Tamahaq is an Afroasiatic language is spoken in Algeria, Niger, Mali and Libya. It is the only known Northern Tuareg language. The Tuareg people are a Saharan nomadic tribe that were permitted to speak the Tamahaq language during the Gaddafi regime, since it had a sufficient resemblance to Arabic. Now, the language is spoken only by the older generation. Children do not learn it as their first language, and it is not taught in schools.​​​