Linguistic Distance among Gurage Language Varieties

Abstract This article measures linguistic distance and classifies Gurage language varieties, the branches of South Ethiosemitic languages. Previous classifications were inconsistent in sub-grouping the language varieties due to data shortage in each language variety, and the methodologies used. The present study included data from all Gurage varieties and used two methods: phonetic distance measured statistically with Cog.1.3.6.1 and Gabmap, and morphological affixes discussed qualitatively to strengthen the finding from the statistical measures. We had 60 informants, 4 speakers from each language variety. Data were collected over three years. The finding showed that there are two major groups: Dumi Gurage (Zay, Silt’e, and Wolane), and Gunnӓn Gurage which is grouped into West Gurage and North Gurage. The West Gurage is sub-classified into Teʃә-group (Chaha, Gura, Gumer, Ezha, and Gyeto) and Kwese-group (Inor, Ener, and Edegagn). The North Gurage is sub-grouped into Nәgda-group (Kistane and Dobbi), and Bazәna-group (Mesqan and Muher).