| Socotra Swahili | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Yemen |
| Region | Socotra |
| Extinct | late 20th century |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
G.411[1] | |
| IETF | sw-u-sd-yesu |
Socotra Swahili is an extinct variety ofSwahili, aBantu language, that was formerly spoken on the island ofSocotra inYemen.[1] It was reported to be spoken by a fifth of the island (c. 2,000 people) in 1962.[2]
Socotra Swahili belongs to theSabaki branch ofNortheast Coast Bantu, within the broader Swahili dialect cluster.[3]
The Swahili group as a whole is treated as a single language with ISO 639-3 codeswh and glottocodeswah1253, covering both mainland and insular varieties.[4]
A mid-20th-century account estimated that Socotra Swahili was spoken by about 2,000 people, around one fifth of Socotra's population at the time.[2]
Socotra Swahili does not have a separateISO 639-3 orGlottolog code; instead it falls under the general Swahili entry (ISO 639-3swh).[4] In theISO 639-2 andISO 639-1 standards, the macrolanguage Swahili is assigned the alpha-3 codeswa and alpha-2 codesw, respectively, without distinguishing Socotra Swahili.[5] In Guthrie-based Bantu classifications, however, Socotra Swahili is explicitly identified as G.411, marking it as a distinct Swahililect associated specifically with Socotra.[1][3]
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