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Maore dialect

{{Short description|Dialect spoken in Mayotte}}

{{Distinguish|Māori language}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Maore

|nativename={{lang|swb-Latn|Shimaore}} {{Script|Arab|{{lang|swb-Arab|شِمَ}}وُوْرِيْ}}

|states=Mayotte, Madagascar

|speakers=152,000

|date=2012

|ref={{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/swb|title=Comorian, Maore|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2018-08-03|language=en}}

|familycolor=Niger-Congo

|fam2=Atlantic–Congo

|fam3=Benue–Congo

|fam4=Bantoid

|fam5=Bantu

|fam6=Northeast Coast Bantu

|fam7=Sabaki

|fam8=Comorian

|script = Latin
Arabic“Le Conseil Départemental a Tranché, l’alphabet Des Langues Mahoraises Se Fera En Caractères Latins et Arabes.” Mayotte la 1ère, October 15, 2020. [https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/mayotte/le-conseil-departemental-a-tranche-l-alphabet-des-langues-mahoraises-se-fera-en-caracteres-latins-et-arabes-881430.html]. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20230612190147/https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/mayotte/le-conseil-departemental-a-tranche-l-alphabet-des-langues-mahoraises-se-fera-en-caracteres-latins-et-arabes-881430.html Archive])

|iso3=swb

|glotto=maor1244

|glottorefname=Maore Comorian

|guthrie=G.44d

|notice=IPA

}}

Maore Comorian, or Shimaore (French Mahorais), is one of the two indigenous languages spoken in the French island of Mayotte; Shimaore being a dialect of the Comorian language, while ShiBushi is an unrelated Malayo-Polynesian language originally from Madagascar. Historically, Shimaore- and ShiBushi-speaking villages on Mayotte have been clearly identified, but Shimaore tends to be the de facto indigenous lingua franca in everyday life, because of the larger Shimaore-speaking population. Only Shimaore is represented on the local television news program by Mayotte La Première. The 2002 census references 80,140 speakers of Shimaore in Mayotte itself, to which one would have to add people living outside the island, mostly in metropolitan France. There are also 20,000 speakers of Comorian in Madagascar, of which 3,000 are Shimaore speakers.

The same 2002 census indicates that 37,840 persons responded as knowing how to read or write Shimaore. However this number has to be taken with caution, since it was a few years after this census was taken that a standard writing system was introduced.

From a sociolinguistic perspective, French tends to be regarded by many Shimaore speakers as the language of higher education and prestige, and there is a temptation by native Mahorans to provide an all-French education to their children. This puts a lot of pressure on Shimaore and the language may become endangered in the near future if nothing is done.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}

Although French remains the official language in Mayotte, Shimaore will probably be taught in Mahoran schools starting in the next few years,{{when|date=February 2020}} and a pilot project began in fall 2004. As in many parts of France where local languages are introduced in the school system, this has led to tensions between partisans of a French-centered education system and administrations, versus those promoting a more diversified approach.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} Shimaore's position in this regard is however different from other French regions (such as Brittany), since the language is locally spoken by a majority of the population. The project in Mayotte has been inspired by similar projects involving Swahili in eastern Africa countries.

Mayotte is a geographically small territory, but frequent exchanges between villages only began in the last quarter of the twentieth century. As of 2004, linguistic differences between the east and west part of the island, and between the main city of Mamoudzou and the remote villages, are still noticeable, especially when it comes to phonological differences. One typical example is the word u-la (to eat), notably pronounced this way in the city due to the influence of a brand of yogurt bearing the same name, but pronounced u-dja in other parts of the island.

Phonology

=Consonants=

class="wikitable"
colspan="2" |

! Bilabial

! Labio-
dental

! Dental

! Alveolar

! Retroflex

! Palatal

! Velar

! Glottal

style="text-align:center;"

! colspan="2" |Nasal

| {{IPAlink|m}}

|

|

| {{IPAlink|n}}

|

| {{IPAlink|ɲ}}

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="5" |Plosive

! voiceless

| {{IPAlink|p}}

|

|

| {{IPAlink|t}}

| {{IPAlink|ʈ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|k}}

|

style="text-align:center;"

! voiced

| {{IPAlink|b}}

|

|

| {{IPAlink|d}}

| {{IPAlink|ɖ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}

|

style="text-align:center;"

! implosive

| {{IPAlink|ɓ}}

|

|

| {{IPAlink|ɗ}}

|

|

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

! voiceless prenasalized

| {{IPAlink|ᵐp}}

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

!voiced prenasalized

|{{IPAlink|ᵐb}}

|

|

|{{IPAlink|ⁿd}}

|{{IPAlink|ᶯɖ}}

|

|{{IPAlink|ᵑɡ}}

|

style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="4" |Affricate

!voiceless

|

|

|

|{{IPAlink|ts}}

|

|{{IPAlink|tʃ}}

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

!voiced

|

|

|

|{{IPAlink|dz}}

|

|{{IPAlink|dʒ}}

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

!voiceless prenasalized

|

|

|

|{{IPAlink|ⁿts}}

|

|

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

!voiced prenasalized

|

|

|

|{{IPAlink|ⁿdz}}

|

|{{IPAlink|ᶮdʒ}}

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2" |Fricative

! voiceless

|

| {{IPAlink|f}}

| {{IPAlink|θ}}

| {{IPAlink|s}}

|

|{{IPAlink|ʃ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|h}}

style="text-align:center;"

!voiced

|{{IPAlink|β}}

|{{IPAlink|v}}

|{{IPAlink|ð}}

|{{IPAlink|z}}

|

|{{IPAlink|ʒ}}

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

! colspan="2" |Rhotic

|

|

|

|{{IPAlink|r}}

|

|

|

|

style="text-align:center;"

! colspan="2" |Approximant

|

|

|

| {{IPAlink|l}}

|

| {{IPAlink|j}}

| {{IPAlink|w}}

|

This language features an unusual contrast between {{IPA|/w, β, v, b, ɓ/}}.

=Vowels=

class="wikitable"

!

! Front

! Central

! Back

style="text-align:center;"

! High

| {{IPAlink|i}}

|

| {{IPAlink|u}}

style="text-align:center;"

! Mid

| {{IPAlink|e}}

|

| {{IPAlink|o}}

style="text-align:center;"

! Low

|

| {{IPAlink|a}}

|

This is a basic five-vowel system similar to that of languages such as Spanish.

Orthography

Shimaore was traditionally written with an informal French-based Latin alphabet. On {{Date|22 February 2006}}, the Conseil de la Culture, de l'Éducation et de l'Environnement de Mayotte introduced an official alphabet developed by Association ShiMé that utilizes the basic Latin alphabet without c, q, and x and adds three letters: ɓ, ɗ, and v̄.[http://shime.free.fr/linguist_04.htm Alphabet du Shimaore] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720225949/http://shime.free.fr/linguist_04.htm |date=2011-07-20}} {{in lang|fr}} On {{Date|3 March 2020}}, the Conseil départemental de Mayotte announced the adoption of official orthographies in both Latin and Arabic scripts for Shimaore.[https://cg976.fr/ressources/raa/2020/?file=bulletinofficiel_30032020 https://cg976.fr/ressources/raa/2020/?file=bulletinofficiel_30032020] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20230612191612/https://cg976.fr/ressources/raa/2020/?file=bulletinofficiel_30032020 Archive])[https://cg976.fr/ressources/dcp/?file=alphabets-langues-mahoraises https://cg976.fr/ressources/dcp/?file=alphabets-langues-mahoraises] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20230612191930/https://cg976.fr/ressources/dcp/?file=alphabets-langues-mahoraises Archive]

===Maore Latin Alphabet===

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Shimaore alphabet
Alifuɓe ya Shimaore

Letter || A a || B b || Ɓ ɓ
Implosive || D d || Ɗ ɗ
Implosive || E e || F f || G g || H h || I i || J j || K k || L l || M m || N n || O o || P p || R r || S s || T t || U u || V v || V̄ v̄ || W w || Y y || Z z
IPA Value{{IPA|/a/}}{{IPA|/b/}}{{IPAslink|ɓ}}{{IPA|/d/}}{{IPAslink|ɗ}}{{IPA|/e/}}{{IPA|/f/}}{{IPA|/ɡ/}}{{IPA|/h/}}{{IPA|/i/}}{{IPAslink|ʒ}}{{IPA|/k/}}{{IPA|/l/}}{{IPA|/m/}}{{IPA|/n/}}{{IPA|/o/}}{{IPA|/p/}}{{IPA|/r/}}{{IPA|/s/}}{{IPA|/t/}}{{IPA|/u/}}{{IPA|/v/}}{{IPAslink|β}}{{IPA|/w/}}{{IPAslink|j}}{{IPA|/z/}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Digraphs/Trigraphs

!Letter

!Dh, dh

!Dj, dj

!Dr, dr

!Dz, dz

!Mb, mb

!Mp, mp

!Nd, nd

!Ndj, ndj

!Ndr, ndr

!Ndz, ndz

!Ng, ng

!Nts, nts

!Ny, ny

!Sh, sh

!Th, th

!Tr, tr

!Ts, ts

!Tsh, tsh

IPA Value

|{{IPA|/ð/}}

|{{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}

|{{IPA|/ɖ/}}

|{{IPA|/d͡z/}}

|{{IPA|/mb/}}

|{{IPA|/mp/}}

|{{IPA|/ⁿd/}}

|{{IPA|/ᶮd͡ʒ/}}

|{{IPA|/ᶯɖ/}}

|{{IPA|/ⁿd͡z/}}

|{{IPA|/ᵑɡ/}}

|{{IPA|/ⁿt͡s/}}

|{{IPA|/ɲ/}}

|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}

|{{IPA|/θ/}}

|{{IPA|/ʈ/}}

|{{IPA|/t͡s/}}

|{{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}

=Maore Arabic Alphabet=

Maore Arabic Alphabet, officially recognized alongside Latin since 2020, consists of 35 letters, of which 27 are from the original Arabic script, and 9 are created for sounds not found in Arabic. However, many of the letters in Maore have a different pronunciation than their Arabic counterpart.

Whereas in Arabic there are 3 vowels, in Maore there are 5. While the common convention in Swahili Ajami orthography has been to use two new diacritics, which are modified varieties of two existing diacritics, in Maore Arabic alphabet, only the 3 original Arabic diacritics are used. Arabic vowels themselves represent vowels [a], [u], and [i].

The vowel [o] is created by adding a waw "و" and a zero-vowel diacritic (sukun) after the consonant.

The vowel [e] is created by adding a ya' "ي" and a zero-vowel diacritic (sukun) after the consonant.

In Maore Arabic Alphabet, (similar to Swahili Ajami Script) stressed syllables are marked, either with alif "ا" (if the vowel of the syllable is [a]), waw "و" (if the vowel of the syllable is [u]), or ya' "ي" (if the vowel of the syllable is [i]). These letters are written with no diacritic, not even zero-vowel diacritic (sukun). (the existence or lack thereof of the zero-vowel diacritic is what distinguishes between [e] and a stressed [i]). This does not apply to stressed syllables containing vowels [o] or [e].

In most cases, the stressed syllable happens to be the one before last.

Whereas in Arabic, the letter ʿayn is used as a pharyngeal consonant, in Maore it has a unique role of being the carrier for nasal vowels. Meaning that with the use of diacritics (and the letter waw "و" and ya' "ي" as needed), nasal vowels are written.

When non-nasal vowels are at the beginning of a word, alif-hamza "أ / إ" is used as a carrier of the appropriate diacritic (followed by the letter waw "و" and ya' "ي" as needed.)

style="vertical-align: top;"

|

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Maore Arabic Alphabet Consonants

Letter

!Latin Equivalent

!IPA

!Example

!Latin spelling

!Meaning

{{Script/Arabic|أ، إ}}

| -

[ʔ]

|{{Script/Arabic|سُألَ}}

| suala

question
{{Script/Arabic|ب}}

| Ɓ ɓ

[ɓ]

|{{Script/Arabic|بَهَاتِ}}

| ɓahati

chance
{{Script/Arabic|ٻ}}

| ‌B b

[b]

|{{Script/Arabic|ٻِيْنْڠَانِ}}

| bengani

eggplant
{{Script/Arabic|پ}}

| ‌P p

[p]

|{{Script/Arabic|پَارِيْ}}

| parè

route
{{Script/Arabic|ت}}

| ‌T t

[t]

|{{Script/Arabic|تِبَاكُ}}

| tiɓaku

tobacco
{{Script/Arabic|ث}}

| ‌Th th

[θ]

|{{Script/Arabic|ثَوَابُ}}

| thawaɓu

religious/spiritual reward
{{Script/Arabic|ج}}

| ‌Dj dj

[dʒ]

|{{Script/Arabic|جَوَابُ}}

| djawabu

response, answer
{{Script/Arabic|چ}}

| ‌J j

[ʒ]

|{{Script/Arabic|چِيْچِيْ}}

| jeje

"How is it going?"
{{Script/Arabic|خ}}

| Kh kh

[χ]

|{{Script/Arabic|خَلِيفَ}}

| khalifa

successor/ruler
{{Script/Arabic|د}}

| D d

[d]

|{{Script/Arabic|دَامُ}}

| damu

blood
{{Script/Arabic|ذ}}

| Dh dh

[ð]

|{{Script/Arabic|ذَهَابُ}}

| dhahabu

gold
{{Script/Arabic|ډ}}

| Ɗ ɗ

[ɗ]

|{{Script/Arabic|ډُوْمُوْ}}

| ɗomo

lip
{{Script/Arabic|ڍ}}

| Dy dy

[ʄ]

|{{Script/Arabic|أُڍَا}}

| udya

to eat
{{Script/Arabic|ر}}

| R r

[r]

|{{Script/Arabic|رُوْهُوْ}}

| roho

heart
{{Script/Arabic|ز}}

| Z z

[z]

|{{Script/Arabic|زُوزِ}}

| zuzi

day before yesterday
{{Script/Arabic|س}}

| S s

[s]

|{{Script/Arabic|سِمْٻَ}}

| simba

lion
{{Script/Arabic|ش}}

| Sh sh

[ʃ]

|{{Script/Arabic|شَمْٻَ}}

| shamba

cultivated land
{{Script/Arabic|ص}}

| Sw sw

[sw]

|{{Script/Arabic|صَلَا}}

| swala

salah/prayer
{{Script/Arabic|ض}}

| Dw dw

[dw]

|{{Script/Arabic|ضَرُورَ}}

| dwarura

urgency/emergency
{{Script/Arabic|ط}}

| Tw tw

[tw]

|{{Script/Arabic|طَرِيكَ}}

| twarika

religious brotherhood
{{Script/Arabic|ظ}}

| Dhw dhw

[ðw]

|{{Script/Arabic|ظَاهِرِ}}

| dhwàhiri

visible
{{Script/Arabic|غ}}

| Gh gh
H h

[ɣ]

|{{Script/Arabic|غَالِ}}

| hali

expensive
{{Script/Arabic|ڠ}}

| G g

[g]

|{{Script/Arabic|ڠَارِ}}

| gari

car
{{Script/Arabic|ف}}

| F f

[f]

|{{Script/Arabic|فِيجُو}}

| fidjo

sound
{{Script/Arabic|ڤ}}

| V v

[v]

|{{Script/Arabic|ڤُوَ}}

| vua

rain
{{Script/Arabic|ݡ}}

| Bv bv
V̄ v̄

[β]

|{{Script/Arabic|ݡُوْلِيْݡُوْلِيْ}}

| Bvolebvole

gently/softly
{{Script/Arabic|ك}}

| K k

[k]

|{{Script/Arabic|كَامْبَا}}

| kamba

lobster
{{Script/Arabic|ل}}

| L l

[l]

|{{Script/Arabic|لِيْوُوْ}}

| leo

today
{{Script/Arabic|م}}

| M m

[m]

|{{Script/Arabic|مَاتْرَا}}

| matrà

oil
{{Script/Arabic|ن}}

| N n

[n]

|{{Script/Arabic|نَادْزِي}}

| nadzì

coconut
{{Script/Arabic|ڼ}}

| Ny ny

[ɲ]

|{{Script/Arabic|ڼَامَ}}

| nyama

meat
{{Script/Arabic|و}}

| W w

[w]

|{{Script/Arabic|وَاوِيْ}}

| wawe

you
{{Script/Arabic|ه / هـ}}

| H h

[h]

|{{Script/Arabic|هَازِ}}

| hazi

work/function
{{Script/Arabic|ي}}

| Y y

[j]

|{{Script/Arabic|يِيْزِ}}

| yezi

power

|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Maore Arabic Digraphs/Trigraphs

Letter

!Latin Equivalent

!IPA

!Example

!Latin spelling

!Meaning

{{Script/Arabic|تْر}}

| Tr tr

[tr]

|{{Script/Arabic|تْرَمْبُوْ}}

| trambo

lie/deceit
{{Script/Arabic|تْس}}

| Ts ts

[ts]

|{{Script/Arabic|تْسِنْڠُوْ}}

| tsingo

elbow
{{Script/Arabic|تْش}}

| Tsh tsh

[tʃ]

|{{Script/Arabic|تْشُوْرَ}}

| tshora

spear
{{Script/Arabic|دْر}}

| Dr dr

[dr]

|{{Script/Arabic|دْرَادْرَاكَ}}

| dradraka

crab
{{Script/Arabic|دْز}}

| Dz dz

[dz]

|{{Script/Arabic|دْزِنْدْزَانُوْ}}

| dzindzano

yellow
{{Script/Arabic|مْٻ}}

| Mb mb

[ᵐb]

|{{Script/Arabic|مْٻِيَ}}

| mbia

grain
{{Script/Arabic|مْپ}}

| Mp mp

[ᵐp]

|{{Script/Arabic|مْپِيَ}}

| mpia

new
{{Script/Arabic|نْتْس}}

| Nts nts

[nts]

|{{Script/Arabic|فَرَنْتْسَا}}

| Farantsa

France
{{Script/Arabic|نْج}}

| Ndj ndj

[ᶮd͡ʒ]

|{{Script/Arabic|نْجِيْمَ}}

| ndjema

good/nice
{{Script/Arabic|نْد}}

| Nd nd

[ⁿd]

|{{Script/Arabic|نْدُوْڤُ}}

| ndovu

elephant
{{Script/Arabic|نْدْر}}

| Ndr ndr

[ᶯɖ]

|{{Script/Arabic|نْدْرَا}}

| ndra

louse (lice)
{{Script/Arabic|نْدْز}}

| Ndz ndz

[ⁿd͡z]

|{{Script/Arabic|نْدْزَا}}

| ndza

hunger
{{Script/Arabic|نْڠ}}

| Ng ng

[ᵑɡ]

|{{Script/Arabic|نْڠُوْمَ}}

| ngoma

drum
{{Script/Arabic|نْي}}

| Ny ny

[ɲ]

|{{Script/Arabic|نْيَامَ}}

| nyama

meat

|}

class="wikitable" style="table-layout:fixed;width:70%;text-align:center;"

|+Vowel as first sound of word

A || E || I || O || U
dir="rtl"

| {{Script/Arabic|أَ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|إِيْـ / إِيْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|إِ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|أُوْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|أُ}}

‌{{Script/Arabic|أَدَابُ}}
adabu
politeness

|‌{{Script/Arabic|إِيْوَا}}
ewa
yes

|‌{{Script/Arabic|إِينَا}}
ina
henna

|‌{{Script/Arabic|أُوْكْتُوْٻْرُ}}
Oktobru
October

|‌{{Script/Arabic|أُسُبُوتُ}}
usuɓutu
to defy

class="wikitable" style="table-layout:fixed;width:70%;text-align:center;"

|+Simple Vowels

-a || -e || -i || -o || -u
dir="rtl"

| {{Script/Arabic|◌َ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|◌ِيْـ / ◌ِيْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|◌ِ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|◌ُوْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|◌ُ}}

class="wikitable" style="table-layout:fixed;width:70%;text-align:center;"

|+Simple Vowels in a stressed syllable

-a || -e || -i || -o || -u
dir="rtl"

| {{Script/Arabic|◌َا}}

| {{Script/Arabic|◌ِيْـ / ◌ِيْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|◌ِيـ / ◌ِي}}

| {{Script/Arabic|◌ُوْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|◌ُو}}

class="wikitable" style="table-layout:fixed;width:70%;text-align:center;"

|+Nasal Vowels

Ã -ã || Ẽ -ẽ || Ĩ -ĩ || Õ -õ || Ũ -ũ
dir="rtl"

| {{Script/Arabic|عَـ / عَ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|عِيْـ / عِيْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|عِـ / عِ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|عُوْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|عُـ / عُ}}

{{Script/Arabic|أَنْـ / أَنْ
◌َانْـ / ◌َانْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|إِيْنْـ / إِيْنْ
◌ِيْنْـ / ◌ِيْنْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|إِنْـ / إِنْ
◌ِنْـ / ◌ِنْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|أُوْنْـ / أُوْنْ
◌ُوْنْـ / ◌ُوْنْ}}

| {{Script/Arabic|أُنْـ / أُنْ
◌ُنْـ / ◌ُنْ}}

Grammar

=Noun classes=

{{interlinear|indent=3

|zi-mbuzi z-angu z-endr-e ɓazari

|CL10.DEF-goat CL10-AGR-my CL10.{{gcl|SM|subject marker}}-go-{{gcl|VH|vowel harmony}}.RET market

|'My goats went to the market.'}}

{{interlinear|indent=3

|wa-ntru-washe wa-raru wa-ngu

|CL2-person-female CL2.AGR-three CL2.AGR-my

|'my three wives' (Rombi 1983: 123)}}

The Clause Structure Of The Shimaore Dialect Of Comorian (Bantu) by Aimee Johansen Alnet, p. 58

See also

Notes

{{reflist}}

See also

Bibliography

  • Blanchy, Sophie (1987). L'interprète. Dictionnaire Mahorais - Français et Français - Mahorais. CMAC, Mayotte. L'Harmattan, Paris.
  • Cornice, Abdillahi D. (1999). Manuel grammatical de shimaore. Mamoudzou, Mayotte: L'Association SHIME - Le SHImaorais MEthodique.
  • Johansen Alnet, Aimee (2009). The clause structure of the Shimaore dialect of Comorian (Bantu). Ph.D thesis. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois.
  • Kordji, Chamsidine, Martine Jaquin, et alia (1999). Narifundrihe shimaore - Apprenons le shimaore. Association SHIME, Mamoudzou.
  • Maandhui, Ousseni (1996). Parlons Shimaore. Editions du Baobab, Mamoudzou.
  • Rombi, Marie-Françoise (1983). Le Shimaore (Île de Mayotte, Comores): Première approche d'un parler de la langue comorienne. Paris: Société d'Etudes Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France (SELAF).

External links

  • [http://ylangue.free.fr/ Ylangue]
  • [http://shime.free.fr/ SHIME]
  • [http://perso.telecom-bretagne.eu/aimeejohansen/data/Publications/Aimee_Johansen_Alnet_thesis.pdf Johansen Alnet's Thesis]

{{Languages of Comoros}}

{{Languages of France}}

{{Arabic alphabets}}

{{Mayotte topics}}

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Category:Languages of the Comoros

Category:Culture of Mayotte