| Zemiaki | |
|---|---|
| J̌amlām-am bašā | |
| Native to | Afghanistan |
| Region | Nuristan Province |
Native speakers | (500 cited 1999) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | (included in [nli]) |
| Glottolog | zemi1238 |
| ELP | Zemiaki |
Zemiaki (Zamyaki) is a Nuristani language spoken by some 400–500 people in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan.[1]
It is named after the settlement in which it is spoken, from the Pashto Zemyaki žə́ba "language of Zemyaki", the native equivalent being J̌amlām-am bašā. It is closely related to Waigali, and ancestors of the Zemyakis were, according to local tradition, Waigalis who migrated into the area several centuries ago.[1] The language spoken in the surrounding areas is Pashto, and it has been a source of a large number of lexical borrowings, including several common conjunctions.[2]
There is no grammatical gender, but number and person are marked on the verb,[3] following a split-ergative pattern of agreement.[4]
It was thought that Zemiaki is a dialect of Grangali, an Indo-Aryan language. However, its pronouns are characteristically Nuristani, with a close relationship to Waigali, which is confirmed by local tradition.