Zemiaki language
| Zemiaki | |
|---|---|
| J̌amlām-am bašā | |
| Native to | Afghanistan |
| Region | Nuristan Province |
Native speakers | (500 cited 1999) |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | (included in [nli]) |
| Glottolog | zemi1238 |
| ELP | Zemiaki |
Zemiaki is a Nuristani language spoken by some 400–500 people in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan.[1]
It is named after the settlement in which it is spoken, from the Pashto Zemyaki žə́ba "language of Zemyaki", the native equivalent being J̌amlām-am bašā. It is closely related to Nuristani Kalasha, and ancestors of the Zemyakis were, according to local tradition, Kalasha people who migrated into the area several centuries ago.[1] The language spoken in the surrounding areas is Pashto, and it has been a source of a large number of lexical borrowings, including several common conjunctions.[2]
There is no grammatical gender, but number and person are marked on the verb,[3] following a split-ergative pattern of agreement.[4]
It was thought that Zemiaki is a dialect of Grangali, an Indo-Aryan language. However, its pronouns are characteristically Nuristani, with a close relationship to Nuristani Kalasha, which is confirmed by local tradition.
Vocabulary
[edit]Pronouns
[edit]| Person | Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | sg. | ake | ũ | ūba, umba |
| pl. | ami | amba | ||
| 2nd | sg. | tu | tuba | |
| pl. | me | ame | amemba | |
Numbers
[edit]- yok
- du
- tre
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- doš
References
[edit]- ^ a b Grünberg 1999, p. 123.
- ^ Grünberg 1999, pp. 123, 125.
- ^ Grünberg 1999, pp. 124.
- ^ Grünberg 1999, pp. 125.
Bibliography
[edit]- Grünberg, A.L. (1999). "Zemiaki jazyk/dialekt". In Edelman, D.I. (ed.). Jazyki mira: Dardskie i nuristanskie jazyki (in Russian). Moscow: Indrik. pp. 123–125. ISBN 585759085X.
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|---|---|---|
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