Mesqan language explained

Mesqan
Also Known As:	Mäsqan
States:	Ethiopia
Region:	Gurage Zone
Date:	2007
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Afro-Asiatic
Fam2:	Semitic
Fam3:	West Semitic
Fam4:	South Semitic
Fam5:	Ethiopic
Fam6:	South
Fam7:	Outer South
Fam8:	West Gurage
Iso3:	mvz
Glotto:	mesq1240
Glottorefname:	Mesqan
Script:	Unwritten

Mesqan (also Mäsqan or Meskan) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by the Gurage people in the Gurage Zone of Ethiopia. It belongs to the family's Ethiopian Semitic branch.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial		Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Glottal
		plain	lab.				plain	lab.
Nasal		m	mʷ	n		ɲ
Stop/ Affricate		(p)		t	t͡ʃ	c	k	kʷ
		b	bʷ	d	d͡ʒ	ɟ	g	ɡʷ
		(pʼ)		tʼ	t͡ʃʼ	cʼ	kʼ	kʼʷ
Fricative		f	fʷ	s	ʃ	ç	x	xʷ	h
		(v)		z	ʒ
				(sʼ)
Rhotic				r
Lateral				l
Approximant						j	w

• Sounds /p, pʼ, v, sʼ/ occur in loanwords, mainly from Amharic.
• /xʷ/ may also have an allophone of [hʷ].
• /b/ may have an allophone of [β] in postvocalic and intervocalic positions.
• /n/ may assimilate to [ŋ] when following a velar consonant.^[1]
• /k, ɡ/ can also be heard as palatalized [kʲ, ɡʲ] when before front vowels.^{[2] [3]}

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	ɨ	u
Mid	e	ə	o
Open		a

Notes and References

1. Book: Shafi, Ousman . Mesqan . Meyer . Ronny . 2016.
2. Book: Eshetu, Meseret . Tense, aspect and mood in Mesqan . Addis Ababa University . 2012 . 19-20.
3. Book: Getachew, Alemayehu . Mesqan folktales: A contribution to the documentation of the Mesqan language . Addis Ababa University . 2011 . 10-11.