Language/Central-atlas-tamazight/Grammar/Gender
Hi Central Atlas Tamazight learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be discussing gender in Central Atlas Tamazight. It is an important topic because it impacts both the pronunciation and spelling of words.
Introduction[edit | edit source]
Central Atlas Tamazight, like many other languages, has grammatical gender. This means that all nouns are either masculine or feminine, and adjectives and verbs must agree with the gender of the noun they are modifying or referring to. While some languages assign gender based on the biological sex of the referent (i.e., people, animals), Central Atlas Tamazight mostly assigns gender arbitrarily, sometimes making it difficult for non-native speakers to predict which gender a noun belongs to.
Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Negation & Conditional Mood.
Masculine Nouns[edit | edit source]
Masculine nouns in Central Atlas Tamazight typically take the prefix "a-" or "ma-" and usually end with a consonant. Some examples are:
| Central Atlas Tamazight | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| aγeṛzim | aɣeɾzim | rock |
| maεεna | maε:na | engine |
| afaɣ | afaɣ | sea |
It is worth noting that some masculine nouns do not end with a consonant; rather, they end with a vowel or a combination of vowels. Examples of such nouns are:
| Central Atlas Tamazight | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ɣert | ɣert | road |
| nnbaεa | nnbaεa | nose |
| bbubaɣdud | bbubaɣdud | snow |
Feminine Nouns[edit | edit source]
Feminine nouns in Central Atlas Tamazight typically take the prefix "t-" and usually end with one of the vowels "a", "i" or "u". Some examples are:
| Central Atlas Tamazight | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| tamurt | tamurt | country |
| tidett | tidett | goat |
| timellalin | timellalin | women |
Again, it is worth noting that some feminine nouns do not end with any of the aforementioned vowels. Rather, they end with a consonant. Examples of such nouns are:
| Central Atlas Tamazight | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| tafukt | tafukt | sun |
| taluft | taluft | night |
| taɣarimt | taɣarimt | school |
Adjectives and Verbs[edit | edit source]
In Central Atlas Tamazight, adjectives and verbs must agree with the gender of the noun they are modifying or referring to. For example, consider the sentence:
- Yella d tamurt tettḍuḍ (A country is beautiful)
Here, the adjective "tettḍuḍ" (beautiful) agrees with the gender and number (singular) of the feminine noun "tamurt" (country).
Verbs in Central Atlas Tamazight also agree with the gender of their subject. For example, consider the sentence:
- Azemz a d-yelli ttawil (The tall man is standing)
Here, the verb "ttawil" (is standing) agrees with the gender (masculine) and number (singular) of the subject "azemz" (man).
Examples in Context[edit | edit source]
To help you understand the use of gender in Central Atlas Tamazight, here is a short dialogue between two people:
- Person 1: Sεḥḥa-t-taɣwict (Congratulations! [to a female])
- Person 2: Tanmmirt (Thank you! [to a male])
In this dialogue, you can see the use of the feminine form "t-" for "taɣwict" (congratulations) and the masculine form "tanmmirt" (thank you).
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
Learning the gender system in Central Atlas Tamazight may seem daunting at first, but with practice it will become easier. Remember to pay attention to the gender of nouns, adjectives, and verbs, and use them appropriately. To improve your understanding of Central Atlas Tamazight Grammar, you can also visit the Polyglot Club website and find native speakers to practice with. For more information, you can also check out the Grammar page. Tanmmirt nwen (Thank you all)!
➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Sources[edit | edit source]
With this lesson finished, you may want to explore these additional pages: Plurals & Give your Opinion.