Zemiaki language

Zemiaki
Native to Afghanistan
Region Nurestan Province
Native speakers
 500 (1999)
Language codes
ISO 639-3 (included in [nli])
Glottolog zemi1238[1]

Zemiaki (Zamyaki) is a Nuristani language spoken by some 400–500 people in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan.[2]

It is named after the settlement in which it is spoken, from the Pashto Zemyaki žə́ba "language of Zemyaki", the native equivalent being J̌amlám-am bašá. It is closely related to Waigali, and ancestors of the Zemyakis were, according to local tradition, Waigalis who migrated into the area several centuries ago.[2] 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.[3]

There is no grammatical gender, while number is marked on the verb, alongside person.[4] Verbs show a split-ergative pattern of agreement.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Zemiaki". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  2. 1 2 Grünberg 1999, p. 123.
  3. ↑ Grünberg 1999, pp. 123, 125.
  4. ↑ Grünberg 1999, pp. 124.
  5. ↑ Grünberg 1999, pp. 125.

Bibliography

  • Grünberg, A.L. (1999). "Zemiaki jazyk/dialekt". In Edelman, D.I. Jazyki mira: Dardskie i nuristanskie jazyki (in Russian). Moscow: Indrik. pp. 123–125. ISBN 585759085X.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.