nominalizations that also lack -t-) show that

Augment -t- is restricted to finite verb forms and participles. Within this

domain, there is a phonological basis for the presence/absence of -t-, viz., it is

absent when the stem is followed by a V-initial subject (or Participial) suffix,

otherwise it is present. The only exceptions are the 2MaPl imperative, which is

parasitic on the 2Sg imperative, and adjectival perfectives like kaesa-t-aen

'they-Ma are/were speckled'.

In spite of its apparent phonological basis, Augment -t- is somewhat

mysterious. While the augment class contains the majority of V-final verbs,