Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Soqoṭrī, Soqotri, Saqatri, Sokotri, Suqutri, Socotri
CLASSIFICATION		Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Modern South Arabian
ORTHOGRAPHY		none
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		sqt
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Central Soqotri Northern Soqotri North Central Soqotri Northwest Central Soqotri `Abd Al-Kuri Southern Soqotri Western Soqotri
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Morphological and syntactic aspects of the Soqotri dialect of Galansiyah” (xxvii+485) . Makhashen, Khaled Awadh Omer (2009)

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<50,000?
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
(based on the population of Socotra island)

"Nowadays, anyone who visits the island hardly meets a monolingual Soqotran who never speaks Arabic, especially in the main towns. Even in the villages, the young Soqotrans who attend school are fluent in Arabic. The number of monolingual Soqotrans, usually old men and women living in the mountains and remote areas, is decreasing."

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
SPEAKER ATTITUDE: Some Soqotri speakers have reached a state in which they start preferring Arabic to their language and start feeling that their language is no longer suitable for their needs and religion.
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: The Soqotri culture as well as the Soqotri language is under a huge influence of the dominant Arabic culture and language which infiltrates everything in the archipelago of Soqotra.
Scripts (Writing system): none

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: It is spoken only in the islands of Soqotra archipelago in Yemen and by the Soqotri immigrants in the Arabian Gulf States mainly in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. Soqotra archipelago consists of Soqotra, the main and largest island, the island of Abd al-Kuri, Samha Island and Darsa Island. Soqotra archipelago is located in the Arabian Sea around 300 kilometres south of the Arabian Peninsula and 240 kilometres from the coasts of Africa. It is between the latitudes 12, 8 -12, 42 north of the equator and the longitudes 53, 19 -54, 33 east of Greenwich (Zorman, 2006)

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
64,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"57,000 in Yemen (1990 census)."

PLACES: Yemen; United Arab Emirates;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Yemen: Mainly Soqotra Island; ’Abd al-Kuri island, Samha Island in the Gulf of Aden."

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
50,000
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
60,000
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: Spoken exclusively on the Yemeni island of Soqotra

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
50,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
The inhabitants of Soqotra are put at 50,000, those of 'Abd-al-Kuri at about 250 (Naumkin 1988:342, 359) and at ten or a dozen in Samha.

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Both in Oman and in the Yemen, Arabic is the language used for official intercourse (administration, school, army). Native speakers use their mother tongue for private purposes, in the family circle and with other speakers of the same language; many a speaker uses several MSAL, when these languages are closely related.

PLACES: It is spoken in Yemen, on the island of Soqotra and the neighbouring islets of 'Abd-al-Kuri and Samha.

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

DATE OF INFO: 2001

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Domains of use are diminishing, as is intergenerational transmission. The author notes that children can no longer count to ten in Soqotri, they only know the Arabic. This shift is mainly due to schooling in Arabic, urbanization, television, and modernization.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Arabic

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Author divides up the language into six dialects based on area:
1. Hadibo (the capital);
2. Villages of the northern plain, near the city and Qadhub;
3. Haghyer and Diksam, isolated in the mountains;
4. Momi;
5. Qalansiya area, western coast;
6. Noged, the southern coast.

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
64,000
Native speakers worldwide

				2009	Morphological and syntactic aspects of the Soqotri dialect of Galansiyah		xxvii+485					Universiti Sains Malaysia	http://eprints.usm.my/15591/1/MORPHOLOGICAL_AND_SYNTACTIC_ASPECTS_OF_THE_SOQOTRI.pdf	Makhashen, Khaled Awadh Omer	Khaled Awadh Omer Makhashen. Morphological and Syntactic Aspects of the Soqotri Dialect of Galansiyah. PhD thesis, , 2009. Online: http://eprints.usm.my/15591/1/MORPHOLOGICAL_AND_SYNTACTIC_ASPECTS_OF_THE_SOQOTRI.pdf.		<50,000?		10000-99999	(based on the population of Socotra island) "Nowadays, anyone who visits the island hardly meets a monolingual Soqotran who never speaks Arabic, especially in the main towns. Even in the villages, the young Soqotrans who attend school are fluent in Arabic. The number of monolingual Soqotrans, usually old men and women living in the mountains and remote areas, is decreasing."	In town, in school	Arabic	Some Soqotri speakers have reached a state in which they start preferring Arabic to their language and start feeling that their language is no longer suitable for their needs and religion.	The Soqotri culture as well as the Soqotri language is under a huge influence of the dominant Arabic culture and language which infiltrates everything in the archipelago of Soqotra.		Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13		12	13			It is spoken only in the islands of Soqotra archipelago in Yemen and by the Soqotri immigrants in the Arabian Gulf States mainly in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. Soqotra archipelago consists of Soqotra, the main and largest island, the island of Abd al-Kuri, Samha Island and Darsa Island. Soqotra archipelago is located in the Arabian Sea around 300 kilometres south of the Arabian Peninsula and 240 kilometres from the coasts of Africa. It is between the latitudes 12, 8 -12, 42 north of the equator and the longitudes 53, 19 -54, 33 east of Greenwich (Zorman, 2006)	12.479891, 53.796180
				2003	Soqotri dialectology, and the evaluation of the language endangerment				Second Scientific Symposium on "The Developing Strategy of Soqotra Archipelago and the other Yemeni Islands", 14-16, Dec. 2003, University of Aden.					Marie-Claude SIMEONE-SENELLE	SIMEONE-SENELLE, Marie-Claude. 2003. "Soqotri Dialectology, and the Evaluation of the Language Endangerment."	HHOLD		2001				Arabic			most	Threatened (40 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12	Domains of use are diminishing, as is intergenerational transmission. The author notes that children can no longer count to ten in Soqotri, they only know the Arabic. This shift is mainly due to schooling in Arabic, urbanization, television, and modernization.			Author divides up the language into six dialects based on area: 1. Hadibo (the capital); 2. Villages of the northern plain, near the city and Qadhub; 3. Haghyer and Diksam, isolated in the mountains; 4. Momi; 5. Qalansiya area, western coast; 6. Noged, the southern coast.
	Routledge Language Family Series			1997	The Modern South Arabian Languages	The Semitic Languages	378-423	Robert Hetzron		London & New York: Routledge				Marie-Claude Simeone-Simelle	Simeone-Simelle, Marie-Claude. 1997. "The Modern South Arabian Languages." In The Semitic Languages, edited by Robert Hetzron. 378-423. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD	50,000		10000-99999	The inhabitants of Soqotra are put at 50,000, those of 'Abd-al-Kuri at about 250 (Naumkin 1988:342, 359) and at ten or a dozen in Samha.				Both in Oman and in the Yemen, Arabic is the language used for official intercourse (administration, school, army). Native speakers use their mother tongue for private purposes, in the family circle and with other speakers of the same language; many a speaker uses several MSAL, when these languages are closely related.		Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						It is spoken in Yemen, on the island of Soqotra and the neighbouring islets of 'Abd-al-Kuri and Samha.
0199255911				2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer		Oxford University Press	New York				2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.																			12.5, 54.0
		16		2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis		SIL International	Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	64,000		10000-99999	"57,000 in Yemen (1990 census)."						Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						Yemen; United Arab Emirates;	"Yemen: Mainly Soqotra Island; ’Abd al-Kuri island, Samha Island in the Gulf of Aden."
		3rd		2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger					UNESCO Publishing	Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub	50,000		10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)								12.5331, 53.767
					Glottolog								http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/		"Glottolog." Online: http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/.																			12.49, 53.92
					World Oral Literature Project								http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.		64,000		10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
3447067365	Semitica Viva		52	2012	The Structure of Mehri					Harrassowitz	Wiesbaden			Janet C.E. Watson	Janet C.E. Watson. 2012. "The Structure of Mehri." Harrassowitz.		60,000		10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						Spoken exclusively on the Yemeni island of Soqotra

Soqoṭri

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<50,000?

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

64,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

60,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50,000

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

64,000

Discussion

Soqoṭri

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<50,000?

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

64,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

60,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50,000

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

64,000

Discussion

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