Mao languages

Not to be confused with Mao language or Southern Mao language.

Mao
Blue Nile Mao
Geographic distribution	Ethiopia, Sudan[1]
Linguistic classification	Afro-Asiatic Omotic North Mao
Glottolog	maoo1243

The Mao languages are a branch of the Omotic languages spoken in Ethiopia and parts of Sudan. The group had the following categories:

• Bambasi, spoken in the Bambasi woreda of Benishangul-Gumuz Region,
• Hozo and Seze (often described together as 'Begi Mao'), spoken around Begi in the Mirab (West) Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, and
• Ganza, which is spoken south of Bambasi in the Asosa Zone of Benishangul-Gumuz Region, west of the Hozo and Seze languages and in Blue Nile State in Sudan.^[1]

It is estimated that there are 5,000 speakers of Bambasi, 3,000 speakers each of Hozo and Seze and a few hundred Ganza speakers (Bender, 2000). During recent political upheavals, a few thousand Bambassi speakers established themselves in the valley of the Didessa River and Belo Jegonfoy woreda. Much of the Mirab Welega Zone was once the home of Mao languages, but they have lost speakers because of the increasing influence of Oromo.

Contact

Mao languages are in close contact with Koman languages. Some Koman-speaking groups in Ethiopia consider themselves to be ethnically Mao.^[2]

Numerals

Comparison of numerals in individual languages:^[3]

Language	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Ganza (Gwàmì Nánà) (1)	ʔìʃì kwéʔèn	mámꜜbú	tʼíꜜzí	máꜜs’í	k’wísʼí	ʔìʃkìbínꜜ	mámpʰìn	wòbóꜜ	ʃèléꜜ	kónsó-báꜜ (litː 'hand-pair')
Ganza (Gwàmì Nánà) (2)	ʔìʃì kwéʔèn	mámꜜbú	tʼíꜜzí	máꜜs’í	k’wísʼí	ʔìʃkìbínꜜ	mámpʰìn	wòbóꜜ	ʃèléꜜ	kónsó-báꜜ (litː hand-pair)
Ganza (3)	ʔíʃkúwéén	mámbùʔ	tíízìʔ	más’s’ìʔ	k’wíssíʔ	ʔíʃkípín	mámpín	wóp’ò	ʃéléʔ	kónsóbààʔ
Hozo (1)	ʔónnà	dòmbó	sìjázì	bétsʼì	kwítsʼì (lit: 'hand')	kwítsʼì ʔòttá ʔónnà (5 + 1)	kwítsʼì ʔòttá dòmbó (5 + 2)	kwítsʼì ʔòttá sìjázì (5 + 3)	kwítsʼì ʔòttá bétsʼì (5 + 4)	pʼóʃì
Hozo (2)	ʊnːa / onna	dʊmbo / dombo	sìɑːsi /siyazi	bɛtsíː / betsʼi	kʷɪtsí / kʼwitsi (lit: 'hand', kutsi)	kɛniː / ota-onna (5 + 1)	ʔɔːta / ota-dombo (5 + 2)	ʔɔ̀ːtá / ota-siyazi (5 + 3)	ʔɔ̀ːtì / ota-beːtsi (5 + 4)	pʼɔ́ːʃi / poːši
Northern Mao	hishkì	numbo	teezè	mesʼe	kʼwíssí	kyaansè	kúlùmbò (litː hand-two ?)	kúteezé (litː hand-three?)	kúsmésʼe (litː hand-four ?)	kúúsú
Sezi (Seze / Sezo) (1)	ʔìʃílè	nòmbé	sììzé	besʼsʼé	kʼwíssé (lit: 'hand', kusɛ)	kʼwíssé ʔòòt ʔìʃílè (litː 5 remaining 1)	kʼwíssé ʔòòt nòmbé (litː 5 remain. 2)	kʼwíssé ʔòòt sììzé (litː 5 remaining 3)	kʼwíssé ʔòòt besʼsʼé (litː 5 remain. 4)	kúúsé
Seze (Sezo) (2)	ɪ̀ʃìlɛ / ɪšilɛ	nɔ̀mbɛ́ / noːmbɛ	sìːzí /siːzɛ	bɛ̀sʼɛ́ / bɛtsʼɛ	kʼúsɛ́ / kʼʊsse (lit: 'hand', kusɛ)	dʒɑ;j / ot-šilɛ	ʔɔːt nɔ̀mbɛ́ / ot-nombɛ	ʔɔ̀ːt síːzí / ota-siːzɛ	ʔɔ̀ːt bèːtsʼé / ota-bɛːsʼɛ	̞kʊ́ːsɛ̀ / kʊːsɛ

See also

• Mao word lists (Wiktionary)

Further reading

• Küspert, Klaus-Christian (2015). "The Mao and Komo Languages in the Begi–Tongo area in Western Ethiopia: Classification, Designations, Distribution". Linguistic Discovery. 13 (1). doi:10.1349/PS1.1537-0852.A.447.

References

1. "Omotic languages". Ethnologue. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
2. Küspert, Klaus-Christian (2015). "The Mao and Komo Languages in the Begi–Tongo area in Western Ethiopia: Classification, Designations, Distribution". Linguistic Discovery. 13 (1). doi:10.1349/PS1.1537-0852.A.447.
3. Chan, Eugene (2019). "The Afro-Asiatic Language Phylum". Numeral Systems of the World's Languages.