Bambassi language

Bambassi (native name: Màwés Aasʼè[3]) is an Omotic Afroasiatic language spoken in Ethiopia around the towns of Bambasi and Didessa in the area east of Asosa in Benishangul-Gumuz Region.[4] The parent language group is the East Mao group. Alternative names for the language are Bambeshi, Siggoyo, Amam, Fadiro, Northern Mao, Didessa and Kere.

Bambassi
Mao of Bambassi
Mao of Didessa
Native toEthiopia
Regionin Benishangul-Gumuz Region, east of Asosa
Native speakers
2,300 (2011)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3myf
Glottologbamb1262
ELPMao of Bambeshi[2]

The most current information on the number of Bambassi speakers is not known, as the 2007 census grouped the Mao languages together, despite low lexical similarity. 33,683 mother tongue speakers of Maogna (covering Bambassi, Hozo and Seze) were listed.[5]

Similarities

Bambassi has a 31% lexical similarity with other Omotic languages.

Phonology

Bambassi has 5 vowels: /a, e, i, o, u/. The vowels have lengthened forms, and Bambassi has contrastive vowel length.[6]

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain ejective plain ejective plain ejective
Stop voiceless p pʼ t tʼ k kʼ
voiced b d g
Affricate t͡sʼ (t͡ʃ)
Fricative voiceless s ʃ h
voiced z
Nasal m n ŋ
Approximant l j w
Flap ɾ

Notes
  1. "Màwés Aasʼè". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  2. Endangered Languages Project data for Mao of Bambeshi.
  3. Güldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In Güldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58–444. doi:10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN 978-3-11-042606-9.
  4. Bambassi language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  5. Ethiopia 2007 Census
  6. Michael, Ahland (2012). "A Grammar of Northern Mao (Màwés Aas'è)". UO Libraries.

Further reading


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