A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

126 3 Phonology

is within the domain of Melodic Association. For other dialects (K-d, R, T-md)
the situation is more complex, and once could at least make a case for pre-
specifying the incremental V as as.
Consider the data in (100). The stems are superheavy stems whose basic
form (seen in the Imprt) begins wtih CvCV... where V is any vowel and ν is a
short vowel. When the extra initial short V is added, the sequence vCvCV... is
conducive to Stem-Initial Syncope, resulting in vCCV...

(100) Stem-Initial V-Insertion and Stem-Initial Syncope

gloss Imprt Shlmpf PerfP

a. -CvCvCCvC-

'shine' msbwbw

'toss & turn' babdway

b. -CvCuCvC-

'gape'

'rotate'

bslubr

karukar

-knbwbw-

-abbdway-

-ablubr-

-akruksr-

-aemlaewlasw-

-aeblasdwaey-

-seblalasY-

-Eekrakaer-

c. -CvCvCCvCvC-

'trim (twigs)' saramsaram -asramsaram-

'pound' jarafjarsf -ajrafjaraf-

d. -CvCvCCu- (unaugmented)

'be spicy' rararh -arrarh

'be fewer' lakans -alkans

-aesraemsaerasm-

-asjraefjasrsf-

-aerrserha-

-selkaensa-

e. -CvCvCu- (+ -t)

'be dying' jarara-t -ajrara-t -aejraerae-t

f. -CvCuCu- (+ -t)

'be freed' rawib-t -arwib-t -serwalae-t

g. -CvCvCCu- (+ -t)

'be dipped' bbaqqa-t -albaqqa-t -aelbaeqqae-t

h. -CvCvCCuCv- (+ -t)

'roll' babmbub-t -abbmbub-t -aeblaembalas-t

Stem-Initial Syncope also applies to the VblN of these superheavy stems.
The regular VblN of heavy stems begins with a- (nominal vocalic prefix).
Examples: α-mlawlaw (variant a-mlawlaw) 'shining', a-blubr (variant
a-blular) 'gaping'. Replacing Sg a- by PI i- has no effect on Stem-Initial