|
Mehri is a language, which is widely spoken by people living close to the border of Yemen and Oman. It is a form of spoken language, which does not have an alphabet. Mehri along with Sheri and Soqotri languages forms the collection of new South Arabic languages.
Mehri is part of the South Semitic group of languages. Though the Sheri and Soqotri languages were known to classical Arabic authors, yet very little is known about this new group of languages. Mehri is a language, which was spoken by the people of the southern Arabian Peninsula, before Arabic language and the Islamic religion spread in the 7th century A.D. With the rapid spread of Arabic language, the Mehri language is on the verge of extinction. In the present days, it is generally spoken by the native tribes and some workers from southern Peninsula regions visiting Kuwait still use this language.
Mehri is basically a spoken language, which has little printed materials and most of the native speakers have no idea about its written form. The speakers of Mehri language are known as Mahra people. Mehri is spoken by 70,643 people in Yemen and relatively smaller amount of people in Oman and Kuwait.
|
