Editing Tuareg languages (section)

==Phonology==

===Vowels===
The vowel system includes five long vowels, {{IPA|/a, e, i, o, u/}} and two short vowels, {{IPA|/ə, ă/}} (on this page, {{IPA|/ă/}} is used to represent [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] {{IPA|[æ]}}). Some of the vowels have more open "emphatic" allophones that occur immediately before emphatic consonants, subject to dialectal variation. These allophones include {{IPA|[ɛ]}} for {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/i/}} (although {{IPA|/i/}} may be less open), {{IPA|[ɔ]}} for {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} (although {{IPA|/u/}} may be less open), and {{IPA|[ă]}} for {{IPA|/ə/}}.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=25}} Karl Prasse argued that /e/ goes back to [[Proto-Berber language|Proto-Berber]], while /o/ is derived from /u/.<ref>K.-G. Prasse (1990), New Light on the Origin of the Tuareg Vowels E and O, in: H. G. Mukarovsky (ed), Proceedings of the Fifth International Hamito-Semitic Congress, Vienna, I 163–170.</ref> Comparative evidence shows that /ə/ derives from a merger of Proto-Berber */ĭ/ and */ŭ/.

Sudlow classes the "semivowels" /w, j/ with the vowels, and notes the following possible diphthongs: /əw/ (> [u]), /ăw/, /aw/, /ew/, /iw/, /ow/, /uw/, /əj/ (> [i]), /ăj/, /aj/, /ej/, /ij/, /oj/, /uj/.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|pp=25–26}}

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Tamasheq consonants{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|pp=26–28}}
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|
! rowspan=2|[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan=2|[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2|[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan=2|[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2|[[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! rowspan=2|[[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
! rowspan=2|[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! <small>plain</small> !! <small>[[Emphatic consonant|emphatic]]</small>
|-
!colspan=2| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
| ||
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}{{efn|{{IPA|/ŋ/}} is rare.}}
| || ||
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Plosive]]
! {{small|voiceless}}
|
| {{IPAlink|t}}
| {{IPAlink|tˤ}}
|
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|q}}
|
| ({{IPAlink|ʔ}})
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
|[[Voiced bilabial plosive|b]]
| {{IPAlink|d}}
| {{IPAlink|dˤ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɟ}}{{notetag|Sudlow (2001:26) does not make it clear whether this is a true [[palatal stop]] or something else, possibly a front [[velar stop]] or some sort of affricate.}}
| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Fricative]]
! {{small|voiceless}}
| {{IPAlink|f}}
| {{IPAlink|s}}
| ({{IPAlink|sˤ}}){{efn|name=loanwords|{{IPA|/lˤ, sˤ/}} only occur in Arabic loans and {{IPAslink|lˤ}} only in the name of [[Allah]].}}
| {{IPAlink|ʃ}}
| colspan="2"| {{IPAlink|x}}{{efn|name=velar/uvular|Sudlow (2001:26) doesn't specify whether these are velar or uvular.}}
| ({{IPAlink|ħ}}){{efn|name=Tanəsləmt|{{IPA|/ħ, ʕ/}} are only used in Arabic words in the Tanəsləmt dialect (most Tamasheq replace them with {{IPA|/x, ɣ/}} respectively).{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=26-28}}}}
| {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
|
| {{IPAlink|z}}
| {{IPAlink|zˤ}}
| {{IPAlink|ʒ}}{{efn|{{IPA|/ʒ/}} is rare in Tadɣaq.}}
| colspan="2"| {{IPAlink|ɣ}}{{efn|name=velar/uvular}}
| ({{IPAlink|ʕ}}){{efn|name=Tanəsləmt}}
|
|-
!colspan=2| [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
| {{IPAlink|l}}
| ({{IPAlink|lˤ}}){{efn|name=loanwords}}
| || || || ||
|}
{{notelist}}

The consonant inventory largely resembles Arabic: differentiated voicing; uvulars, pharyngeals (traditionally referred to as emphatics) {{IPA|/tˤ/, /lˤ/, /sˤ/, /dˤ/, /zˤ/}}; requiring the pharynx muscles to contract and influencing the pronunciation of the following vowel, and no [[voiceless bilabial plosive]].{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|pp=26–7}}

The [[glottal stop]] is non-phonemic. It occurs at the beginning of vowel-initial words to fill the place of the initial consonant in the syllable structure (see below), although if the words is preceded by a word ending in a consonant, it makes a [[Sandhi|liaison]] instead. Phrase-final /a/ is also followed by a phonetic [[glottal stop]].{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=27}}

Gemination is contrastive.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=28}} Normally {{IPA|/ɣɣ/}} becomes {{IPA|[qː]}}, {{IPA|/ww/}} becomes {{IPA|[ɡː]}}, and {{IPA|/dˤdˤ/}} becomes {{IPA|[tˤː]}}.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=28}} {{IPA|/q/}} and {{IPA|/tˤ/}} are predominantly geminate. In addition, in Tadɣaq {{IPA|/ɡ/}} is usually geminate, but in Tudalt singleton {{IPA|/ɡ/}} may occur.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=28}}

Voicing assimilation occurs, with the first consonant taking the voicing of the second (e.g. {{IPA|/edˤkăr/}} > {{IPA|[etˤkăr]}}).{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|pp=28–29}}

[[Cluster reduction]] turns word/morpheme-final {{IPA|/-ɣt, -ɣk/}} into {{IPA|[-qː]}} and {{IPA|/-kt, -ɟt, -ɡt/}} into {{IPA|[-kː]}} (e.g. {{IPA|/tămaʃăɣt/}} > {{IPA|[tămaʃăq]}} 'Tamasheq'{{notetag|Note that the geminate is dropped if not followed by a vowel.}}).{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=29}}

===Phonotactics===
Syllable structure is CV(C)(C), including [[glottal stop]]s (see above).{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=27}}

===Suprasegmentals===
Contrastive stress may occur in the stative aspect of verbs.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=25}}

===Dialectal differences===

Different dialects have slightly different consonant inventories. Some of these differences can be [[diachronic linguistics|diachronically]] accounted for. For example, Proto-Berber ''*h'' is mostly lost in Ayer Tuareg, while it is maintained in almost every position in Mali Tuareg. The Iwellemmeden and Ahaggar Tuareg dialects are midway between these positions.{{sfn|Prasse|1969}}{{sfn|Kossmann|1999}} The Proto-Berber consonant ''*z'' comes out differently in different dialects, a development that is to some degree reflected in the dialect names. It is realized as ''h'' in Tamahaq (Tahaggart), as ''š'' in Tamasheq and as simple ''z'' in the Tamajaq dialects Tawallammat and Tayart. In the latter two, ''*z'' is realised as ''ž'' before palatal vowels, explaining the form ''Tamajaq''. In Tawallammat and especially Tayart, this kind of palatalization actually does not confine itself to ''z''. In these dialects, dentals in general are palatalized before {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}. For example, ''tidət'' is pronounced {{IPA|[tidʲət]}} in Tayart.<ref>Prasse e.a. 2003:xiv</ref>

Other differences can easily be traced back to borrowing. For example, the Arabic pharyngeals ''ħ'' and ''ʻ'' have been borrowed along with Arabic loanwords by dialects specialized in Islamic ([[Maraboutic]]) learning. Other dialects substitute ''ħ'' and ''ʻ'' respectively with ''x'' and ''ɣ''.