Tamasheq language

For the macrolanguage sometimes called Tamasheq, see Tuareg languages.
Not to be confused with Tamazheq language.
Tamasheq
Tamashek, Tamachen, Tamashekin, Tamachek, Tomacheck
Tafaghist
Native toMali, Burkina Faso
RegionSahara
EthnicityTuareg
Native speakers
900,000 (2021–2022)[1]
Dialects
  • Tadhaq
  • Tanaslamt
Official status
Official language in
 Mali[2][3]
Language codes
ISO 639-3taq
Glottologtama1365
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Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of Tuareg, a Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North Africa in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others being Tamajaq and Tamahaq.[4]: 2 

Tamashek is spoken mostly in Mali, especially in its central region including Timbuktu, Kidal, and Gao. It is also spoken by a sizeable population in Burkina Faso where it is spoken by 187,000 people as of 2021. As of 2022, approximately 900,000 people speak Tamashek, with the majority of speakers residing in Mali with approximately 590,000 speakers.[1] The livelihood of the Tuareg people has been under threat in the last century, due to climate change and a series of political conflicts, notably the Arab-Tuareg rebellion of 1990–1995 in Mali which resulted in ethnic cleansing of the Tuareg in the form of reprisal killings and exile.[4]: 5–6  Tamashek is currently classified as a developing language (5), partly due to the Malian government's active promotion of the language; it is currently taught in public education, from primary schools to adult literacy classes.[1]

Tamashek is often understood in Mali as a term that denotes all Tuareg varieties.[4]: 3  Other alternative names for Tamashek include Tamachen, Tamashekin, and Tomacheck.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Tamasheq at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. ^ "Décret N°2023-0401/PT-RM du 22 juillet 2023 portant promulgation de la constitution" (PDF). Journal Officiel de la République du Mali. Soixante-quatrième Année (SPECIAL N°13). Secrétariat général du gouvernement. 2023-07-22.
  3. ^ "Décret n°2017-0735/P-RM du 21 août 2017 fixant l'organisation et les modalités de fonctionnement des structures d'éducation non formelle" (PDF). Journal Officiel de la République du Mali. Cinquante huitième Année (39). Secrétariat général du gouvernement. 2017-09-29.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).