Overview
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Language Information By Source

The Mehri Language of Oman
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At risk

Native Speakers Worldwide

100,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2010

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Spoken in Yemen, in the easternmost governorate of Al-Mahra, accross the border in Oman, in the western part of the governorate of Dhofar, and in the highest desert plateau (Nagd), north of the coastal mountains. Half of the speaking population lives in Yemen.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Spoken in Yemen, in the easternmost governorate of Al-Mahra, accross the border in Oman, in the western part of the governorate of Dhofar, and in the highest desert plateau (Nagd), north of the coastal mountains. Half of the speaking population lives in Yemen.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

At risk

Native Speakers Worldwide

100,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2010

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

16.5993,52.8057

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

At risk

Native Speakers Worldwide

135,800

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

There were 70,600 speakers in Yemen in the year 2000.

Year of info

2009

Location and Context

Countries

Yemen; Oman; Kuwait;

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

21.43, 51.15

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

At risk

Native Speakers Worldwide

~100,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

1999

Location and Context

Countries

Yemen; Oman

Coordinates

No data

Location description

In Yemen it is spoken in the eastern governorate from the town of Seyhut on the coast to the Yemen-Omani border, in both coastal areas and hinterland. The Mehri language area continues in the south-western province of Oman, particularly in Dhofar and on the Omani desert plateau.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

In Yemen it is spoken in the eastern governorate from the town of Seyhut on the coast to the Yemen-Omani border, in both coastal areas and hinterland. The Mehri language area continues in the south-western province of Oman, particularly in Dhofar and on the Omani desert plateau.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

At risk

Native Speakers Worldwide

100,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

1997

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

It is spoken in the mountains of Dhofar in Oman, and in the Yemen, in the far eastern Governorate, on the coast, between the border of Oman and the eastern bank of Wadi Masilah. In the North-West of the Yemen, Mehri is spoken as far as Thamud, on the border of the Rub' al-Khali.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

It is spoken in the mountains of Dhofar in Oman, and in the Yemen, in the far eastern Governorate, on the coast, between the border of Oman and the eastern bank of Wadi Masilah. In the North-West of the Yemen, Mehri is spoken as far as Thamud, on the border of the Rub' al-Khali.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

There is a very clear distinction between the variety spoken in Dhofar and in the far east of the Yemen and the western variety. Within one and the same dialectal area there are, in addition, differences between bedouin varieties and city or village dwellers varieties. Both in Oman and in Yemen, Arabic is the language used for official intercourse (administration, school, army). Native speakers use their mother tongue for private purposes, in the family circle and with other speakers of the same language; many a speaker uses several MSAL, when these languages are closely related.

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

The number of speakers of Mehri is particularly difficult to estimate, partly because it is spoken within three separate states, and partly because the number of speakers is not equal to the number of Mehri tribal members: many Mehris, particularly in Yemen, no longer speak Mehri and many speakers lack complete competence in Mehri.

Year of info

2012

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

It is spoken across eastern Yemen from Qishn in the west into Dhofar in Oman and up into the southern extremities of central Saudi Arabia.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

It is spoken across eastern Yemen from Qishn in the west into Dhofar in Oman and up into the southern extremities of central Saudi Arabia.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2005

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

17.0,51.5

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

At risk

Native Speakers Worldwide

135,764

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Media Resources

No resources

No resources

No resources

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  1. Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled by research teams at University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute for Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University
    2012. "Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled By Research Teams At University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute For Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) At Eastern Michigan University."
  2. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)
    Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)
    http://www.ethnologue.com/
  3. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
    Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)
    http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas
  4. World Oral Literature Project
    "World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.
    http://www.oralliterature.org
  5. The World Atlas of Language Structures
    2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.
  6. Ethiopic Language History: Testing Linguistic Hypotheses in an Archaeological and Documentary Context
    Fleming, Harold C. 1968. "Ethiopic Language History: Testing Linguistic Hypotheses in An Archaeological and Documentary Context." In Ethnohistory, 15 , no. 4: 353-388.
  7. The Modern South Arabian Languages
    Simeone-Simelle, Marie-Claude. 1997. "The Modern South Arabian Languages." In The Semitic Languages, edited by Robert Hetzron. 378-423. London & New York: Routledge.
  8. The Mehri Language of Oman
  9. Sima, Alexander. 2009. Mehri-Texte aus der jemenitisches Sarqiyah. Adapt. von Arnold, Werner / Bearbeitet von Watson, Janet C. E. Semitica Viva 47 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz).
  10. Mehri Texts from Oman Based on the Field Materials of T. M. Johnstone
  11. The Structure of Mehri
    Janet C.E. Watson. 2012. "The Structure of Mehri." Harrassowitz.
  12. Glottolog
    "Glottolog." Online: http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/.
    http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/
  13. Syntax der Mehri-Sprache: Unter Berücksichtigung auch der anderen neusüdarabischen Sprachen
    Wagner, Ewald. 1953. "Syntax Der Mehri-Sprache: Unter Berücksichtigung Auch Der Anderen Neusüdarabischen Sprachen." 13: Berlin: Akademie Verlag.
  14. Sovremennye juzhnoaravijskie jazyki (bespis'mennye)
    Bauer, G. M. 1991. "Sovremennye Juzhnoaravijskie Jazyki (bespis'mennye)." In Jazyki Azii i Afriki. Volume 4: Semitskie jazyki, 388-432. Nauka, Glavnaja redakcija vostochnoj literatury.
  15. Syntax der Mehri-Sprache unter Berücksicktigung auch der anderen neusüdarabischen Sprachen
    Wagner, Ewald. 1953. "Syntax Der Mehri-Sprache Unter Berücksicktigung Auch Der Anderen Neusüdarabischen Sprachen." Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften.