Soqotri language in the context of "Hobyót language"

The Modern South Arabian languages, also known as Eastern South Semitic languages, are a group of endangered languages spoken by small populations inhabiting the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen (including Socotra) and Oman. Together with the Ethiosemitic and Sayhadic languages, the Western branch, they form the South Semitic sub-branch of the Afroasiatic language family's Semitic branch.

Mehri and Hobyot are spoken in both Yemen and Oman. Soqotri is only spoken in the Yemeni archipelago of Socotra, and the Harsusi, Bathari, and Shehri languages are only spoken in Oman.

Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea near major shipping routes. The largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago, it comprises around 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies 380 kilometres (205 nautical miles) south of the Arabian Peninsula and 232 km (125 nmi) east of the Horn of Africa. The inhabitants of the island are called Socotrans, and they speak Arabic and Soqotri.

Socotra is home to a high number of unique species that are endemic. Up to a third of its plant life is unique. Due to the island's unusual geography, it has been described as "the most alien-looking place on Earth". The island measures 132 km (82 mi) in length and 42 km (26 mi) across at its widest. In 2008, Socotra was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Mehri (Arabic: المهرة), also known as the al-Mahrah tribe (Arabic: قبيلة المهرة), are an Arab ethnographic group primarily inhabiting South Arabia especially in the Al-Mahra Governorate in Yemen and the island of Socotra in the Guardafui Channel. They are named after Mahra bin Haydan. They can also be found in the Sultanate of Oman, and the eastern region of the Arabian Peninsula.

They have participated in the conquests of North Africa, Morocco and Andalusia, and they lived there. Some of them work in fishing, and some of them live in the desert, and it is to them that the Mahri camels are attributed in the Arab heritage. The Mahra were famous for their Mahri language, which is a Semitic language belonging to the eastern family within the group of South Semitic languages, and it is a language closely related to other neighboring languages, such as the Shehri and Socotri languages. They have an ancient history, and they were mentioned in a number of Sabaean writings in Al-Musnad script, and had a sultanate that lasted for five centuries which remained in existence until 1967, which was the Sultanate of Al-Mahra.