Tamahaq also known as (Tahaggart Tamahaq or Tamahaq Tahaggart) is the only known Northern Tuareg language, spoken in Algeria, western Libya and northern Niger. It varies little from the Southern Tuareg languages of the Aïr Mountains, Azawagh and Adagh. The differences mostly consist of sound substitutions, such as Tamahaq instead of Tamajaq or Tamasheq. This language is “one of the sister languages spoken by the inhabitants of many districts of the Atlas range of mountains from Egypt to the Western shores of Morocco, and which are all included in the general term Berber.”^[2]

The Tuareg write from right to left, like other abjads such as Hebrew and Arabic. The alphabet is called “Tifinagh” and contains 25 letters.^[3]

Tamahaq nouns belong to two noun classes, traditionally called masculine and feminine, each potentially inflecting for two numbers: singular and plural.^[5]

General rules of Thumb:

• Singular Masculine nouns begin with one of the vowel sounds : a, ă, e, i, u, o.^[5]
• Plural masculine nouns begin with the sound i.^[5]
• Feminine singular and plural nouns begin a t.^[5]

There are a few exceptions to these rules:^[6]

1. Certain masculine names, no matter whether plural or singular, begin with a consonant e.g. ⵢⵜ (ti) – father ^[6]
2. Some singular Masculine names begin with u and this sound follows through in the plural nouns too e.g. ⵓ (ul) - heart ^[6]
3. If a masculine singular noun begins with a short sound, it may be represented as ă, and this rule follows through to the plural: e.g. ⵓ (ălu) sing.- ⵏⵓⵍ (ălwăn). ^[6]
4. Some plural masculine names begin with the sound a: e.g. ⵏⵓⵔ (arăwăn) (new born babies) ^[6]
5. Some feminine names (plural or singular) don’t begin with a t: e.g. ⴰⵎⵜⵓ (wălătma) – sister / ⴰⵎ (ma)- mother ^[6]

We can also obtain feminine names by adding a T to the beginning and end of a masculine name (although this is not always the case, there are exceptions).^[6]

There are three main varieties of Tamahaq:^[7]

• Tahaggart, spoken around the Ahaggar Mountains in southern Algeria by the Kel Ahaggar confederation
• Ajjer, spoken by the Kel Ajjer confederation
• Ghat, spoken around Djanet in southeast Algeria and Ghat in Libya.

According to Blench (2006), Tahaggart and Ghat are distinct Tuareg languages.