A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

8.6 Verbal nouns 509

e. VblN borrowed <Arabic

'have mercy' 3?fu alTafu (aliaefu) aliaefu-tcen

'be wrong' axdu aslxaeda aslxzeda-taen

For 'vomit' (540.a), a PI noun ebs-αη 'vomit' (with no Sg) is used as a
VblN or concrete noun (product of action). Both ebs-αη and the -an plurals in
(540.b-c) are cases of contraction of stem-final V with MaPl -aen (§4.1.2.13).
Note the geminated CC cluster ("PP") in the VblN in (540.a-b). The
e-CaePPi type (540.a) is rare in T-ka, becoming more common in the east (and
in Niger). The e-CasPP type (540.b) and the e-CaeCi type (540.c) seem to be
variants of e-CaePPi, with the final V elided (540.b), or without gemination of
the medial Ρ (540.C). The ICi type (540.d) is also rare in T-ka, but somewhat
more common in the east. Note that iki 'going' has a single k versus kk in the
inflected verb. For the two verbs concerned, 'go to' and 'do', see also the
feminine type t-iCaw-t in (540.h), below. The VblN forms in (540.e) are
Arabic nouns borrowed (with Arabic Definite prefix) alongside the
corresponding verbs.

The feminines in (541) may in some cases have originated as instantiating

VblN's, denoting a single event, but for stems lacking a productive masculine

VblN they can also be used syntactically as ordinary VblN's.

(541) Feminine Verbal Nouns for -v(C)Cu- Stems

gloss Imprt Sg VblN PI VblN

a. VblN t-e-CaeCe

'be implanted' aert t-e-vaete —

'give' <ekf t-e-hajke t-i-haeka-ten

t-i-haekiw-en

'kill' aeqr t-e-naere t-i-naqq

'be ripe' t-e-naeqe t-i-nsqr)

'be on fire' aenr t-e-rajve t-i-raqq

'weave' aezz t-e-zaste t-i-zatt

[for zz versus z...t see §3.2.1.4]

'study' 3Υ3Γ t-e-raere t-i-varr

'listen' dSdl t-e-sasle t-i-sall

[noun also means 'eardrum']

VblN t-a-CaeCa

'weep' (Vhl) aelh

VblN t-e-CaePPe

'pour' (Vdf) aetf t

'get dressed' aels

'shave' aelz

t-a-haela t-i-hsll

t-e-daeffeι ( t-i-daff

t-e-laesse t-i-lsss

t-e-laezze t-i-lszz