# Maore dialect

Maore Comorian, or Shimaore (French Mahorais), is one of the two indigenous languages spoken in the French island of Mayotte; Shimaore being a dialect of the Comorian language, while ShiBushi is an unrelated Malayo-Polynesian language originally from Madagascar. Historically, Shimaore- and ShiBushi-speaking villages on Mayotte have been clearly identified, but Shimaore tends to be the de facto indigenous lingua franca in everyday life, because of the larger Shimaore-speaking population. Only Shimaore is represented on the local television news program by Mayotte La Première. The 2002 census references 80,140 speakers of Shimaore in Mayotte itself, to which one would have to add people living outside the island, mostly in metropolitan France. There are also 20,000 speakers of Comorian in Madagascar, of which 3,000 are Shimaore speakers.
The same 2002 census indicates that 37,840 persons responded as knowing how to read or write Shimaore. However this number has to be taken with caution, since it was a few years after this census was taken that a standard writing system was introduced.
From a sociolinguistic perspective, French tends to be regarded by many Shimaore speakers as the language of higher education and prestige, and there is a temptation by native Mahorans to provide an all-French education to their children. This puts a lot of pressure on Shimaore and the language may become endangered in the near future if nothing is done.
Although French remains the official language in Mayotte, Shimaore will probably be taught in Mahoran schools starting in the next few years, and a pilot project began in fall 2004. As in many parts of France where local languages are introduced in the school system, this has led to tensions between partisans of a French-centered education system and administrations, versus those promoting a more diversified approach. Shimaore's position in this regard is however different from other French regions (such as Brittany), since the language is locally spoken by a majority of the population. The project in Mayotte has been inspired by similar projects involving Swahili in eastern Africa countries.
Mayotte is a geographically small territory, but frequent exchanges between villages only began in the last quarter of the twentieth century. As of 2004, linguistic differences between the east and west part of the island, and between the main city of Mamoudzou and the remote villages, are still noticeable, especially when it comes to phonological differences. One typical example is the word u-la (to eat), notably pronounced this way in the city due to the influence of a brand of yogurt bearing the same name, but pronounced u-dja in other parts of the island.

## Phonology
### Consonants

| | | Bilabial | Labio- dental | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | | | n | | ɲ | | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | | | t | ʈ | | k | |
| Plosive | voiced | b | | | d | ɖ | | ɡ | |
| Plosive | implosive | ɓ | | | ɗ | | | | |
| Plosive | voiceless prenasalized | ᵐp | | | | | | | |
| Plosive | voiced prenasalized | ᵐb | | | ⁿd | ᶯɖ | | ᵑɡ | |
| Affricate | voiceless | | | | ts | | tʃ | | |
| Affricate | voiced | | | | dz | | dʒ | | |
| Affricate | voiceless prenasalized | | | | ⁿts | | | | |
| Affricate | voiced prenasalized | | | | ⁿdz | | ᶮdʒ | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | | f | θ | s | | ʃ | | h |
| Fricative | voiced | β | v | ð | z | | ʒ | | |
| Rhotic | Rhotic | | | | r | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | | | | l | | j | w | |
This language features an unusual contrast between /w, β, v, b, ɓ/.

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back |
| High | i | | u |
| Mid | e | | o |
| Low | | a | |
This is a basic five-vowel system similar to that of languages such as Spanish.

## Orthography

Shimaore was traditionally written with an informal French-based Latin alphabet. On 22 February 2006, the Conseil de la Culture, de l'Éducation et de l'Environnement de Mayotte introduced an official alphabet developed by Association ShiMé that utilizes the basic Latin alphabet without c, q, and x and adds three letters: ɓ, ɗ, and v̄. On 3 March 2020, the Conseil départemental de Mayotte announced the adoption of official orthographies in both Latin and Arabic scripts for Shimaore.

### Maore Latin Alphabet

Shimaore alphabet Alifuɓe ya Shimaore :
| Letter | A a | B b | Ɓ ɓ Implosive | D d | Ɗ ɗ Implosive | E e | F f | G g | H h | I i | J j | K k | L l | M m | N n | O o | P p | R r | S s | T t | U u | V v | V̄ v̄ | W w | Y y | Z z |
| IPA Value | /a/ | /b/ | /ɓ/ | /d/ | /ɗ/ | /e/ | /f/ | /ɡ/ | /h/ | /i/ | /ʒ/ | /k/ | /l/ | /m/ | /n/ | /o/ | /p/ | /r/ | /s/ | /t/ | /u/ | /v/ | /β/ | /w/ | /j/ | /z/ |
Digraphs/Trigraphs :
| Letter | Dh, dh | Dj, dj | Dr, dr | Dz, dz | Mb, mb | Mp, mp | Nd, nd | Ndj, ndj | Ndr, ndr | Ndz, ndz | Ng, ng | Nts, nts | Ny, ny | Sh, sh | Th, th | Tr, tr | Ts, ts | Tsh, tsh |
| IPA Value | /ð/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /ɖ/ | /d͡z/ | /mb/ | /mp/ | /ⁿd/ | /ᶮd͡ʒ/ | /ᶯɖ/ | /ⁿd͡z/ | /ᵑɡ/ | /ⁿt͡s/ | /ɲ/ | /ʃ/ | /θ/ | /ʈ/ | /t͡s/ | /t͡ʃ/ |

### Maore Arabic Alphabet

Maore Arabic Alphabet, officially recognized alongside Latin since 2020, consists of 35 letters, of which 27 are from the original Arabic script, and 9 are created for sounds not found in Arabic. However, many of the letters in Maore have a different pronunciation than their Arabic counterpart.
Whereas in Arabic there are 3 vowels, in Maore there are 5. While the common convention in Swahili Ajami orthography has been to use two new diacritics, which are modified varieties of two existing diacritics, in Maore Arabic alphabet, only the 3 original Arabic diacritics are used. Arabic vowels themselves represent vowels [a], [u], and [i].
The vowel [o] is created by adding a waw "و" and a zero-vowel diacritic (sukun) after the consonant.
The vowel [e] is created by adding a ya' "ي" and a zero-vowel diacritic (sukun) after the consonant.
In Maore Arabic Alphabet, (similar to Swahili Ajami Script) stressed syllables are marked, either with alif "ا" (if the vowel of the syllable is [a]), waw "و" (if the vowel of the syllable is [u]), or ya' "ي" (if the vowel of the syllable is [i]). These letters are written with no diacritic, not even zero-vowel diacritic (sukun). (the existence or lack thereof of the zero-vowel diacritic is what distinguishes between [e] and a stressed [i]). This does not apply to stressed syllables containing vowels [o] or [e].
In most cases, the stressed syllable happens to be the one before last.
Whereas in Arabic, the letter ʿayn is used as a pharyngeal consonant, in Maore it has a unique role of being the carrier for nasal vowels. Meaning that with the use of diacritics (and the letter waw "و" and ya' "ي" as needed), nasal vowels are written.
When non-nasal vowels are at the beginning of a word, alif-hamza "أ / إ" is used as a carrier of the appropriate diacritic (followed by the letter waw "و" and ya' "ي" as needed.)
Maore Arabic Alphabet Consonants :
| Letter | Latin Equivalent | IPA | Example | Latin spelling | Meaning |
| أ، إ‎ | - | [ʔ] | سُألَ‎ | suala | question |
| ب‎ | Ɓ ɓ | [ɓ] | بَهَاتِ‎ | ɓahati | chance |
| ٻ‎ | ‌B b | [b] | ٻِيْنْڠَانِ‎ | bengani | eggplant |
| پ‎ | ‌P p | [p] | پَارِيْ‎ | parè | route |
| ت‎ | ‌T t | [t] | تِبَاكُ‎ | tiɓaku | tobacco |
| ث‎ | ‌Th th | [θ] | ثَوَابُ‎ | thawaɓu | religious/spiritual reward |
| ج‎ | ‌Dj dj | [dʒ] | جَوَابُ‎ | djawabu | response, answer |
| چ‎ | ‌J j | [ʒ] | چِيْچِيْ‎ | jeje | "How is it going?" |
| خ‎ | Kh kh | [χ] | خَلِيفَ‎ | khalifa | successor/ruler |
| د‎ | D d | [d] | دَامُ‎ | damu | blood |
| ذ‎ | Dh dh | [ð] | ذَهَابُ‎ | dhahabu | gold |
| ډ‎ | Ɗ ɗ | [ɗ] | ډُوْمُوْ‎ | ɗomo | lip |
| ڍ‎ | Dy dy | [ʄ] | أُڍَا‎ | udya | to eat |
| ر‎ | R r | [r] | رُوْهُوْ‎ | roho | heart |
| ز‎ | Z z | [z] | زُوزِ‎ | zuzi | day before yesterday |
| س‎ | S s | [s] | سِمْٻَ‎ | simba | lion |
| ش‎ | Sh sh | [ʃ] | شَمْٻَ‎ | shamba | cultivated land |
| ص‎ | Sw sw | [sw] | صَلَا‎ | swala | salah/prayer |
| ض‎ | Dw dw | [dw] | ضَرُورَ‎ | dwarura | urgency/emergency |
| ط‎ | Tw tw | [tw] | طَرِيكَ‎ | twarika | religious brotherhood |
| ظ‎ | Dhw dhw | [ðw] | ظَاهِرِ‎ | dhwàhiri | visible |
| غ‎ | Gh gh H h | [ɣ] | غَالِ‎ | hali | expensive |
| ڠ‎ | G g | [g] | ڠَارِ‎ | gari | car |
| ف‎ | F f | [f] | فِيجُو‎ | fidjo | sound |
| ڤ‎ | V v | [v] | ڤُوَ‎ | vua | rain |
| ݡ‎ | Bv bv V̄ v̄ | [β] | ݡُوْلِيْݡُوْلِيْ‎ | Bvolebvole | gently/softly |
| ك‎ | K k | [k] | كَامْبَا‎ | kamba | lobster |
| ل‎ | L l | [l] | لِيْوُوْ‎ | leo | today |
| م‎ | M m | [m] | مَاتْرَا‎ | matrà | oil |
| ن‎ | N n | [n] | نَادْزِي‎ | nadzì | coconut |
| ڼ‎ | Ny ny | [ɲ] | ڼَامَ‎ | nyama | meat |
| و‎ | W w | [w] | وَاوِيْ‎ | wawe | you |
| ه / هـ‎ | H h | [h] | هَازِ‎ | hazi | work/function |
| ي‎ | Y y | [j] | يِيْزِ‎ | yezi | power |
Maore Arabic Digraphs/Trigraphs :
| Letter | Latin Equivalent | IPA | Example | Latin spelling | Meaning |
| تْر‎ | Tr tr | [tr] | تْرَمْبُوْ‎ | trambo | lie/deceit |
| تْس‎ | Ts ts | [ts] | تْسِنْڠُوْ‎ | tsingo | elbow |
| تْش‎ | Tsh tsh | [tʃ] | تْشُوْرَ‎ | tshora | spear |
| دْر‎ | Dr dr | [dr] | دْرَادْرَاكَ‎ | dradraka | crab |
| دْز‎ | Dz dz | [dz] | دْزِنْدْزَانُوْ‎ | dzindzano | yellow |
| مْٻ‎ | Mb mb | [ᵐb] | مْٻِيَ‎ | mbia | grain |
| مْپ‎ | Mp mp | [ᵐp] | مْپِيَ‎ | mpia | new |
| نْتْس‎ | Nts nts | [nts] | فَرَنْتْسَا‎ | Farantsa | France |
| نْج‎ | Ndj ndj | [ᶮd͡ʒ] | نْجِيْمَ‎ | ndjema | good/nice |
| نْد‎ | Nd nd | [ⁿd] | نْدُوْڤُ‎ | ndovu | elephant |
| نْدْر‎ | Ndr ndr | [ᶯɖ] | نْدْرَا‎ | ndra | louse (lice) |
| نْدْز‎ | Ndz ndz | [ⁿd͡z] | نْدْزَا‎ | ndza | hunger |
| نْڠ‎ | Ng ng | [ᵑɡ] | نْڠُوْمَ‎ | ngoma | drum |
| نْي‎ | Ny ny | [ɲ] | نْيَامَ‎ | nyama | meat |
Vowel as first sound of word :
| A | E | I | O | U |
| أَ‎ | إِيْـ / إِيْ‎ | إِ‎ | أُوْ‎ | أُ‎ |
| ‌أَدَابُ‎ adabu politeness | ‌إِيْوَا‎ ewa yes | ‌إِينَا‎ ina henna | ‌أُوْكْتُوْٻْرُ‎ Oktobru October | ‌أُسُبُوتُ‎ usuɓutu to defy |
Simple Vowels :
| -a | -e | -i | -o | -u |
| ◌َ‎ | ◌ِيْـ / ◌ِيْ‎ | ◌ِ‎ | ◌ُوْ‎ | ◌ُ‎ |
Simple Vowels in a stressed syllable :
| -a | -e | -i | -o | -u |
| ◌َا‎ | ◌ِيْـ / ◌ِيْ‎ | ◌ِيـ / ◌ِي‎ | ◌ُوْ‎ | ◌ُو‎ |
Nasal Vowels :
| Ã -ã | Ẽ -ẽ | Ĩ -ĩ | Õ -õ | Ũ -ũ |
| عَـ / عَ‎ | عِيْـ / عِيْ‎ | عِـ / عِ‎ | عُوْ‎ | عُـ / عُ‎ |
| أَنْـ / أَنْ ◌َانْـ / ◌َانْ‎ | إِيْنْـ / إِيْنْ ◌ِيْنْـ / ◌ِيْنْ‎ | إِنْـ / إِنْ ◌ِنْـ / ◌ِنْ‎ | أُوْنْـ / أُوْنْ ◌ُوْنْـ / ◌ُوْنْ‎ | أُنْـ / أُنْ ◌ُنْـ / ◌ُنْ‎ |

## Grammar
### Noun classes

zi-mbuzi
CL10.DEF-goat
z-angu
CL10-AGR-my
z-endr-e
CL10.SM-go-VH.RET
ɓazari
market
zi-mbuzi z-angu z-endr-e ɓazari
CL10.DEF-goat CL10-AGR-my CL10.SM-go-VH.RET market
'My goats went to the market.'
wa-ntru-washe
CL2-person-female
wa-raru
CL2.AGR-three
wa-ngu
CL2.AGR-my
wa-ntru-washe wa-raru wa-ngu
CL2-person-female CL2.AGR-three CL2.AGR-my
'my three wives' (Rombi 1983: 123)