Abstract
The Tuareg use alphabets derived from much older alphabets, usually referred to as "Libyan". Libyan" inscriptions are found throughout the Maghreb, from Libya to Morocco and even as far as the Canary Islands, sometimes in association with Punic or Latin inscriptions. As many Libyan letters have the same shape and value as the corresponding letters of the Phoenician alphabet, it is more than likely that these alphabets derive from the Phoenician alphabet, but some authors defend the thesis of an indigenous origin. As to the date of appearance of the Libyan alphabets and the evolution that led from their ancient form to the present-day Tuareg alphabets, we are reduced to hypotheses. Since the 1960s, Kabyle and Moroccan intellectuals have developed a modern form of these alphabets, adding vowels and thus profoundly altering their nature.
