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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harsusi (also known as Ḥarsūsī, Harsiyyet, Hersyet, or Harsi `Aforit) is a Semitic language of Oman, spoken by the Harasis people. It is classified as a moribund language,[2] with an estimated 600-1000 speakers in Jiddat al-Harasis, a stony desert in south-central Oman. It is closely related to Mehri.[3]
Harsusi first came to the attention of outside scholars in 1937, when it was mentioned by Bertram Thomas in his book Four Strange Tongues of South Arabia.[2] While certain scholars have claimed that Harsusi is a dialect of the more widely-spoken Mehri language,[4] most maintain that they are mutually intelligible but separate languages .[5] Harsusi, like all the Modern South Arabian languages, is unwritten,[2] though there have been recent efforts to create a written form using an Arabic-based script.[1]
Because the Harasis people were for centuries the only human inhabitants of Jiddat al-Harasis, the language developed in relative isolation.[6] Yet growing contact with neighboring communities due to increasing work in the local oil industry and Arabic-language education[2] has led to the language having more influence from Arabic,[7] as well as many Harasis learning Arabic and Mehri in addition to or in place of Harsusi.
UNESCO has categorised Harsusi as a language that is "definitely endangered".[8]
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