The Masa languages are a group of closely related
Chadic languages
The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 196 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, and northern Cameroon. By far the most widely ...
of southwestern
Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
and northern
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
.
Languages
The Masa languages listed in Blench (2006) are:
*Masa
**North
***
Massa (Masana)
***?
Zumaya (†)
***Musey–Azumeina
****
Musey
****
Azumeina (Marba)
**South
***
Mesmé
***Peve–Kaɗo
****
Pévé
****
Ngeté-Herdé
The exonym ''Zime'' is used for the Herdé, Ngeté, Pévé, and Mesmé. Similarly, ''Kaɗo'' is a generic name for the Peve–Kaɗo languages, a couple of which are called ''Lamé'' as well.
Shryock (1997)
Shryock (1997: 32)
[Shryock, Aaron. 1997. The classification of the Masa group of languages. ''Studies in African Linguistics'' 26(1): 29‒62.] subgroups the Masa languages as:
*
Zumaya †
*North:
Masa
''Masa'' or ''masa de maíz'' (; ) is a dough made from ground nixtamalized maize. It is used for making corn tortillas, '' gorditas'', '' tamales'', '' pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes.
It is dried and powdered into a flour f ...
;
Musey;
Marba,
Monogoy
*South:
Zime;
Peve;
Heɗe-Ngiɗe
Numerals
Comparison of numerals in individual languages:
See also
*
List of Proto-Masa reconstructions (Wiktionary)
References
External links
Masa Chadic resourcesat africanlanguages.org
{{Masa languages
Chadic languages
Languages of Cameroon
Languages of Chad