A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

468 S Verbal derivation

Other passives similar to 'be taken' in (478), in the Imprt, are t-aejrasw 'be
found' and t-aegkasd 'be cut'. In long imperfectives like LoImpfP
-t-at-aermas-, the first -t- is the Lolmpf prefix.

The paradigm is similar to that of underived verbs with CaeCCaeC
imperatives (middleweight verb with short vowels), e.g. kaeykaey 'shake'
§7.3.1.2). Specifically, the PerfP, the Imprt, and the -t-at-asrmas- type of
LoImpfP, are consistent with the corresponding stems of the kaeykaey class. A
minor difference is that the VblN of the passives usually has final-syllable a,
while a is most common in the kaeykaey class, but both a and α variants are
grammatical in both cases.

But the most striking feature of the paradigm in (478) is the unique
variant long imperfective of type LoImpfP -t-ermas-. The e is not
secondarily lengthened by χ-pcl, as we can see from the fact that it remains e
(though unaccented) in the LoImpfN and Prohib stems: waer t-ewat 'don't-Sg
be hit!'. Another example is LoImpfP -t-ejraw- for passive -att-ajraew- 'be
found' (Imprt t-aejraew); -t-ejraw- shows that the e-vocalism is genuine, rather
than due to a shift from /i/ as one might infer from just looking at -t-ermas-
(where r is a BLC).
In addition to regular use with -vCvC- and -vPQvC- stems, I have also
recorded one (possibly dialectal) form with a -uCvC- stem, namely 'be related
(by kinship)' (PerfP -aett-erasw-, Imprt t-lraw), cf. -urvw- 'give birth' (PerfP
-oraew-).
The w-extended Passive allomorph -tvw- occurs in a much broader set of
stem types. Examples with light stems are in (479). The -vCvC- input recurs
here after appearing first in (478). Allomorph -tvw- is always subject to Stem-
Initial Syncope, so we get surface stem-wide melody (arguably from
underlying ) in perfectives, and melody in short and long
imperfectives as well as in the VblN.

(479) TW-Passives (Light Input Stems)

-vCCu-

'be said'

-νηηυ-

-vCvC-

'be bitten'

-vwvt-

-uCvC-

'be intended'

-utvs-

a. perfective system

PerfP -setw-asnna- -aetw-aedaed- -aetw-ataes-

Reslt -afiw-aenna- -afiw-aedsed- -afiw-ataes-

PerfN -setw-asnna- -aetw-aedaed- -aetw-ataes-

b. short imperfective system

Shlmpf /-atw-anni-/ -atw-adad- -atw-itas-

Imprt taw-ann taw-adad taw-itas