Kunama language
Nilo-Saharan language family spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kunama language is spoken by the Kunama people of the Gash-Barka Region in western Eritrea and just across the Ethiopian border. It is a member of the eponymous language family, which is included as part of the proposed wider Nilo-Saharan language family, though it is distantly related to the other languages, if at all.[citation needed] The language has several dialects including: Barka, Marda, Aimara, Odasa, Tika, Lakatakura, Sokodasa, Takazze-Setit and Tigray. Ilit and Bitama are not mutually intelligible and so may be considered distinct languages.
| Kunama | |
|---|---|
| Baada, Baazayn, Diila | |
| |
| Native to | Eritrea, Ethiopia |
| Region | western Eritrea, northern Ethiopia |
| Ethnicity | Kunama |
Native speakers | 180,000 (2022)[1] |
Nilo-Saharan?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kun |
| Glottolog | kuna1268 |
In 1985, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front decided to use the Latin script for all non-Semitic languages in Eritrea, including Kunama.[2] Kunama has been used in some publications, including in a translation of the Gospel of Mark first published in 1906.[3]
Phonology
Consonants
- /h/ is only of marginal status.
- /k, ɡ/ are labialized as [kʷ, ɡʷ] after back vowels.
- /k/ is heard as aspirated [kʰ] in syllable-initial position.
Vowels
- /i, e/ can be heard as [ɨ, ə] when in unstressed syllable position.[4]
See also
- Kunama word list (Wiktionary)
