A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

330 7 Verbal morphology

(332) Pre-Ablaut Stem Reconfigurations

stem shape Imprt LoImpfP LoImpfN

a.

b.

c.

-vPQvC-

-vPQu-

-vPQu-

sPQaC

aPQu

/aePQi/

-PdQQaeC-

-FiQQu-

/-PdQQA-/

-PaQQsC-

-PaQQu-

/-PaQQi-/

input

-PvQvC-

-PvQu-

-PvQu-

The suggested input to long imperfective ablaut (rightmost column)

involves inserting a short ν between Ρ and Q, and in (a) also removing the

stem-initial V that appears in the other stems.

Pre-ablaut reconfigurations are a somewhat questionable

morphophonological concept. The need to include such modifications to

support an otherwise "regular" componential ablaut analysis should make us

wonder whether long imperfectives of light stems might have template-like

features. Certainly there is no overall prosodic template that could begin to

capture the full range of long imperfective shapes, and the long imperfectives

of heavy verbs are transparently constructed by applying ablaut components to

the basic form of the stem, preserving the stem's C and V positions. However,

several types of light verb end up with long imperfectives based on a shape

beginning -CvCC... (hence LoImpfP -CdCC...), and a templatic element in

derivations is not out of the question.

7.2.5.1 Long Imperfective Positive stem (LoImpfP)

The LoImpfP is the only stem in the imperfective system, aside from the
uncommon long imperative, that can be used clause-initially (i.e. without
preverbal particles): i-jdll 'he goes (regularly)'. It can denote recurring or
habitual events, or a (present) progressive, as in i-t-ihnaffi-t 'he often moans'
or 'he is moaning' and i-t-umad (variant i-t-imud) 'he prays (regularly)' or 'he
is praying'. I noted above that the Resit, which is part of the perfective system,
may also be used in present stative/resultative sense and for some verbs can be
glossed with the English progressive: i-ttas 'he is sleeping' (better: 'he went to
sleep and is still asleep'; root Vds). The LoImpfP may be preceded by Future
ad to denote future recurrent events: ad i-jdll 'he will go (regularly)'; this
combination is uncommon, the usual future being ad plus the Shlmpf. The
LoImpfP is replaced by the LoImpfN when directly preceded by Negative
waer.
The LoImpfP is built from the basic lexical form of the stem by the full set
of ablaut features listed in (328), above. The melody, which is diagnostic of
the characteristic long imperfective melody (also used in the Prohib), depends
on the stem-shape type. Except for the type -(t-)awwdt- 'hits' with
compositive melody, all T-ka verbs have either stem-wide or