Jump to content

Mao languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mao
Blue Nile Mao
Geographic
distribution
Ethiopia, Sudan[1]
Linguistic classificationAfro-Asiatic
Glottologmaoo1243

The Mao languages are a branch of the Omotic languages spoken in Ethiopia and parts of Sudan. The group had the following categories:


It is estimated that there are 5,000 speakers of Bambasi, 3,000 speakers each of Hozo and Seze and a few hundred Ganza speakers (Bender, 2000). During recent political upheavals, a few thousand Bambassi speakers established themselves in the valley of the Didessa River and Belo Jegonfoy woreda. Much of the Mirab Welega Zone was once the home of Mao languages, but they have lost speakers because of the increasing influence of Oromo.

Contact

[edit]

Mao languages are in close contact with Koman languages. Some Koman-speaking groups in Ethiopia consider themselves to be ethnically Mao.[2]

Numerals

[edit]

Comparison of numerals in individual languages:[3]

Language 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ganza (Gwàmì Nánà) (1) ʔìʃì kwéʔèn mámꜜbú tʼíꜜzí máꜜs’í k’wísʼí ʔìʃkìbínꜜ mámpʰìn wòbóꜜ ʃèléꜜ kónsó-báꜜ (litː 'hand-pair')
Ganza (Gwàmì Nánà) (2) ʔìʃì kwéʔèn mámꜜbú tʼíꜜzí máꜜs’í k’wísʼí ʔìʃkìbínꜜ mámpʰìn wòbóꜜ ʃèléꜜ kónsó-báꜜ (litː hand-pair)
Ganza (3) ʔíʃkúwéén mámbùʔ tíízìʔ más’s’ìʔ k’wíssíʔ ʔíʃkípín mámpín wóp’ò ʃéléʔ kónsóbààʔ
Hozo (1) ʔónnà dòmbó sìjázì bétsʼì kwítsʼì (lit: 'hand') kwítsʼì ʔòttá ʔónnà (5 + 1) kwítsʼì ʔòttá dòmbó (5 + 2) kwítsʼì ʔòttá sìjázì (5 + 3) kwítsʼì ʔòttá bétsʼì (5 + 4) pʼóʃì
Hozo (2) ʊnːa / onna dʊmbo / dombo sìɑːsi /siyazi bɛtsíː / betsʼi kʷɪtsí / kʼwitsi (lit: 'hand', kutsi) kɛniː / ota-onna (5 + 1) ʔɔːta / ota-dombo (5 + 2) ʔɔ̀ːtá / ota-siyazi (5 + 3) ʔɔ̀ːtì / ota-beːtsi (5 + 4) pʼɔ́ːʃi / poːši
Northern Mao hishkì numbo teezè mesʼe kʼwíssí kyaansè kúlùmbò (litː hand-two ?) kúteezé (litː hand-three?) kúsmésʼe (litː hand-four ?) kúúsú
Sezi (Seze / Sezo) (1) ʔìʃílè nòmbé sììzé besʼsʼé kʼwíssé (lit: 'hand', kusɛ) kʼwíssé ʔòòt ʔìʃílè (litː 5 remaining 1) kʼwíssé ʔòòt nòmbé (litː 5 remain. 2) kʼwíssé ʔòòt sììzé (litː 5 remaining 3) kʼwíssé ʔòòt besʼsʼé (litː 5 remain. 4) kúúsé
Seze (Sezo) (2) ɪ̀ʃìlɛ / ɪšilɛ nɔ̀mbɛ́ / noːmbɛ sìːzí /siːzɛ bɛ̀sʼɛ́ / bɛtsʼɛ kʼúsɛ́ / kʼʊsse (lit: 'hand', kusɛ) dʒɑ;j / ot-šilɛ ʔɔːt nɔ̀mbɛ́ / ot-nombɛ ʔɔ̀ːt síːzí / ota-siːzɛ ʔɔ̀ːt bèːtsʼé / ota-bɛːsʼɛ ̞kʊ́ːsɛ̀ / kʊːsɛ

See also

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Küspert, Klaus-Christian (2015). "The Mao and Komo Languages in the Begi–Tongo area in Western Ethiopia: Classification, Designations, Distribution". Linguistic Discovery. 13 (1). doi:10.1349/PS1.1537-0852.A.447.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Omotic languages". Ethnologue. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  2. ^ Küspert, Klaus-Christian (2015). "The Mao and Komo Languages in the Begi–Tongo area in Western Ethiopia: Classification, Designations, Distribution". Linguistic Discovery. 13 (1). doi:10.1349/PS1.1537-0852.A.447.
  3. ^ Chan, Eugene (2019). "The Afro-Asiatic Language Phylum". Numeral Systems of the World's Languages.