Classification:Afro-Asiatic: Semitic: West: South: Ethiopic: North
Other Sources:
Bender, Marvin L. 1976. "Two Ethio-Semitic Languages," in LE. LA
Consonant system:
p pʔ t̪ t̪ʔ k kʔ kʷ kʔʷ ʔ b d̪ d̪ʔ ɡ ɡʷ f s̪ s̪ʔ m n̪ l̪ r
Stops: p pʔ b t̪ t̪ʔ d̪ d̪ʔ k kʔ ɡ kʷ kʔʷ ɡʷ ʔ
Fricatives:f s̪ s̪ʔ
Nasals:m n̪
Laterals:l̪
Vibrants:r
Modified Consonants:c̄ all but cʔ ʔ h
Glides: j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels: i e
Central Vowels:ɨ ǝ a
Back Vowels:u o
Long Vowels:v̄ ?
Stress:penult
Noun Number:s p
Gender:m f
Demonstratives:2
Pronouns:
1 4 2mf 5mf 3mf 6mf
Syntax:VSO AN/NA NG N-POSS
Prep/Post:PREP
Comments:Geez is still used as a liturgical language by the Orthodox church.
Number:1582
Language:Tigre
Dialect:Mensa
Location:NW Eritrea
Population:117,000
Classification:Afro-Asiatic: Semitic: West: South: Ethiopic: North
Dictionary:
Da Milano, Prospero Maria. 1936. Vocabulario pratico: italiano-tigray-amarico. Milan: Genio. Littman, Enno and Maria Höfner. 1962 Wörterbuch der Tigrè-Sprache: Tigrè-Deutsch-Englisch. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner.
Grammar:
Leslau, Wolf. 1945. "Grammatical Sketches in Tigré (North Ethiopic), Dialect of Mensa," JAOS 65, 164-203.
TextBooks:Camperio, Manfredo. 1936. Manuale pratico della lingua tigrè con due dizionarietti. Milan: V. Hoepli.
Other Sources:Palmer, Frank R. 1962. The Morphology of the Tigre Noun. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ of London.
Consonant system:
pʔ t tʔ k qʔ ʔ b d ɡ č čʔ ɡ̌ f s sʔ m n ñ l r
Stops: pʔ b t tʔ d k ɡ qʔ ʔ
Affricates:č čʔ ɡ̌
Fricatives:f s sʔ
Nasals:m n ñ
Laterals:l
Vibrants:r
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels: i e æ
Central Vowels:ǝ a
Back Vowels:u o
Modified Vowels:vowel harmony
Stress:VH
Noun Number:s p
Gender:m f
Demonstratives:2
Articles: def
Pronouns:
1 4 2mf 5mf 3mf 6mf
Syntax:SOV AN/NA NG DN/ND NUM-N N-POSS
Prep/Post:PREP
Number:1583
Language:Tigrinya
Location:N Ethiopia (W Tigre)
Population: 5.1 million
Classification:Afro-Asiatic: Semitic: West: South: Ethiopic: North
Dictionary:Bassano, Francesco de. 1918. Vocabolario tigray-italiano e repertorio italiano-tigray. Rome: C. de Luigi.
Dictionary:Leslau, Wolf. 1976. Concise Amharic Dictionary. Berkeley: Univ of California Press.
Grammar:
Leslau, Wolf. 1969. An Amharic Reference Grammar. Los Angeles: Dept. of Near Eastern and African Languages, UCLA. Cohen, Marcel. 1970. Traité de langue amharique. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie.
TextBooks:Leslau, Wolf. 1968. Amharic Textbook. Berkeley: Univ of California Press.
Consonant system:
(p) (pʔ) t̪ t̪ʔ k kʔ ʔ b d̪ ɡ č čʔ ɡ̌ f s̪ (s̪ʔ) š h z̪ ž m n̪ ñ l ɾ
Cohen, Marcel. 1931. Études d'éthiopien méridional. Paris: Paul Geuthner. Cerulli, Enrico. 1936. La lingua e la storia di Harar. Rome: Istituto per l'Oriente.
Other Sources:Gamkrelidze, Thomas V. 1966. "A Typology of Common Kartvelian," Lg 42, 69-83.
Consonant system:
ph pʔ th tʔ kh kʔ qh qʔ b d ɡ tsh tsʔ ćh ćʔ čh čʔ dz ɡ́ ɡ̌ s ś š x h z ź ɣ m n l r
Stops:ph pʔ b th tʔ d kh kʔ ɡ qh qʔ
Affricates:tsh tsʔ dz ćh ćʔ ɡ́ čh čʔ ɡ̌
Fricatives:s z ś ź š x ɣ h
Nasals:m n
Laterals:l
Vibrants:r
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels:e
Central Vowels:a
Back Vowels:o
Long Vowels:v̄ all
Number:1596
Language:Georgian
Location:Georgia
Population:3.3 million
Classification:Kartvelian
Grammar:
Tschenkéli, Kita. 1958. Einführung in die georgische Sprache, 2 vols. Zürich: Amirani. Chikobava, A. S. 1967. "Gruzinskij jazyk," in JNS 4, 22-61. Vogt, Hans. 1971. Grammaire de la langue géorgienne. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
TextBooks:
Tsibaxashvili, G. I. 1973. Elementarnyj kurs gruzinskogo jazyka. Tbilisi: Tbilisi Univ.
Other Sources:
Robins, R. H. 1952. "Notes on the Phonetics of the Georgian Word," BSOAS 14, 55-72. Chikobáva. Arnol'd. 1971. Gruzinskij jazyk. Tbilisi: Ganatleba. AL 6:8.
Consonant system:
ph pʔ t̪h t̪ʔ kh kʔ qʔ b d̪ ɡ t̪sh t̪sʔ čh čʔ d̪z ɡ̌ s̪ š χ h v z̪ ž ʁ m n̪ l̪ r
Stops:ph pʔ b t̪h t̪ʔ d̪ kh kʔ ɡ qʔ
Affricates:t̪sh t̪sʔ d̪z čh čʔ ɡ̌
Fricatives:v s̪ z̪ š ž χ ʁ h
Nasals:m n̪
Laterals:l̪
Vibrants:r
Glides:j
Vowel system:
i u e o a
Front Vowels:i e
Central Vowels:a
Back Vowels:u o
Syllable:(c)(c)(c)(c)(c)(c)v(c)(c)(c)(c)(c)
Stress:initial
Noun Number:s p
Demonstratives:3
Pronouns:
1 4 2 5 *3 *6
Syntax:SOV AN/(NA) GN DN NUM-N POSS-N/(N-POSS) D+Num+A+N
Ergative:Erg
Comments:yes
Number:1597
Language:Svan
Location:NW Georgia
Population:35,000
Classification:Kartvelian
Grammar:Topuria, V. T. 1967. "Svanskij jazyk," in JNS 4, 77-94.
Consonant system:
ph pʔ t̪h t̪ʔ kh kʔ qh qʔ b d̪ ɡ t̪sh t̪sʔ čh čʔ d̪z ɡ̌ s̪ š x h (v) z̪ ž ɣ m n̪ l̪ r
Stops:ph pʔ b t̪h t̪ʔ d̪ kh kʔ ɡ qh qʔ
Affricates:t̪sh t̪sʔ d̪z čh čʔ ɡ̌
Fricatives:(v) s̪ z̪ š ž x ɣ h
Nasals:m n̪
Laterals:l̪
Vibrants:r
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels:i e
Central Vowels:ǝ a
Back Vowels:u o
Long Vowels:v̄ all
Stress:phonemic
Noun Number:s p
Demonstratives:2
Pronouns:
1 4 2 5 *3 *6
Syntax:SOV AN
Ergative:Erg
Prep/Post:PREP/POST
Number:1598
Language:Mingrelian
Alternate Name:Zan
Location:W Georgia
Population:300,000
Classification:Kartvelian: Zan
Grammar:Kiziria, A. I. 1967. "Zanskij jazyk," in JNS 4, 62-76.
Consonant system:
ph pʔ t̪h t̪ʔ kh kʔ qʔ ʔ b d̪ ɡ t̪sh t̪sʔ čh čʔ d̪z ɡ̌ (f) s̪ š x h v z̪ ž ɣ m n̪ l̪ r
Stops:ph pʔ b t̪h t̪ʔ d̪ kh kʔ ɡ qʔ ʔ
Affricates:t̪sh t̪sʔ d̪z čh čʔ ɡ̌
Fricatives:(f) v s̪ z̪ š ž x ɣ h
Nasals:m n̪
Laterals:l̪
Vibrants:r
Glides:j w
Vowel system:
Front Vowels:i e
Central Vowels:(ǝ) a
Back Vowels:u o
Stress:final
Noun Number:s p
Demonstratives:2
Articles:indef
Pronouns:
1 4 2 5 3mfn 6mfn
Syntax:SOV AN GN DN NUM-N POSS-N D+A+N
Ergative:Erg
Prep/Post:POST
Number:1599
Language:Laz
Location:SW Georgia
Population:50,000
Classification:Kartvelian: Zan
Other Sources:Dumézil, Georges. 1937. Contes lazes. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie.
Consonant system:
Pronouns:indef
Syntax:SOV AN GN DN NUM-N POSS-N D+A+N
Number:1600
Language:Basque
Location:N Spain
Population:1 million
Classification:Dene-Caucasian
Dictionary:
Arbelaitz, O.M. 1968. Diccionario castellano-vasco y vasco-castellano. Bilbao: La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca. Eiguren, Joe V. ed, 1974. English-Basque, Basque-English Dictionary. Nampa, Idaho: Basque Publications.
Grammar:
N'Diaye, Geneviиve. 1970. Structure de dialecte basque de Maya. The Hague: Mouton. Lafitte, Pierre. 1962. Grammaire basque. Bayonne, Ikas.
TextBooks:
Lopez Mendizбbal, Isaac 1949. La lengua vasca. Buenos Aires: Editorial Vasca Ekin. Eiguren, Joe V. 1974. How to Learn to Speak Basque. Nampa, Idaho: Basque Publications.
Other Sources:
Lochak, Dorita. 1960. "Basque Phonemics," AL 2:3, 12-31. Bouda. Karl. 1949. Baskisch-kaukasische Etymologien. Heidelbeng. AL 6:8 & 8:3.
Consonant system:
p t̪ (c) k b d̪ (ɟ) ɡ ts (ṭs) č (f) s (ṣ) š x m n̪ ñ l ʎ ɾ r