Highland East Cushitic languages
Encyclopedia
Highland East Cushitic or Sidamic is a branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in south-central Ethiopia
. They are often grouped with Lowland East Cushitic, Dullay
, and Yaaku
as East Cushitic
, but that group is not well defined and considered dubious.
The languages are:
Except for Burji, they are closely related. Hadiyya and Libido are especially close, as are Kambaata and Alaba. The most populous language is Sidamo
, with close to two million speakers.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. They are often grouped with Lowland East Cushitic, Dullay
Dullay languages
The Dullay languages belong to the Cushitic subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic language family and are spoken in Ethiopia. Dullay is a dialect continuum consisting of the Bussa, Gawwada and Tsamai languages....
, and Yaaku
Yaaku language
Yaaku is an endangered Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Kenya. It is Cushitic, but its position within that family in unclear...
as East Cushitic
East Cushitic languages
The Lowland East Cushitic languages comprise two dozen languages of the Cushitic family within Afro-Asiatic. They are spoken mainly in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, and by Cushitic groups in northern Kenya....
, but that group is not well defined and considered dubious.
The languages are:
- BurjiBurji languageBurji language is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by the Burji people who reside in Ethiopia south of Lake Chamo. There are over 46,000 speakers in Ethiopia, and a further 10,400 speakers in Kenya...
(divergent) - SidamoSidamo languageSidamo is an Afro-Asiatic language, belonging to the Cushitic branch, part of the Highland East Cushitic group. It is spoken in parts of southern Ethiopia....
- GedeoGedeo languageGedeo is the name of a Highland East Cushitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family spoken in south central Ethiopia. Alternate names for the language include Derasa, Deresa, Darassa, Geddeo, Derasanya, Darasa. It is spoken by the Gedeo people, who live in the highland area, southwest of Dila and...
- Hadiyya and LibidoLibido languageLibido is an Afro-Asiatic language of Ethiopia, which is spoken in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region, north-east of Hosaena....
- KambaataKambaata languageKambaata is a Highland East Cushitic language, part of the larger Afro-Asiatic family and spoken by the Kambaata. Dialects are Donga, Kambaata and Tambaro. It is one of the official languages of Ethiopia. The language has a large number of verbal affixes. When these are affixed to verbal roots,...
and AlabaAlaba-K'abeena languageAlaba-K'abeena is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Ethiopia in the Great Rift Valley southwest of Lake Shala. The literacy rate of native speakers in their language is below 1%, while their literacy rate in second languages is 8.6%; Alaba-K'abeena is taught in primary schools. It has an 81%...
.
Except for Burji, they are closely related. Hadiyya and Libido are especially close, as are Kambaata and Alaba. The most populous language is Sidamo
Sidamo language
Sidamo is an Afro-Asiatic language, belonging to the Cushitic branch, part of the Highland East Cushitic group. It is spoken in parts of southern Ethiopia....
, with close to two million speakers.