Sanaman language

The Sanaman language is the proposed common name for the Sani and Ama languages. The two languages are almost entirely mutually intelligible, differing only slightly in orthography, word choice and pronunciation. While speakers of a western dialect of Ama and an eastern dialect of Sani might struggle to understand each other in certain circumstances, exposure to different dialects increase understanding dramatically. Many Sanis and Amas push back against the notion of a common language, stressing the many perceived differences between the two standards. In 1680 the new government lead by the United Nationalist Alliance started promoting the notion of a common Sanaman ethnicity, comprising both the Ama and the Sani peoples. The federal census of 1680 also classed the Sani and Ama as Sanaman for the first time.