Sebat Bet Gurage language

Gurage language spoken in Ethiopia

Sebat Bet ("Seven houses") is an Ethiopian Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in Ethiopia.

Overview

One of the Gurage languages, Sebat Bet is divided into several dialects. The latter are spoken in the western Gurage Region:

• Chaha (Cheha) is spoken in Cheha and is the best studied of these varieties
• Mesqan is spoken in Meskan
• Ezha (Eza, Izha) is spoken in Ezhana Wolene
• Muher is spoken in the mountains north of Cheha and Ezhana Wolene
• Geta is spoken in Geta
• Gumer (Gwemarra, Gʷəmarə), spoken in Gumer
• Inor (Ennemor), spoken in Enemorina Eaner

• Endegegn and the extinct Mesmes language are sometimes considered subdialects of Inor.

Notes

1. Sebat Bet Gurage at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)

Further reading

• Leslau, Wolf. 1997. "Chaha (Gurage) Phonology" in Kaye, Alan S. (ed.): Phonologies of Asia and Africa 1. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. pp. 373–397.
• Rose, Sharon. 2007. "Chaha (Gurage) Morphology" in Kaye, Alan D. (ed.): Morphologies of Africa and Asia 1. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. pp. 403–427.

External links

• World Atlas of Language Structures information on Chaha