The language of the Tamashek people (Tuaregs of Mali, West Africa) will be studied in the field for the purposes of preparing a reference grammar in English, a Tamashek-English-French dictionary, and a collection of texts with facing translations and grammatical footnotes. The result will be a comprehensive study of this important Berber language, accessible to and useful for several western and African audiences. Of particular interest to linguistic theory is modeling of the complex system of grammatical derivation by internal changes (ablaut) within noun and verb stems. Close study of Tamashek will permit clarification of the long-term influence of Tuareg on certain Songhay languages to the south.
