Asa language
The Asa (Aasá) language, commonly rendered Aasax, was spoken by the Asa people of Tanzania. The language is nearly extinct;[2] ethnic Assa in northern Tanzania remember only a few words they overheard their elders use, and none ever used it themselves. Little is known of the language; what is recorded was probably Aasa lexical words used in a register of Maasai like the mixed language Mbugu.
Classification
Asa is usually classified as Cushitic, most closely related to Kw'adza. However, it might have retained a non-Cushitic layer from an earlier language shift, and might be best left unclassified.[3]
The Aramanik (Laramanik) people once spoke Asa, but shifted to Nandi (as opposed to Maasai).
Vocabulary
- wataka - all
- buʕurita - burn
- dah - claw
- ga - cloud
- ki=te - die
- wa-t--dog
- rakaš-dry
- yatara -drink
- haǯa-t -earth
- ʔag- ~ ʔag-im- - eat
- ila-t - - eye
- ʔoreʔ-ek -far [4]
Notes
- Petrollino, Sara & Maarten Mous, 2010, Recollecting Words and Expressions in Aasá, a Dead Language in Tanzania
External links
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