Zemiaki language

Zemiaki
J̌amlām-am bašā
Native to	Afghanistan
Region	Nuristan Province
Native speakers	(500 cited 1999)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Nuristani Zemiaki
Early forms	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-Iranian Proto-Nuristani
Language codes
ISO 639-3	(included in [nli])
Glottolog	zemi1238
ELP	Zemiaki

Zemiaki is a Nuristani language spoken by some 400–500 people in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan.[1]

It is named after the settlement in which it is spoken, from the Pashto Zemyaki žə́ba "language of Zemyaki", the native equivalent being J̌amlām-am bašā. It is closely related to Nuristani 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 of lexical borrowings, including several common conjunctions.[2]

There is no grammatical gender, but number and person are marked on the verb,[3] following a split-ergative pattern of agreement.[4]

It was thought that Zemiaki is a dialect of Grangali, an Indo-Aryan language. However, its pronouns are characteristically Nuristani, with a close relationship to Nuristani Kalasha, which is confirmed by local tradition.

Vocabulary

Pronouns

Person		Nominative	Accusative	Genitive
1st	sg.	ake	ũ	ūba, umba
	pl.	ami		amba
2nd	sg.	tu		tuba
	pl.	me	ame	amemba

Numbers

1. yok
2. du
3. tre
4. -
5. -
6. -
7. -
8. -
9. -
10. doš

References

1. Grünberg 1999, p. 123.
2. Grünberg 1999, pp. 123, 125.
3. Grünberg 1999, pp. 124.
4. Grünberg 1999, pp. 125.

Bibliography

• Grünberg, A.L. (1999). "Zemiaki jazyk/dialekt". In Edelman, D.I. (ed.). Jazyki mira: Dardskie i nuristanskie jazyki (in Russian). Moscow: Indrik. pp. 123–125. ISBN 585759085X.