| Zemiaki | |
|---|---|
| J̌amlām-am bašā | |
| Native to | Afghanistan |
| Region | Nuristan Province |
Native speakers | (500 cited 1999) |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | (included in[nli]) |
| Glottolog | zemi1238 |
| ELP | Zemiaki |
Zemiaki is aNuristani language spoken by some 400–500 people in theKunar Province ofAfghanistan.[1]
It is named after the settlement in which it is spoken, from thePashtoZemyaki žə́ba "language of Zemyaki", the native equivalent beingJ̌amlām-am bašā. It is closely related toNuristani Kalasha, and ancestors of the Zemyakis were, according to local tradition, Kalasha people who migrated into the area several centuries ago.[1] The language spoken in the surrounding areas is Pashto, and it has been a source of a large number oflexical borrowings, including several commonconjunctions.[2]
There is nogrammatical gender, butnumber andperson are marked on the verb,[3] following asplit-ergative pattern of agreement.[4]
It was thought that Zemiaki is a dialect ofGrangali, anIndo-Aryan language. However, its pronouns are characteristically Nuristani, with a close relationship toNuristani Kalasha, which is confirmed by local tradition.
| Person | Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | sg. | ake | ũ | ūba,umba |
| pl. | ami | amba | ||
| 2nd | sg. | tu | tuba | |
| pl. | me | ame | amemba | |
| Official languages | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regional languages | ||
| Minority languages | ||
| Sign languages | ||
