Comorian languages

Comorian
shikomori/شِكُمُرِ
Native to	Comoros and Mayotte
Region	Throughout Comoros and Mayotte; also in Madagascar and Réunion
Native speakers	800,000 in Comoros[1] and 300,000 in Mayotte[2][3] (2011 and 2007)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Northeast Coast Bantu Sabaki Comorian
Writing system	Arabic Latin
Official status
Official language in	Comoros
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: zdj – Ngazidja dialect wni – Ndzwani (Anjouani) dialect swb – Maore dialect wlc – Mwali dialect
Glottolog	como1260
Guthrie code	G.44[4]

Comorian (Shikomori or Shimasiwa, the "language of islands") is the name given to a group of four Bantu languages spoken in the Comoro Islands, an archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. It is named as one of the official languages of the Union of the Comoros in the Comorian constitution. Shimaore, one of the languages, is spoken on the disputed island of Mayotte, a French department claimed by Comoros. Like Swahili, the Comorian languages are Sabaki languages, part of the Bantu language family. Each island has its own language and the four are conventionally divided into two groups: the eastern group is composed of Shindzuani (spoken on Ndzuani) and Shimaore (Mayotte), while the western group is composed of Shimwali (Mwali) and Shingazija (Ngazidja). Although the languages of different groups are not usually mutually intelligible, only sharing about 80% of their lexicon, there is mutual intelligibility between the languages within each group, suggesting that Shikomori should be considered as two language groups, each including two languages, rather than four distinct languages.^[5]

Historically, the language was written in the Ajami script. The French colonial administration introduced the Latin script, of which a modified version was officially decreed in 2009.^[6] Many Comorians now use the Latin script when writing the Comorian language although the Ajami script is still widely used, especially by women.

It is the language of Umodja wa Masiwa, the national anthem.

Phonology[]

The consonants and vowels in the Comorian languages:

Vowels[]

Consonants[]

The consonants mb, nd, b, d are phonetically recognized as ranging from [ᵐɓ~ᵐb], [ⁿɗ~ⁿd], [ɓ~b], [ɗ~d].

References[]

Further reading[]

• Ahmed-Chamanga, Mohamed. (1992) Lexique Comorien (shindzuani) – Français. Paris: L'Harmattan.
• Ahmed-Chamanga, Mohamed. (1997) Dictionnaire français-comorien (dialecte Shindzuani). Paris: L'Harmattan.
• Ahmed-Chamanga, Mohamed. (2010) Introduction à la grammaire structurale du comorien. Moroni: Komedit. 2 vols.
• Breslar, Jon. (1981) An Ethnography of the Mahorais (Mayotte, Comoro Islands). Thesis presented at University of Pittsburgh.
• Djohar, Abdou. (2014) Approche contrastive franco-comorienne: les séquences figées à caractère adjectival. Université Paris-Nord.
• Johansen, Aimee. A History of Comorian Linguistics. in John M. Mugane (ed.), Linguistic Typology and Representation of African Languages. Africa World Press. Trenton, New Jersey.
• Lafon, Michel. (1991) Lexique Français-Comorien (Shingazidja). Paris: L'Harmattan.
• Rey, Veronique. (1994) Première approche du mwali. Africana Linguistica XI. Tervuren: MRAC.

External links[]

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