Air Tamajeq (Tayərt) is a variety ofTuareg. It is spoken by theTuareg people inhabiting theAïr Mountains of theAgadez Region inNiger.

Ethnologue lists two dialects:Air (Tayərt) andTanassfarwat (Tamagarast/Taməsgərəst). Blench (2006) considers these two varieties to be distinct languages. He listsIngal andGofat as dialects of Air/Tayərt and Azerori as a dialect of Tamesgrest.

• Sounds [tʃ] and [dʒ] mainly occur as allophones of /t/ and /d/ before front vowels. A velar /ŋ/ mainly appears when followed by a labio-velar /w/, or a uvular /q/.^[2]

Air Tamajeq, as well as other Tuareg languages, has traditionally and recently been written in three orthographies, with one or the other being the dominant orthography in specific contexts. These areArabic script,Latin script, andTifinagh (Traditional Tamajeq Tifinagh) script.^[3][4]

Tifinagh has been the ancient and traditional script for writing of Tuareg. However, as Tuareg peoples have been a largely oral society, Tifinagh has only been used primarily for games and puzzles, short graffiti and brief messages.^[5]

Arabic alphabet has come to be adopted with the spread of Islam among Tuareg people from the 7th century onward. Tuareg people, being an integral part of theTrans-Saharan trade, played the most significant role in spreadingIslam to indigenous African communities further south, in theSahel and Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, Tuareg merchant, scholars, and clerics played a significant role in the teaching of theArabic alphabet and its eventual adoption as part of what's today known asAjami convention of writing, for writing of languages such asSonghay,Fula, andHausa.

Latin has been used for writing of Air Tamajeqand other Tuareg languages a lot more recently. Latin-derived scripts have been developed and adopted since the 19th century with the arrival of European Christian missionaries, colonial administrators, and linguists.

The Latin script for Air Tamajeq is an "Alphabet". Tuareg languages, including Air Tamajeq, are the only languages that use Tifinagh in its original traditional form. TheTraditional Tifinagh script is an "Abjad", meaning that vowels are not written or shown in any way, neither aregeminated consonants. Only in the final position do lettersa (ⴰ),w (ⵓ),y (ⵢ) serve as vowels in some contexts. Elsewhere, for example among theImazighen (Berbers), the modified neo-Tifinagh, which is a full alphabet, is used. The Arabic script is an "Impure Abjad", meaning that some vowels are written usingdiacritics and some using actual letters, consonant letters serving as vowels depending on the context.^[6]

Below is a sample text, translation of theHoly Bible, specifically theGospel of Luke, chapter 1, verses 1 to 4 into Air Tamajeq.^[4]

• Berbers in Niger
• Tuareg languages
• Languages of Niger

• Language articles citing Ethnologue 26
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