Comorian languages

Comorian (Shikomori, or Shimasiwa, the "language of islands") is a group of four Bantu languages spoken in the Comoros Islands, an archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. It is one of the official languages of the Union of the Comoros in the Comorian constitution. One of them, Shimaore, is spoken on the disputed island of Mayotte, a French department claimed by Comoros. Like Swahili, the Comorian languages are Sabaki languages, in the Bantu language family. Each island has its own language, and the four are conventionally divided into two groups: the eastern group is composed of Shindzuani (spoken on Ndzuani) and Shimaore (Mayotte), while the western group is composed of Shimwali (Mwali) and Shingazija (Ngazidja). Although the languages of different groups are not usually mutually intelligible, only sharing about 80% of their lexicon, there is mutual intelligibility between the languages within each group, suggesting that Shikomori should be considered as two language groups, each including two languages, rather than four distinct languages. Historically, the language was written in the Arabic-based Ajami script. The French colonial administration introduced Latin script. In 2009 the current independent government decreed a modified version of the Latin script for official use. Many Comorians now use the Latin script when writing the Comorian language although the Ajami script is still widely used, especially by women. Recently, some scholars have suggested that the language may be on its way to endangerment, citing the unstable code-switching and numerous French words used in daily speech. It is the language of Umodja wa Masiwa, the national anthem.