ብሊና
Blin
Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, Central)
Bilen (Bilin, ብሊን) is a Central Cushitic (Agaw) language spoken by the Bilen people of Eritrea's Anseba region, centered on Keren, Halhal and Hagaz, with ~140K speakers. It is the northernmost surviving member of the Agaw branch (which once dominated the Ethiopian Highlands before Semitic Ge'ez/Amharic expansion), other Agaw languages being Awngi (awn) in Ethiopia and the endangered Xamtanga (xan), Qimant (ahg), Kemant. Bilen society is traditionally divided between Christian (Eritrean Catholic and Orthodox Tewahedo) and Muslim Bilen. Both Ethiopic Ge'ez fidäl script and Latin orthography are in use, with active religious and educational publications since the late 19th century.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Blin
Water
አኳ
/akwa/
Fire
ላእ
/laʔ/
Sun
ኤርሕ
/erəħ/
Moon
ቸራ
/tʃəra/
Mother
እና
/əna/
Father
አባ
/aba/
Eat
ምሰራ
/məsəra/
Drink
መዕያ
/mətʕəja/
Love
ኩረቦ
/kurəbo/
Heart
ሊባ
/liba/
Tree
ሐጨር
/ħətʃər/
House
ጊና
/ɡina/
Dog
ጋቢራ
/ɡabira/
Cat
ሐራ
/ħara/
Hand
አንካዕ
/ankaʕ/
Eye
ኢላ
/ila/
Hello
ኢራዋ
/irawa/
Thank you
ቀንየለይ
/qənjələj/
One
አሬ
/are/
Good
ጨጋ
/tʃəɡa/
Sources
- Ethnologue: byn
- Appleyard (2007) Bilen Lexicon (Cushitic Language Studies)
- Glottolog: bili1259
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, Central) languages
| Meaning | Blin | Mandaic | Amharic | Tigrinya | Tigre | Kabardian | Rwa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | አኳ /akwa/ | ࡌࡉࡀ /mia/ | ውሃ /wɨha/ | ማይ /maj/ | ማይ /maj/ | псы /psə/ | mende /mende/ |
| Fire | ላእ /laʔ/ | ࡍࡅࡓࡀ /nura/ | እሳት /ɨssat/ | ሓዊ /ħawi/ | እሳት /ʔəssat/ | мафӏэ /mafʼa/ | msika /msika/ |
| Sun | ኤርሕ /erəħ/ | ࡔࡀࡌࡔࡀ /ʃamʃa/ | ፀሐይ /tsʼɛhaj/ | ጸሓይ /tsʼəħaj/ | ጸሓይ /tsʼəħaj/ | дыгъэ /dəʁa/ | mlao /mlao/ |
| Moon | ቸራ /tʃəra/ | ࡎࡉࡓࡀ /sira/ | ጨረቃ /t͡ʃʼɛɾɛkʼa/ | ወርሒ /wərħi/ | ወርሕ /waɾəħ/ | мазэ /maza/ | mwere /mwere/ |
| Mother | እና /əna/ | ࡀࡌࡀ /ama/ | እናት /ɨnnat/ | ኣደ /ʔaddə/ | እሞ /ʔəmmo/ | анэ /ana/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | አባ /aba/ | ࡀࡁࡀ /aba/ | አባት /abbat/ | ኣቦ /ʔabbo/ | አቦ /ʔabbo/ | адэ /ada/ | baba /baba/ |
| Eat | ምሰራ /məsəra/ | ࡀࡊࡀࡋ /akal/ | መብላት /mɛblat/ | ምብላዕ /mɨblaʕ/ | በልዐ /balʕa/ | шхэн /ʃxan/ | kuria /kuria/ |
| Drink | መዕያ /mətʕəja/ | ࡔࡕࡀ /ʃta/ | መጠጣት /mɛtʼɛtʼːat/ | ምስታይ /mɨstaj/ | ሰትየ /satja/ | ефэн /jafan/ | kunyua /kuɲua/ |
| Love | ኩረቦ /kurəbo/ | ࡓࡅࡄࡌࡀ /ɾuhma/ | ፍቅር /fɨkʼɨr/ | ፍቕሪ /fɨqʼɾi/ | ፍቅሪ /fəqʼri/ | лъагъуныгъэ /ɬaʁʷənəʁa/ | lumbo /lumbo/ |
| Heart | ሊባ /liba/ | ࡋࡉࡁࡀ /liba/ | ልብ /lɨbb/ | ልቢ /lɨbbi/ | ልቢ /ləbbi/ | гу /ɡʷə/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ |
| Tree | ሐጨር /ħətʃər/ | ࡀࡊࡀࡍࡀ /akana/ | ዛፍ /zaf/ | ኦም /ʔom/ | ዕጨይ /ʕətʃʼaj/ | жыг /ʒəɡ/ | mte /mte/ |
| House | ጊና /ɡina/ | ࡁࡉࡕࡀ /bita/ | ቤት /bet/ | ገዛ /ɡəza/ | ቤት /beːt/ | унэ /wəna/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | ጋቢራ /ɡabira/ | ࡊࡀࡋࡁࡀ /kalba/ | ውሻ /wɨʃʃa/ | ከልቢ /kəlbi/ | ከልብ /kalb/ | хьэ /ħa/ | mboha /mboha/ |
| Cat | ሐራ /ħara/ | ࡔࡅࡍࡀࡓࡀ /ʃunara/ | ድመት /dɨmmɛt/ | ድሙ /dɨmmu/ | ድሙ /dəmmu/ | джэду /dʒadu/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | አንካዕ /ankaʕ/ | ࡏࡃࡀ /ʔida/ | እጅ /ɨd͡ʒː/ | ኢድ /ʔid/ | እድ /ʔəd/ | ӏэ /ʔa/ | mkono /mkono/ |
| Eye | ኢላ /ila/ | ࡏࡉࡍࡀ /ʔina/ | ዓይን /ajn/ | ዓይኒ /ʕajni/ | ዐይን /ʕajn/ | нэ /na/ | liso /liso/ |
| Hello | ኢራዋ /irawa/ | ࡔࡋࡀࡌࡀ /ʃlama/ | ሰላም /sɛlam/ | ሰላም /səlam/ | ሰላም /salaːm/ | фӏэхъус /fʼaqʷəs/ | kira /kiɾa/ |
| Thank you | ቀንየለይ /qənjələj/ | ࡈࡀࡁࡅࡕࡀ /ʈabuta/ | አመሰግናለሁ /amɛsɛɡɡɨnallɛhu/ | የቐንየለይ /jɨqʼɨnjɨlɨj/ | የቀንየለይ /jəqanjəlej/ | фӏыщӏэ /fʼəʃʼa/ | asante /asante/ |
| One | አሬ /are/ | ࡄࡀࡃ /had/ | አንድ /and/ | ሓደ /ħadə/ | ሓዲ /ħadi/ | зы /zə/ | mongo /moŋɡo/ |
| Good | ጨጋ /tʃəɡa/ | ࡈࡀࡁࡀ /tˤaba/ | ጥሩ /tʼɨru/ | ጽቡቕ /tsʼɨbuqʼ/ | ጽቡቕ /tsʼəbbuqʼ/ | фӏы /fʼə/ | kya /kja/ |
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