Guraferdan Sheko: linguistic treasures of a forgotten dialect

The Endangered Language Documentation Programme (ELDP) provides grants worldwide to for the linguistic documentation of endangered language and knowledge. Grantees create multimedia collection of endangered languages. These collections are preserved and made freely available through the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) housed at the library of SOAS University of London.

The variety of Sheko spoken by an estimated nine thousand people in Guraferda, SW-Ethiopia, differs drastically from the main variety. However, an influx of settlers with a dominant language and culture accelerates changes in language use. This project aims to document the socio-linguistic context of Guraferdan Sheko and its endangered genres of speech. On the basis of the documentation, I will also investigate clause type marking, a typologically salient aspect of Omotic languages. Primary investigator: Anne-Christie Hellenthal

Project Details


Location: Ethiopia, Eastern Africa, Africa Organiser(s): Endangered Languages Documentation Programme Project partner(s): Leiden University Funder(s): Arcadia Funding received: £5,496.00 Commencement Date: 01/2009
Project owner? Update this project



Related Projects

EAP1402 Pub003

19th-century documents from the Peruvian asylum el Manicomio del Cercado

The Victor Larco Herrera Hospital in the centre of Lima, Peru, was closed in 1917. Its archives, dating back to 1859, consist of medical documentation as well as administrativ…

Explore project
EAP1306 Silk Museum

The Caucasian Silk Circle: Digitising Photo Collection of the State Silk Museum in Georgia

The State Silk Museum of Georgia holds the only documentary evidence of the practice of sericulture in the 19th century. Taken during expeditions of the Caucasian Sericulture …

Explore project
EAP1294 team

Safeguarding for Posterity Two Private Collections of Palm-Leaf Manuscripts from the Tamil Country

The Kalliṭaikuṟicci and Villiyampākkam collections are palm-leaf collections held privately in India. The collections are essential to study the prevalent reading practices in…

Explore project