| Mesmes | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Ethiopia |
| Ethnicity | Mesmes |
| Extinct | 2000s, with the death of Abegaz[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mys |
mys.html | |
| Glottolog | mesm1243 |
| ELP | Mesmes |
TheMesmes language is anextinctWest Gurage language, one of theEthiopian Semitic languages spoken inEthiopia. There are still many people who claim the Mesmes ethnic identity, but none who speak the language. Thelast speaker of the language, named Abegaz, was interviewed by alanguage survey team when he was approximately 80 years old. He had not spoken the language for 30 years, having nobody to speak it with since his brother died.
The Mesmes haveshifted to speaking theHadiyya language. However, they still maintain some cultural distinctives, including their own style of house architecture.[citation needed]
Thecomparative method has shown that the language is most closely related to theInor variety of Gurage.[2]
A study of the phonology of Mesmes has shown evidence ofrhinoglottophilia.[3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
 | ThisSemitic languages-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
