|
| Living languages |
Mehri
|
145,000 |
Socotri
|
80,000 |
Bathari
|
Less than 1000 |
Harsusi
|
2,000 |
Hobyot
|
Less than 1000 |
Shehri
|
40,000 |
TOTAL
|
270,000 |
|
Mehri
Other spelling: Mahric
Also called: Biljaf
Spoken in Yemen, Oman and in Kuwait by about 145,000 of the Mahra people. About half the population of the Mahra Governorate speak Mehri. Many Mahra in Yemen now have Arabic as first language.
There are three main dialects of Mehri: Western, Eastern and Nagdi. The latter belongs to Oman only.
A large part of Mehri speakers are fluent in Arabic, and there is practically no form of written Mehri.
Socotri
Other spellings: Soqotri, Saqatri, Sokotri, Suqutri
Spoken as the main language on the Yemeni island of Socotra, and a few hundreds on the island of Abd al-Kuri. There are also a few thousand Socotri speakers in mainland Yemen, and as an immigrant group in United Arab Emirates, with about 10,000.
Dialects are roughly distinguished into Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western as well as Abd al-Kuri.
Shehri
Other names: Geblet, Sheret, Sehri, Shahari, Jibali, Jibbali, Ehkili, Qarawi
Native to the Dhofar region of Oman, in the mountains north of Salalah and is spoken by about 40,000 Shahara from several tribes: the Qara, Shahra, Barahama, Bait Ash-Shaik and a few of the Batahira. An immigrant group of 45,000 have settled in Saudi Arabia.
An increasing number of the Shehri speakers are bilingual in Dhofari Arabic.
Harsusi
Is close to Mehri, but classified as a separate language. Spoken only in Oman by about 2,000. Harsusi speakers are called Harasis, and live in the Harasis Mountains in Dhofar province.
Bathari
Bathari remains as a language spoken by as little as 500 people living both in Yemen and Oman, then in the coastal villages of Shuwaymiya and Sharbithat. Bathari is close to Mehri.
Hobyot
Spoken only in Oman by as little as 100 according to 1998 estimate. The language is close to Mehri and Shehri.
