- Blin language
Infobox Language
name=Blin
nativename=ብሊና
region=centralEritrea
speakers=70,000
iso2=byn
iso3=byn
familycolor=Afro-Asiatic
fam1=Afro-Asiatic
fam2=Cushitic
fam3=Central CushiticNote: Blin is the English spelling which is preferred by native speakers, but Bilin and Bilen (ቢለን) are also commonly used. Bilin is the standard adopted in ISO 639-3.
The Blin language (ብሊና) has approximately 70,000 speakers in and around the city of Keren in
Eritrea . It is the only Central Cushitic language which is spoken inEritrea .Phonology
Consonants
Note: IPA|/tʃ/ is found in loans and the status of IPA|/ʔ/ as a
phoneme is uncertain./r/ is typically realised as a tap when it is medial and a trill when it is in final position.
Blin also needs 5 labiovelar variants:
Latin alphabet
In 1985 the
Eritrean People's Liberation Front decided to use theLatin alphabet for Blin and all other minority languages in Eritrea. This was largely a political decision: the Ge'ez script is associated withChristianity because of its liturgical use. The Latin alphabet is seen as being more neutral. In 1993 the government set up a committee to standardize the Blin language and the Latin-based orthography.ee also
*Blin people
External links
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=byn Ethnologue]
* [http://www.people.vcu.edu/~gasmerom/Eritrean_languages/blin/ Online Blin language tutorial]References
* [http://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/35/paper1302.pdf Consonant Mutation and Reduplication in Blin Singulars and Plurals]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4106/is_200304/ai_n9219176 Language, Education, and Public Policy in Eritrea]Further reading
* F.R. Palmer. 1958. "The noun in Bilin," "Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies" 21:376-391.
* Leo Reinisch. 1882. "Die Bilin-Sprache in Nordost-Afrika". Vienna: Carl Gerold's Sohn.
* A.N. Tucker & M.A. Bryan. 1966. "Linguistic Analyses: The Non-Bantu Languages of North-Eastern Africa". London: Oxford University Press.Links
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