Zay language

Zay is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Ethiopia. One of the Gurage languages, it is spoken by around 5,000 Zay people on the islands and shores of Lake Zway in the southern part of the country. The language is also known as Zway, Lak'i/Laqi, and, in the neighboring Oromo language, Gelilla.

Language situation

Zay is an unwritten language. Most speakers are multilingual in Oromo, Amharic, and additional Gurage languages. The language is geographically concentrated around Lake Zway, specifically in Hera, Meki, Ziway, Fundurro Island, Tsedecha Island, and Debre Sina Island. It is endangered, with speakers migrating to the mainland adopting the Oromo language, and increasing use of Oromo by the younger generations on the Zay islands.

Zay is 70% lexically similar with the Silt'e language, and 60% with Harari.

Grammar

The word order of Zay is SOV (subject–object–verb). Attributive adjectives precede the nouns they modify. Possessives also precede nouns. Zay is a pro-drop language, with required subject-marking on the verb.