Mesmes language
Encyclopedia
The Mesmes language is an extinct language
, one of the West Gurage languages, a cluster of Semitic
languages in Ethiopia
. There are still many people who claim the Mesmes ethnic identity, but none who speak the language. The last speaker of the language was interviewed by a language survey
team when he was approximately 80 years old. He had not spoken the language for 30 years, when his brother had died.
The Mesmes have shifted to speaking the Hadiyya language, but they still maintain some cultural distinctives, including distinctive house architecture.
The comparative method
has shown that the language is most closely related to the Inor
variety of Gurage.
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
, one of the West Gurage languages, a cluster of Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
languages in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. There are still many people who claim the Mesmes ethnic identity, but none who speak the language. The last speaker of the language was interviewed by a language survey
Language survey
A language survey is conducted around the world for a variety of reasons.*measuring people’s ability to speak and understand another language...
team when he was approximately 80 years old. He had not spoken the language for 30 years, when his brother had died.
The Mesmes have shifted to speaking the Hadiyya language, but they still maintain some cultural distinctives, including distinctive house architecture.
The comparative method
Comparative method
In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor, as opposed to the method of internal reconstruction, which analyzes the internal...
has shown that the language is most closely related to the Inor
Inor language
Inor , sometimes called Ennemor, is a Semitic language spoken in central Ethiopia, mainly within the Gurage Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, and by speakers of the language who have settled in Ethiopian cities, especially Addis Ababa...
variety of Gurage.