Yemsa is the language of the Yem people of the former Kingdom of Yamma, known as the Kingdom of Janjero traditionally. It is a member of the Omotic group of languages, most closely related to Kafa. It is distinctive in having different systems of vocabulary depending on social status, rather like Japanese and Javanese. The estimated number of speakers varies wildly from about 1000 (Bender, 1976) to half a million (Aklilu, 1993).
Yemsa is the main language spoken in Yem special woreda, SNNPR.
The Fuga dialect is distinct enough to perhaps be a different language.
Sample verb forms
- zagín - I do
- zaginí - we do
- zagít - you (singular) do
- zagí - he does
- zagì - she does
Notes
- ^ Ethiopia 2007 Census
- ^ African Languages: An Introduction, edited by Bernd Heine & Derek Nurse, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
External links
- World Atlas of Language Structures information on Yemsa
- Yemsa basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
