The Berta languages, or Wetawit, traditionally considered dialects of a single language, are Gebeto (Berta proper), Fadashi, and Undu. They are either a small family (or language isolate) of their own, or a primary branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family.
| Berta | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Ethiopia, Sudan |
| Linguistic classification | Nilo-Saharan?
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wti |
| Glottolog | bert1248 |
Berta has the typical word order subject–verb–object. It is a tonal language. It has significantly influenced some of the Eastern Jebel languages. The Arabic name "Beni-Shangul" (as in the Ethiopian province of Benishangul-Gumuz) derives from a Berta expression (with bele "rock/stone" misanalyzed as Arabic beni "sons").
Varieties
Bremer (2016)[1] surveys the following 6 varieties of Berta, providing word lists for them as well.
See also
- Berta word lists (Wiktionary)
References
- ^ Bremer, Nate D. 2016. A Sociolinguistic Survey of Six Berta Speech Varieties in Ethiopia. SIL Electronic Survey Report 2016-007. Addis Ababa: SIL International.