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Tamahaq language

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Native to
  
Algeria, Libya, Niger

ISO 639-3
  
thv

Region
  
Sahara

Glottolog
  
taha1241

Native speakers
  
(undated figure of 40,000 in Algeria) 40,000 Libya & Niger (1998–2006)

Language family
  
Afro-Asiatic Berber Tuareg Northern Tamahaq

Tamahaq is the only known Northern Tuareg language spoken in Algeria, western Libya, and northern Niger. It varies little from the Southern Tuareg Berber languages of Ayr, Azawagh and Adagh. The differences mostly consist of sound substitutions, such as Tamahaq instead of Tamajaq or Tamasheq.

Varieties

There are three main varieties of Tamahaq:

  • 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.

    References

    Tamahaq language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA