Chimiini (G412)

Abstract Chimiini (G412) is the northernmost dialect of Swahili, centered in the town of Miini (or Brava) in southern Somalia. A highly endangered language, it differs from Standard Swahili and more southern Swahili dialects at every level of grammatical description. This chapter offers a sketch grammar of Chimiini, focusing on fundamental aspects of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, as well as highlighting features which Bantuists may find typologically interesting. The description and analysis are based on the author´s work with native speakers of the Wantu waMiini diaspora, and informed by previous work on the language.