Comorian language

Comorian
Shikomor
Spoken in	Comoros and Mayotte
Region	Throughout Comoros and Mayotte; also in Madagascar and Réunion
Native speakers	700,000  (1993–2000)
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Bantu Northeast Coast Bantu Sabaki Swahili Comorian
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: zdj – Ngazidja dialect wni – Ndzwani (Anjouani) dialect swb – Maore Comorian wlc – Mwali dialect

Comorian (Shikomor) is the most widely used language on the Comoros (independent islands in the Indian Ocean, off Mozambique and Madagascar) and Mayotte. It is a set of Swahili dialects but with a much stronger Arabic influence than standard Swahili. Each island has a different dialect; that of Anjouan is called Shindzuani, that of Mohéli Shimwali, that of Mayotte Shimaore, and that of Grande Comore Shingazija. No official alphabet existed in 1992, but Arabic and Latin scripts were both used.

Shimasiwa is another name for Comorian, meaning "language of islands". It is the language of Udzima wa ya Masiwa, the national anthem.

Bibliography

• Ahmed-Chamanga, Mohamed. (1992) Lexique Comorien (shindzuani) - Français. Paris: L'Harmattan.
• Ahmed-Chamanga, Mohamed. (1997) Dictionnaire français-comorien (dialecte Shindzuani). Paris: L'Harmattan.
• Johansen, Aimee. A History of Comorian Linguistics. in John M. Mugane (ed.), Linguistic Typology and Representation of African Languages. Africa World Press. Trenton, New Jersey.

External links

• Maore Comorian at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
• Mwali Comorian at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
• Ndzwani Comorian at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
• Ngazidja Comorian at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
• Shingazidja