Yem language
| Yem | |
|---|---|
| Yemsa | |
| Native to | Ethiopia |
| Region | Oromia Region&SNNPR |
Native speakers | 92,000 (2007 census)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Ethiopic,Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | jnj |
| Glottolog | yems1235 |
| ELP | Yem |
Yemsais the language of theYempeople of the formerKingdom of Yamma,known as the Kingdom of Janjero traditionally. It is a member of theOmoticgroup of languages, most closely related toKafa.It is distinctive in having different systems of vocabulary depending on social status, rather likeJapaneseandJavanese.The estimated number of speakers varies wildly from about 1000 (Bender, 1976) to half a million (Aklilu, 1993).
Yemsa is the main language spoken inYem special woreda,SNNPR.
The Fuga dialect is distinct enough to perhaps be a different language.
Sample verb forms[edit]
- zagín- I do
- zaginí- we do
- zagít- you (singular) do
- zagí- he does
- zagì- she does
Notes[edit]
- ^Ethiopia 2007 Census
- ^African Languages: An Introduction,edited by Bernd Heine & Derek Nurse, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
External links[edit]
- World Atlas of Language Structuresinformation onYemsa
- Yemsa basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
| National | |
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| Other | |
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