Reconstruction:Proto-Berber/a-lɣəm

This Proto-Berber entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Berber

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Etymology

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Widely considered to be a metathesis of an early borrowing ultimately from Semitic language, with the form *gamal; compare Arabic جَمَل (jamal). The intermediate is unknown, and Kossmann (2005) raises several formal problems, beyond just metathesis, with the common suggestions of Latin camēlus and Coptic ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (camoul).

Noun

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*a-lɣəm m

  1. camel

Reconstruction notes

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Kossmann (2005) suggests that the labialization may point to an original *a-lɣŭm. Kossmann (2013) also suggests *a-ləɣəm as an alternate solution to the consonant cluster.

Descendants

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Descendants of the form *a-ḷəm
  • Tuareg: (including feminine forms, as the masculine is often rare or lost altogether)
  • Sedentary dialects: (likely borrowed from Tuareg)
    • Ghadames: aḷǎm
    • Northern Saharan Berber: aḷəm (Mzab, Gourara, Wargla)
Descendants of the form *a-l(ə)ɣ(ʷ)əm
Descendants that may belong to either of the above forms
Descendants of the form *a-ɣlam
  • Tamasheq: aɣlam (young adult camel) (in the dialects of Niger and Burkina Faso)
Borrowings that may be direct from Berber
Borrowings that are likely indirectly from Berber, through uncertain intermediates (with multiple levels of borrowing in the case of nativized forms that now refer to the horse)
Likely borrowing into Mande, the origin of which is uncertain but possibly Zenaga

References

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  • Kossmann, Maarten (2005) Berber Loanwords in Hausa (Berber Studies; 12), Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, →ISBN, →ISSN
  • Kossmann, Maarten (2013) The Arabic Influence on Northern Berber (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics; 67), Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, →DOI, →ISBN