7.3 Verb classes and irregular verbs 343accent ablaut components, χ-pcl and χ-pcl, targeting the first postconsonantal
V) in the Resit sequence «a ά». All three types show «a e» in the PerfN, with
the 6 -pelf ablaut component having audible realization as e in the first
postconsonantal V that is also the final-syllable V.
The -vPvC- type (e.g. 'hit') shows dialectal variation in the onset of the
perfective, based on whether the stem-initial ν is present: lSg PerfP awaet-aer
varying with waet-aer Ί hit'. The type awaet-aer is standard in T-ka, while
waet-asr is standard for K-d and is attested for some other mainstream dialects
such as R. In the Shlmpf (including Imprt), the initial schwa occurs in all
dialects. Thus the Imprt is always awat rather than #wat, even in K-d.
The same -vPvC- verbs also show an interesting alternation in some
dialects between e.g. -awat- and syncopated -aewt- in the Shlmpf and Imprt.
For speakers with this alternation, -awat- is obligatory before a C or word-
finally, while -aewt- is used at least optionally before a V (either a V-initial
subject suffix, or a V-initial clitic, including 3MaSgO allomorph -\e). Thus, for
a Kidal speaker, with Future particle ad we get ad i-wat 'he will hit' and ad
t-awat 'she will hit', but ad aewt-asr varying with ad awat-aer Ί will hit', and
ad aewt-aen varying with ad awat-aen 'they-Ma will hit'. For T-ka, only the
fuller forms ad awat-aer and ad awat-aen are used. In the short forms like
(Kidal) lSg aswt-aer, the (surface) penultimate accent suggests a derivation
/awat-aer/ —»/awat-aer/ (Default Accentuation) —» /awt-aer/ (Syncope)
—> aewt-aer. However, the last step (/a/ replaced by ae) is phonologically
problematic, since «a ae» sequences are usually allowed to surface as such. For
more on Syncope, see §3.2.7.
In the long imperfective system, the three types in (347) diverge. In the
LoImpfP, the stems are -PdQQaeC-, -t-aPPaeC-, and -(t-)aPPdC-, respectively.
The first two show
is taken to be inserted by low-level Schwa-Insertion). The first and third show
gemination of the second consonant (r-c2). The second, whose medial C is
already geminated (PP) in all inflected stems (including perfective and short
imperfective) shows a -t- prefix (ablaut formative T) as an alternative to
gemination.
This -t- appears dialectally in long imperfectives of -vPvC- verbs. The
variation between e.g. LoImpfP -t-awwat- and -awwdt- seems to me to be
free, with no semantic difference between forms with and without -t-. Leguil
(1992:39-40) claims that there is a semantic difference between the form with
-t- and that without -t- in certain dialects of the Adrar and of Tessalit in the
north. In some dialects, he says, the form with -t- has a strongly habitual sense
whereas the other form suggests sporadic repetition. However, he claims that
in one other dialect of the same zone the semantic relationship is reversed.
Informant intuitions appear to have been the basis for the alleged semantic
distinctions, and I am skeptical.
The LoImpfP patterns in (347) do show some similarities to each other in
the non-melodic, non-consonantal ablaut features. To begin with, all three verb
types have a marked accent (χ-pcl) in the LoImpfP (but not in the LoImpfN or