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Shemya (tàar ʃàmɲà) is the language of the Sinyar people. It is a Central Sudanic language spoken in Chad and formerly in Darfur, Sudan. It is variously spelled Shamya, Shamyan, Shemya, Sinya, and known as Symiarta, Taar Shamyan, Zimirra.

The language is spoken in Goz Beïda, Chad and Foro Boranga, Sudan. There are two level tones and downstepped low tones. Word order is SVO.

Dimmendaal leaves it as a language isolate, whereas Blench groups it with Formona.

Doornbos records 18 Sinyar clans. The Kijaar clan, located close to the Kujargé, likely intermarried with the Kujargé.

Lexicon

Sinyar appears to have a Bongo–Bagirmi superstratum and a non-Bongo–Bagirmi substratum. Some lexical items in Sinyar have cognates in Bongo–Bagirmi languages (particularly the neighboring Yulu-Gula group), while others do not.

Sinyar numerals from Boyeldieu (2013):

Numerals

Pronouns

Sinyar pronouns:

Sinyar pronouns

References

1. Sinyar at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
2. Boyeldieu, Pascal. 2013. Case alignment(s) in Sinyar. Paper presented at the Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium, 22-24 May, 2013.
3. Boyeldieu, Pascal. 2015. Case alignment(s) in Sinyar. In Angelika Mietzner and Anne Storch (eds.), Nilo-Saharan: Models and Descriptions, 21-36. Cologne: Köppe.
4. Blench, Roger. Central Sudanic overview.
5. Blažek, Václav (2015). "On the position of Kujarke within Chadic". Folia Orientalia. 52. ISSN 0015-5675.
6. ^ Boyeldieu, Pascal. 2013. Sinyar and SBB (Central Sudanic): genetic relationship or contact? Paper presented at Linguistique diachronique et reconstruction : méthodes, acquis, avancées récentes. Labex EFL. 1-6 July 2013.
7. Boyeldieu, Pascal. 2013. Sinyar numerals.

• Languages of Chad
• Bongo–Bagirmi languages
• Unclassified languages of Africa