Research seminar arabic: Modern South Arabian
Sabrina Bendjaballah, University of Nantes/CNRS, gives a lecture about Modern South Arabian. All interested are welcome.
Abstract:
‘Modern South Arabian’ is a family of six languages with no written tradition: Mehri, Harsusi, Bathari, Hobyot, Jibbali, Soqotri. These languages are spoken in the southern Omani province of Dhofar, the eastern Yemeni province of Mahra and the Yemeni island of Soqotra. Today, they are all considered endangered. The Modern South Arabian languages form a distinct branch of the Semitic family. They have been “discovered” around the 1850’s, but they still remain largely understudied. In this seminar, I will offer a general survey of the Modern South Arabian family, as well as an overview of the main characteristics of the phonology and morphology of Omani Mehri.
