Mesqan language
Semitic language of Ethiopia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mesqan (also Mäsqan or Meskan) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by the Gurage people in the Gurage Zone of Ethiopia. It belongs to the family's Ethiopian Semitic branch.
| Mesqan | |
|---|---|
| Mäsqan | |
| Native to | Ethiopia |
| Region | Gurage Zone |
Native speakers | 200,000 (2007)[1] |
| Ge'ez script[2] | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mvz |
| Glottolog | mesq1240 |
Phonology
Consonants
- Sounds /p, pʼ, v, sʼ/ occur in loanwords, mainly from Amharic.
- /xʷ/ may also have an allophone of [hʷ].
- /b/ may have an allophone of [β] in postvocalic and intervocalic positions.
- /n/ may assimilate to [ŋ] when following a velar consonant.[3]
- /k, ɡ/ can also be heard as palatalized [kʲ, ɡʲ] when before front vowels.[4][5]
