Mesqan language

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

References

Alemayehu Getachew

Languages of Ethiopia
Official language	Amharic
Regional languages	Semitic Argobba Ge'ez Gurage Harari Inor Mesqan Muher Sebat Bet Gurage Silt'e Soddo Tigrinya Zay Cushitic Afar Alaba Arbore Awngi Baiso Bussa Burji Daasanach Dirasha Gawwada Gedeo Hadiyya Kambaata Konso Libido Oromo Qimant Saho Sidamo Somali Tsamai Xamtanga Omotic Aari Anfillo Bambassi Basketo Bench Boro Chara Dime Dizi Dorze Gamo-Gofa-Dawro Ganza Gayil Hamer-Banna Hozo Kachama-Ganjule Kafa Karo Koorete Maale Melo Nayi Oyda Seze Shekkacho Sheko Wolaytta Yemsa Zayse-Zergulla Nilo-Saharan Anuak Berta Daats'iin Gumuz Kacipo-Balesi Komo Kwama Kwegu Majang Me'en Murle Mursi Nuer Nyangatom Opuuo Shabo Suri Uduk
Sign languages	Ethiopian sign languages

MA Thesis OCT 2010 ADDIS ABABA University

MESQAN FOLKTALS a contribution to the documentation of the Mesqan language and its speakers The language and People Mesqan is an Ethio-Semitic language(by family)belonged to west Gurage sub-group (Hetzon 1972:119).Mesqan has no regional dialectal variations (Getu 1989).

Mesqan has no script and it is not used in schools or for administratine purposes.

As the family tree adopted from (Bender 1976:29) shows, Mesqan alon is grouped under the 2 tense group. This shows that Mesqan is different from other Gurage languages that have a 3 tense system.

                                                Western Gurage
                                           

                           3-tense group                       2-tense group

            Peripheral                    Central                     Mesqan
     Western Gurage             Western Gurage                        
    (Ener,Endegen,               (Izha,Chaha,
     Enemore,Geto)                Gumer,Gura)
                      
                                                                Bender (1976:29)

1

The people who speak Mesqan live in Haikochina Butajira Woreda in southern nations, nationality and peoples regional stet (SNNPRS). It is bordered by Soddo to the North, Silti to the south, and Muxir to the west north.

The exact number of Masqan speakers is not mentioned in the central stastic authority (CSA :1994 G.C), but the total number of people in the former Mesqan and Mareqo Woreda amounts 227,135.According to the Ethiopian languages research center booklet (2005) the total number of ethnic Mesqan is 25,000.

The life of the Mesqan based on agriculture and trade .Their staple diet is based on Enset (tabe banana). Most of the Mesqan people are followes the Islamic faith. 1.1.2 The Previous Studies on Mesqan There is no much descriptive work on Mesqan, except a few serios expelanetion and B.A. theses. The study is focus on different areas such as, phonology, noun phrase, and verb morphology of Mesqan.

Leslau,Wolf(2004)discussed Mesqan verb compering with other Gurage language. Indal Naguse (1986) discussed how noun phrase are formed in Masqan, Abduljebar Awol (1988) presented the phonology of Mesqan. Getu Shikur work his senior essay on the verb morphology.