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][6]
Historically, the language was written in the Arabic-based Ajami script. The French colonial administration introduced the Latin script. In 2009 the current independent government decreed a modified version of the Latin script for official use.[6] Many Comorians now use the Latin script when writing the Comorian language although the Ajami script is still widely used, especially by women.[citation needed] Recently, some scholars have suggested that the language may be on its way to endangerment, citing the unstable code-switching and numerous French words used in daily speech.[7]
It is the language of Umodja wa Masiwa, the national anthem.
^"Udzima wa Komori". Université Laval, 2325, rue de l'Université. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
^Daniel Barreteau. "Premiers résultats d'une enquête sociolinguistique auprès des élèves de CM2 de Mayotte" (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
^"Population of Mayotte". INSEE. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
^Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
^Breslar, Jon Haskell (1981). An ethnography of the Mahorais (Mayotte Comoro Islands) (Thesis). OCLC 9174567. ProQuest 303167533.[page needed]
^ abAhmed-Chamanga, Mohamed (2010). Le shiNdzuani. Introduction à la grammaire structurale du comorien. Moroni (Comores): Komedit CNDRS Palashiyo. ISBN 978-2-914564-74-8.
^Alnet, Aimee Johansen (2009). The Clause Structure Of The Shimaore Dialect Of Comorian (Bantu). Shimaore.net. Archived from the original on 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
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zones G and E. The languages, or clusters, are: Pare-Taveta (G20+E70): Pareic Pare, Mbugu Taveta Sabaki (G40+E70): Swahili, Nyika, Comorian etc. Seuta (G20+G30):...
established throughout, a small minority are Christian. The most common language is Comorian, related to Swahili. French and Arabic also are spoken. About 89%...
This is a list of official languages by country and territory. It includes all languages that have official language status either statewide or in a part...
has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue), one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. The languages of Africa belong...
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official languages. By this, the country aims to protect the indigenous languages although at the same time recognising the English language as its lingua...
in schools or have developed plans to do so. Shikomor (or Comorian), an official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is closely...
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largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006[update] is about 316,600. The island's...
by forces loyal to Bacar on 10 May. Peace talks were held between the Comorian and Anjouan governments whereby they agreed to hold free elections in which...
The Comorian Armed Forces (French: Armée nationale de développement, AND; lit. 'Army of National Development') are the national military of the Comoros...
dependencies along with their capital cities, in English and non-English official language(s). In bold: internationally recognized sovereign states The 193 member...
The official languages of the United Nations are the six languages used in United Nations (UN) meetings and in which the UN writes all its official documents...
some additions from other languages and do not drastically differ. Diacritics and graphemes common in German and other languages are mostly utilized for...
between the French franc and the Comorian franc and free convertibility between the two currencies, guaranteed by the Comorian central bank's opening of an...
administratively-recognized, languages of sovereign countries, regions, and supra-national institutions. The article also lists lots of languages which have no administrative...
residence, health conditions, loss of autonomy or disability, or usage of a language other than French. In March 2008, Xavier Darcos, Minister of Education...
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