Asa is known from three primary sources: two vocabulary lists from 1904 and 1928, and a collection by
W. C. Winter from 1974. The following are some example words of Asa, together with probable
cognates identified in Kw'adza and
Iraqw: • 'big':
jira — Kw'adza
dire • 'bird':
širaʔa — Iraqw
tsʼirʕi • 'louse':
ʔita — Iraqw
itirmo • 'blood':
saʔaka — Kw'adza
saʔuko • 'bone':
farit — Kw'adza
falaʔeto, Iraqw
fara • 'horn':
hadoŋ — Kw'adza
xalinko, Iraqw
xaraŋ • 'hair':
seʔemuk — Iraqw
seʔemi • 'head':
sogok — Kw'adza
sagiko, Iraqw
saga • 'eye':
ilat — Kw'adza
ilito, Iraqw
ila • 'mouth':
afok — Kw'adza
afuko, Iraqw
afa • 'tongue':
šeferank — Iraqw
tsʼifraŋ • 'breast':
isank — Iraqw
isaŋ • 'heart':
monok — Kw'adza
munaku, Irawn
muna • 'water':
maʔa — Kw'adza
maʔaya, Iraqw
maʔay • 'sand':
hajat — Kw'adza
hasinko, Iraqw
hasaŋ • 'stone':
deʔok — Kw'adza
tlʼaʔiko, Iraqw
tlʼaʕano • 'to drink':
wat- — Kw'adza
wat-, Iraqw
wah- • 'to eat':
ʔag- — Kw'adza
ag-, Iraqw
ʕayim- • 'to lie':
ʔat- — Kw'adza
kʼat-, Iraqw
qat- • 'to die':
ga- — Kw'adza
gwaʔ-, Iraqw
gwa- • 'to kill':
gas- — Kw'adza
gaʔis-, Iraqw
gas- • 'far':
sanga — Kw'adza
sagumu, Iraqw
saw • 'near':
šaya — Kw'adza
tsʼahemi, Iraqw
tsʼew Some loanwords in Asa from other languages are known: • 'three':
samak and 'five':
mut, from
Datooga • 'dog':
kite, from
Chaga == Notes ==