Mesqan language

{{Infobox language

|name=Mesqan

|altname=Mäsqan

|pronunciation=

|states=Ethiopia

|region=Gurage Zone

|speakers={{sigfig|195,000|2}}

|date=2007

|ref=e18

|familycolor=Afro-Asiatic

|fam2=Semitic

|fam3=West Semitic

|fam4=South Semitic

|fam5=Ethiopic

|fam6=South

|fam7=Outer South

|fam8=West Gurage

|iso3=mvz

|glotto=mesq1240

|glottorefname=Mesqan

|script=Unwritten

}}

Mesqan (also Mäsqan or Meskan) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by the Gurage people in the Gurage Zone of Ethiopia. It belongs to the family's Ethiopian Semitic branch.

Phonology

= Consonants =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" \| ! colspan="2" \|Labial ! rowspan="2" \|Alveolar ! rowspan="2" \|Post- alveolar ! rowspan="2" \|Palatal ! colspan="2" \|Velar ! rowspan="2" \|Glottal
plain !lab. !plain !lab.
colspan="2" \|Nasal \|m \|mʷ \|n \| \|ɲ \| \| \|
rowspan="3" \|Stop/ Affricate !{{Small\|voiceless}} \|(p) \| \|t \|t͡ʃ \|c \|k \|kʷ \|
{{Small\|voiced}} \|b \|bʷ \|d \|d͡ʒ \|ɟ \|g \|ɡʷ \|
{{Small\|ejective}} \|(pʼ) \| \|tʼ \|t͡ʃʼ \|cʼ \|kʼ \|kʼʷ \|
rowspan="3" \|Fricative !{{Small\|voiceless}} \|f \|fʷ \|s \|ʃ \|ç \|x \|xʷ \|h
{{Small\|voiced}} \|(v) \| \|z \|ʒ \| \| \| \|
{{Small\|ejective}} \| \| \|(sʼ) \| \| \| \| \|
colspan="2" \|Rhotic \| \| \|r \| \| \| \| \|
colspan="2" \|Lateral \| \| \|l \| \| \| \| \|
colspan="2" \|Approximant \| \| \| \| \|j \| colspan="2" \|w \|

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

! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |

! colspan="2" |Labial

! rowspan="2" |Alveolar

! rowspan="2" |Post-
alveolar

! rowspan="2" |Palatal

! colspan="2" |Velar

! rowspan="2" |Glottal

plain

!lab.

!plain

!lab.

colspan="2" |Nasal

|mʷ

|ɲ

rowspan="3" |Stop/
Affricate

!{{Small|voiceless}}

|(p)

|t͡ʃ

|kʷ

|bʷ

|d͡ʒ

|ɟ

|ɡʷ

|(pʼ)

|tʼ

|t͡ʃʼ

|cʼ

|kʼ

|kʼʷ

rowspan="3" |Fricative

!{{Small|voiceless}}

|fʷ

|ʃ

|ç

|xʷ

|(v)

|ʒ

|(sʼ)

colspan="2" |Rhotic

colspan="2" |Lateral

colspan="2" |Approximant

| colspan="2" |w

Sounds /p, pʼ, v, sʼ/ occur in loanwords, mainly from Amharic.
/xʷ/ may also have an allophone of [hʷ].
/b/ may have an allophone of [β] in postvocalic and intervocalic positions.
/n/ may assimilate to [ŋ] when following a velar consonant.{{Cite book |last=Shafi |first=Ousman |title=Mesqan |last2=Meyer |first2=Ronny |year=2016}}
/k, ɡ/ can also be heard as palatalized [kʲ, ɡʲ] when before front vowels.{{Cite book |last=Eshetu |first=Meseret |title=Tense, aspect and mood in Mesqan |publisher=Addis Ababa University |year=2012 |pages=19-20}}{{Cite book |last=Getachew |first=Alemayehu |title=Mesqan folktales: A contribution to the documentation of the Mesqan language |publisher=Addis Ababa University |year=2011 |pages=10-11}}

= Vowels =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! !Front !Central !Back
align="center" !Close \|i \|ɨ \|u
Mid \|e \|ə \|o
align="center" !Open \| \|a \|

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

align="center"

|ɨ

|ə

align="center"

!Open

References

Category:Languages of Ethiopia

Category:Outer Ethiopian Semitic languages