A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

552 8 Verbal derivation

-mvjvn- '(cow) be left un-milked', but the verb is arguably a frozen
Mediopassive (-m-vjvn-).

8.10 Denominal agentives (-maes-, -naes-, etc.)

Another agentive-like formation involves a prefix complex -mass- or, if the
following stem contains a labial {m b f}, -nass-. Further segmentation is
opaque, but one might take the prefix complex as consisting of Agentive -m-
(variant -n-) plus a prefix -s- that might be connected in some unclear way
with Caus -s- or with Instrumental -s-. The Sg vocalic prefix varies between
ae- and a-. Based on the small sample of attested forms for T-ka, it seems that
the length of the vocalic prefix may be carried over from the prefix of the base
noun in isolation, with a;- as default (i.e. when the base noun in isolation lacks
a vocalic prefix).

For T-ka, the -mass- element is subject to to Short-V Harmony. In other
words, its surface V in the Sg is determined by the V of the following syllable.
As usual {i a u} are high V's, while all other V's including {e o} are treated as
low V's. In all dialects, we get -mas- (-nas-) in unsuffixed ablaut plurals due
to the Η part of the plural melody.
The base of the derivation is a VblN or other noun denoting a
characteristic behavior. Any vocalic prefix before the inner noun is omitted.
Accentuation of the compound respects a marked accent carried over from the
base noun, and is otherwise the usual antepenultimate default accent.

(579) Masculine Denominal Agentives with -naes-

input noun gloss Agentive

a. no change in noun stem (accent on core stem)

a-baeraj 'boasting' a-nass-baeraj

a-bserid 'road' a-nass-baerid

α-bsrij 'road' a-nas-bsrij

t-a-basvor-t 'wealth' a-naes-baeror

gloss

'boaster'

'guide' (A-grm Im)

'guide'

'rich man'

b. no change in noun stem (default accent on -maes-)

bahu

se-damu

ae-garu

ae-gayyu

ae-raru

s-aerho

ae-dala

'lie'

'farming'

'trance'

'work'

'breast-smearing'

'integrity'

'green one'

as-naes-bahu

as-naes-damu

ae-maes-garu

as-mses-gayyu

ae-maes-raru

a-maes-s-asrho

a-maes-dala

'liar'

'farmer'

'subject to

trances'

'worker' (K-d)

'smearer'

'decent person'

'wearer of green'