Soqotri
| Soqotri | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | [skˤʌtˤri] |
| Native to | Yemen |
| Region | Socotra |
| Ethnicity | Mehri |
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Native speakers
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(71,000 cited 1990) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | soqo1240 |
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Soqotri, or Socotri, Sokotri, and Suqutri (autonym: méthel d-saqátri; Arabic: اللغة السقطرية) is a an unwritten Semitic language spoken by the native Socotri population of Mehri people in the island of Socotra, and the Abd al Kuri and Samhah islands of the Socotra archipelago off the southern coast of the Republic of Yemen. Soqotri is one of six pre-Islamic languages that form a group called Modern South Arabian languages (MSAL). These additional languages include Mehri, Jibbali, Bathari, Harsusi and Hobyot. All are spoken in different regions of Southern Arabia. Mehri is from the governorate of Mahra in the south-east of Yemen with a dialectal version spoken across the Mahra-Dhofar border, Jibbali and Mathari are spoken in the Dhofar region of Oman, Harsusi is spoken in the central region of Oman, and Hobyot is spoken on both sides of the border between Mahra and Dhofar in south-western Oman.
Soqotri is often mistaken as Arabic but is officially classified as an Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, South, and South Arabian language.
Soqotra is thought to be the oldest documented of the Modern South Arabian languages. It was the first MSAL discovered in 1834, 170 years ago.
There are believed to be three origins for the island's name. Because the naming process was a complex structure that depended partly on the which of the colonizing groups achieved achieved economic, poitical, and cultural hegemony at a particular point in history. This led to a very cyclic naming process, either from the corruption of the previously established name or crafting of a new name based on the decision of the new occupants. The Indian root of the name comes first according to genealogical ascendany. The original name is assumed to be derived from Sanskrit, Dvipa Sukhadhara. The term dvipa refers to island, sukha, to happiness, and adhara, to support, altogether meaning Island of Bliss or Abode of the Blessed. There are also Greek and Arabic origins as well. The Arabic source is comes from the term Suqutra which is shortened from suq al-qatra; suq meaning market or emporium, and qatra meaning drop, all together the market for drops (this might have to do with the island's natural resources such as the sap from the Dragon's Blood tree, aloes, fragrances, etc).
Soqotra is still somewhat of a mystery. The island has had minimal contact with the outside world and the inhabitants of Socotra have no written history. What is known of the Islands is gathered from references found in records from those who have visited the island, usually in a number of different languages, some yet to be translated. The language is thought to have its roots in Sheba, the Queen of Sheba's ancient city state on the southern Arabian mainland. This means it was part of the Old South Arabian Languages, which also included Minaean and Qatabanian among others.
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