A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

416 7 Verbal morphology

b. short imperfective system

Shlmpf /-aenni-/ (3MaSg 0-senn, 3MaPl anna-n)

Imprt aenn

c. long imperfective system

LoImpfP -janna- (3MaPl jdnne-n)

LoImpfN -janni-

Prohib -jsenna-

d. nominalization

VblN t-Inaw-t, t-anna

The perfectives and short imperfectives are of the α/ι subclass of -vCCu-

verbs (§7.3.1.3). PerfN examples (with Neg particle) are 2MaPl wasr

t-anne-m) and 3MaPl war anne-n. A Shlmpf example (with Fut particle) is

3MaPl ad anna-n, where hi contracts with suffixal /ae/ to a, then the first

syllable harmonizes.

For verbs of the shape -vPQi> with ungeminated cluster, the regular

LoImpfP is -PdQQ- (underlying /-PaQQA-/ in T-ka). However, when the

cluster is geminated (-νΡΡυ-). another C, is found for the long imperfectives

(cf. 'go to', just below). In the case of 'say', a lexically idiosyncratic long

imperfective with j as Q is used. Furthermore, the LoImpfP ends in α (rather

than the deletable stem-final /A/ found in the other verbs), -janna- appears as

-jdnne- before all nonzero subject suffixes: 2Sg jdnne-d, 2MaPl jdnne-m

(suffix l-xml), and even 2FePl janne-maet (suffix /-mset/), where one would

have expected #jannae-maet by Presuffixal α-Shortening.

A passive -tvw-vnnu- with PerfP -aetw-asnna- is attested. No causative

form is recorded.

7.3.2.6 'go to^1 (A)

'Go' can be expressed either with intransitive -vjlu- 'go, set off, be en route'

(in several dialects -vglu-) if destination is not specified, or with transitive

-vkku- 'go to' with a specified destination. For -vjh> see §7.3.2.7.

Representative forms of -vkku- are shown in (415). The perfectives and

short imperfectives are regular for the α/ι subclass of -vCCu- verbs (§7.3.1.3).

In the long imperfectives, the geminate kk is not split up, and t is used as a

kind of substitute C,. This t is presumably related to the -t- prefix common in

long imperfectives of verbs of longer stem shapes.