Zay language

Zay
Native to Ethiopia
Region Lake Zway
Ethnicity Zay people
Native speakers
 4,900 (1994)[1]
Afro-Asiatic
Language codes
ISO 639-3 zwa
Glottolog zayy1238[2]

Zay is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Ethiopia. One of the Gurage languages, it is spoken by around 5,000 Zay people on the islands and shores of Lake Zway in the southern part of the country. The language is also known as Zway, Lak'i/Laqi, and, in the neighboring Oromo language, Gelilla.

Language situation

Map of Ethiopia with mark showing location of Lake Zway
Lake Zway
Map of Ethiopia Showing where Zay is Spoken

Zay is an unwritten language. Most speakers are multilingual in Oromo, Amharic, and additional Gurage languages.[3] The language is geographically concentrated around Lake Zway, specifically in Hera, Meki, Ziway, Fundurro Island, Tsedecha Island, and Debre Sina Island. It is endangered, with speakers migrating to the mainland adopting the Oromo language, and increasing use of Oromo by the younger generations on the Zay islands.

Zay is 70% lexically similar with the Silt'e language, and 60% with Harari.[4]

Grammar

The word order of Zay is SOV (subject–object–verb). Attributive adjectives precede the nouns they modify. Possessives also precede nouns.[5] Zay is a pro-drop language, with required subject-marking on the verb.

Zay has been greatly affected by contact it has had with the Oromo language. This contact has created a significant amount of lexical and grammatical change in Zay.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Zay at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Zay". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ↑ Meyer, R. (2006). "The Zay Language (East-Gurage, Ethiopia)". Mainz University.
  4. ↑ Jordan, Linda; Netzley, Jillian; & Mohammed, Hussein (2011). "A Sociolinguistic Survey Report of the Zay People in Ethiopia". SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2011-046: 43, 2011-046
  5. ↑ Hayward, Richard J. (1990). "Notes on the Zayse Language". Hayward, Richard J.(ed.). London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
  6. ↑ Meyer, R. (2006). "The Zay Language (East-Gurage, Ethiopia)". Mainz University.

Further reading


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