Comorian languages
| Comorian | |
|---|---|
| shikomori | |
| Native to | Comoros and Mayotte |
| Region | Throughout Comoros and Mayotte; also in Madagascar and Réunion |
Native speakers | (700,000 cited 1993–2004)[1] |
| Arabic Latin | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Comoros |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:zdj – Ngazidja dialectwni – Ndzwani (Anjouani) dialectswb – Maore Comorianwlc – Mwali dialect |
| Glottolog | como1260 |
G.44[2] | |
Comorian (Shikomori or Shimasiwa, the "language of islands") is the most widely used language on the Comoros (independent islands in the Indian Ocean, off Mozambique and Madagascar) and Mayotte.[3] It is a set of Sabaki dialects but with less Arabic influence than standard Swahili. Each island has a different dialect and the four are conventionally divided into two groups: the eastern group is composed of Shindzuani (spoken on Ndzuwani) and Shimaore (Mayotte), while the western group is composed of Shimwali (Mwali) and Shingazija (Ngazidja).
No official alphabet existed in 1992, but historically the language was written in the Arabic script. The colonial administration introduced the Latin script, of which a modified version is now being promoted in the country; the Arabic script remains widely used and literacy in the Arabic script is higher than in the Latin script.
It is the language of Udzima wa ya Masiwa, the national anthem.
References
- ^ Ngazidja dialect at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Ndzwani (Anjouani) dialect at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Maore Comorian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Mwali dialect at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Comoros
Further reading
- Ahmed-Chamanga, Mohamed. (1992) Lexique Comorien (shindzuani) – Français. Paris: L'Harmattan.
- Ahmed-Chamanga, Mohamed. (1997) Dictionnaire français-comorien (dialecte Shindzuani). Paris: L'Harmattan.
- Ahmed-Chamanga, Mohamed. (2010) Introduction à la grammaire structurale du comorien. Moroni: Komedit. 2 vols.
- Mohamed Ahmed-Chamanga
- 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
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