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.”

Orthography

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

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

Grammar

Nouns

Tamahaq nouns belong to two noun classes, traditionally called masculine and feminine, each potentially inflecting for two numbers: singular and plural. General rules of Thumb: There are a few exceptions to these rules: 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).

Varieties

There are three main varieties of Tamahaq: According to Blench (2006), Tahaggart and Ghat are distinct Tuareg languages.