Mbugu language
| Mbugu | |
|---|---|
| Ma’a | |
| Native to | Tanzania |
| Region | Usambara Mountains |
| Ethnicity | 32,000 (no date) |
Native speakers | (7,000 cited 1997)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mhd |
G.20A (mixed register)[2] | |
| ELP | Mbugu |
Mbugu, or Ma’a, is a mixed language of Tanzania.
The Mbugu speak two divergent registers. One consists of an inherited Cushitic vocabulary with Bantu morphology similar to that of Shambala and Pare. The other register is Bantu, with vocabulary closely related to Pare. Their syntax is identical, such that a passage in one language can be translated to the other by simply changing the content words.[3]
The Cushitic element was identified as South Cushitic by Ehret. However, Kießling (2001) notes a large East Cushitic admixture,[4] and Mous presents the Cushitic element as a register of a Bantu language, and identifies it as largely East Cushitic rather than Southern.[5]
References
- ^ Mbugu at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ Mous, Maarten (2003). The Making of a Mixed Language: the case of Ma’a/Mbugu. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins Pub. Co.
- ^ Roland Kießling, "South Cushitic links to East Cushitic", in Zaborski ed, 2001, New Data and New Methods in Afroasiatic Linguistics
- ^ Blench, 2006, Classification of Afroasiatic, ms.
- Tosco, Mauro. 2000. 'Cushitic Overview.' Journal of Ethiopian Studies 33(2):87-121.