Centre for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
The documentation and ethnolinguistic analysis of Modern South Arabian
The six unwritten Modern South Arabian languages are spoken in eastern Yemen, western Oman and within communities in parts of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
This three-year project will document the four most endangered of these Modern South Arabian languages: Bathari, Hobyot, Harsusi, Śḥerεt (also known as Jibbali) (bhm, hoh, hss, shv). Bathari is on the verge of extinction with under 100 speakers; Hobyot and Harsusi have under 1,000 speakers; Śḥerεt has between 10,000–30,000 speakers.
Documentation will include an audio and audio-visual archive of narrative, descriptive and procedural oral texts, translations and transcriptions of >40% of the material into English and Arabic, and annotation and linearisation of >10% of the material. The project involves close coordination with local communities and the development of written scripts and materials to encourage language revitalisation.
