Tamasheq is a variety of the Tuareg languages principally spoken in the area around Timbuktu. There are two divergent dialects, Timbuktu (Tombouctou, Tanaslamt) and Tadghaq (Kidal) in Mali.Tamasheq as spoken in northeastern Burkina Faso is similar.The name Tamasheq is sometimes applied to the Tuareg languages in general.