Mehri language
| Mehri | |
|---|---|
| مهريّت, Mahrīyyt | |
| Native to | Yemen, Oman |
| Region | South Arabia |
| Ethnicity | Mehri |
Native speakers | c. 190,000 in Yemen, c. 250,300 total (2024) |
| Dialects |
|
| Modified version of the Arabic script | |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Mehri Language Centre for Studies and Research |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gdq |
| Glottolog | mehr1241 |
| ELP | Mehri |
Mehri is classified as "definitely endangered" by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Mehri (endonym: مهريّت, romanized: Mahrīyyt) is a Modern South Arabian language (MSAL) spoken primarily by the Mehri tribes in the Mahra Governorate of Yemen and the Dhofar Governorate of Oman, as well as by smaller diaspora communities in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. It is the most spoken language of the MSAL group, a subgroup of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. It is one of six distinct languages within the MSAL group, which also includes Shehri, Harsusi, Hobyot, Bathari, and Soqotri.
Mehri and its sister languages were spoken in the southern Arabian Peninsula before the spread of Arabic along with Islam in the 7th century CE. Today it is also spoken by Mehri residents in Arab states of the Persian Gulf originally from Yemen, as well as nationals with a Yemeni heritage. Given the dominance of Arabic in the region over the past 1400 years and the frequent bilingualism with Arabic among Mehri speakers, Mehri is at some risk of extinction. Up to the 19th century, speakers lived as far north as the central part of Oman. It is primarily a spoken language, with little existing vernacular literature and almost no literacy in written Mehri among native speakers.
Mahris consider 2 October to be the Mehri Language Day.